Pinckneyville Finances Stabilize After TUMS Sale, Real Estate Taxes
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[City Treasurer Rick Reese reported that Pinckneyville has sufficient funds to pay bills. The recent influx of real estate tax funds and the proceeds from the sale of equipment in the TUMS building have helped.
The city currently has $702,000 in unrestricted funds. The $200,000 tax anticipation warrant has been paid.
The city has $4.135 million in all funds, which is about $1.2 million more than they had last year at the same time.
Reese said that the additional funds can be attributed to several things, including earlier real estate tax disbursements, the new business district sales tax, pension funds and development grant funds.
The council approved a donation of $2,500 to the Duster Thomas Hoops Classic basketball tournament from the business district sales tax fund. Those funds are to be used to promote tourism in Pinckneyville.
Mayor Joe Holder said that about half of the teams that participate in the two-day tournament stay in local motels and eat in local restaurants.
The basketball tournament is the final project for the year that requires tourism funds. Holder said the city made similar contributions to the American Thresherman Association, Mardi Gras and paid for advertising Southwestern Illinois Tourism Council publications.
Commissioner Auggie Kellerman said that the city would be in better financial shape if the state would pay the prison's utility bills on time.
In other business, the council:
declared two vacancies in the Pinckneyville Police Department, allowing the hiring of two full-time officers.
approved renewing the city's insurance package with Illinois Municipal League Risk Management Association at a cost of $101,276 to be paid in two installments of just over $51,000. The first installment will be due Nov. 20. The second will be due June 11. Mayor Holder said that the city could save about $15,000 by assuming some of the risk themselves, but he would not recommend it. "I always say that people who gamble have to be able to afford to gamble," Holder said. "We can't afford it." He added that the city has had two bad years and would have lost money by assuming some of the risk themselves.
gave Mayor Holder and Economic Development Consultant Harold Palmer authority to apply for a DCEO Public Infrastructure Grant. The grant is due Feb. 20 and the city must set aside $87,500 as the matching portion of the $350,000 grant. Holder recommended using a portion of the bond reserve account as the city's matching share. City Attorney Roger Seibert said that can be done by ordinance. The grant, if received, would be used for utility plant maintenance and infrastructure improvements.
heard from Seibert that the proposed TIF Redevelopment agreement between the city, McDonalds and Thomas Home Improvement cannot go forward. It was recently determined that the repairs that need to be made involve only city property. The original agreement included improvements on the McDonalds property. Seibert said that repairs to city property are not eligible for TIF funds. Mayor Holder said he would try to find another way to fund the improvements.
heard from Economic Development Coordinator Carrie Ford that she and representatives from the Chamber of Commerce planning committee and the Foundation for Pinckneyville met with Jillian VanZandt of the Illinois Department of Employment Security to talk about the unemployment rates in Pinckneyville. A county-wide workshop for employers is being planned for early 2010.