WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:19.679 Good evening. Linda, could you please give the invocation? Dear Lord, we come to you 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:25.280 tonight with the problem of finding funding to repair our streets. We are asking you to 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:29.040 to lead us because you already know the path that we should take. 00:00:29.040 --> 00:00:36.039 I release your word from 1 Corinthians 1440, let all things be done decently and in order. 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:42.280 And Father, I stand in the gap and offer up repentance for whatever has caused the animosity 00:00:42.280 --> 00:00:46.799 and mistrust between the leaders and the peoples of this city. 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:52.320 Whether it be from manipulation, deceit, or untruths, whatever the cause of those that 00:00:52.320 --> 00:01:19.319 I ask you, Father, for forgiveness. I ask you, Father, for forgiveness to flow and all things be made fresh and anew. I ask you for transparency in all things. Lord, we ask you for your heart for this city and I say your kingdom come, your will be done this night for this city as it is in heaven. Amen. 00:01:19.320 --> 00:01:49.320 Thank you Linda. So now we'll officially call this special meeting to order. Madam Clerk, could you please take the roll. Mayor Miller? Here. Alderpersons, Klemm? Here. Monroe? Here. Simmons is absent. Parker? Here. Stacy is absent. Shadle? Here. Sanders and Sellers are absent but we do have a quorum. Thank you and if you could please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance led by Alderman Shadle. 00:01:49.320 --> 00:02:13.319 Item number one is the approval of the agenda. Is there such a motion? 00:02:13.319 --> 00:02:25.239 So moved. Second. A motion made by Alderman Shadle, seconded by Alderman Monroe. All those 00:02:25.239 --> 00:02:31.599 in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion passes. Item number two is public 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:38.240 comments. We have three of them. The clerk has one to read in first. This was received 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:42.540 by email from Lynette Williams, Freeport citizen. 00:02:42.540 --> 00:02:47.400 I watched Monday, September 18th in caps, oh my goodness. 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:50.820 Make a motion, get a second, talk, talk, talk, 00:02:50.820 --> 00:02:54.620 rescind the motion, make a motion, no second. 00:02:54.620 --> 00:02:58.640 Hot potato, hot potato, who has the hot potato? 00:02:58.640 --> 00:03:00.640 I'm lost, and so were most people 00:03:00.640 --> 00:03:03.020 trying to follow this discussion. 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:07.640 60% of citizens in the city of Freeport in November 2022 00:03:07.640 --> 00:03:15.000 voted home rule in, not me. Home rule means we have to trust our city council. I am your 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:20.840 referendum proponent. Everyone gets a voice. But I feel if you put this to referendum, 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:27.120 two situations will happen. One, road work won't be done for 12 to 18 months. And two, 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:33.300 I think it will fail. You have the authority. 60% of the voters in the last election say 00:03:33.300 --> 00:03:38.060 you do my suggestion is a motion to continue talks through details of 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:42.600 possible road funding sources from the city and its citizens how to dedicate 00:03:42.600 --> 00:03:47.460 funds to one budget line item for transparency an amount of the tax if 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:52.400 this is the direction to go and how it is divided to get the work done no one 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:57.620 jumps to the next step until you agree to go to the next step you should be 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:05.700 working as a team and it has no I in it Lynette Williams thank you next we have 00:04:05.700 --> 00:04:07.700 of Kevin Lamb. 00:04:07.700 --> 00:04:18.700 Alderpeople, Mayor, did you say we have a quorum? 00:04:18.700 --> 00:04:20.700 Yes, sir. 00:04:20.700 --> 00:04:29.700 I'm looking at the rules here. It says that the majority of Alderpersons have to be present. 00:04:29.700 --> 00:04:32.700 There are nine and five are present? 00:04:32.699 --> 00:04:35.699 Do you have, it specifically says Alderperson. 00:04:35.699 --> 00:04:38.699 Madam Clerk, the attorney wants to address that. 00:04:38.699 --> 00:04:47.699 So under the, I believe under the Illinois Open Meetings Act, that for a quorum, that yes, you can count the mayor for purposes of establishing a quorum. 00:04:47.699 --> 00:04:53.699 But wouldn't your City Council rules take precedent over general rules? 00:04:53.699 --> 00:05:07.699 My understanding is that the interpretation has been that a quorum for purposes of establishing a meeting you can take, you need, you can count the mayor for establishing quorum. That's always been my understanding. 00:05:07.699 --> 00:05:09.699 Okay. And that also is in line with IML law. 00:05:09.699 --> 00:05:19.699 I wanted to note that it doesn't say that in your own rules and procedures. 00:05:19.699 --> 00:05:41.699 and then we also have Barbara Vines. 00:05:41.699 --> 00:05:43.339 And that concludes public comments. 00:05:49.699 --> 00:05:56.659 So we'll move on to item number three, which is the first reading of ordinance 20-23-46. 00:05:56.659 --> 00:06:00.899 Madam Clerk, would you please read this? 00:06:00.899 --> 00:06:05.620 Ordinance approving three-quarter percent increase in the home rule sales tax. 00:06:05.620 --> 00:06:08.259 Alderman Monroe? 00:06:08.259 --> 00:06:13.139 Thank you, Madam Mayor. 00:06:13.139 --> 00:06:18.500 So last week, as you heard in some of the public comments, there were some struggles 00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:28.000 with passing an ordinance that approved a 1% increase with additional revenue being dedicated 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:35.500 to funding, salaries, wages, those types of things along with the roads. 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:43.639 That was one of the big holdups to several of the members voting either yea or nay to 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:47.000 the agenda item. 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:54.879 This year we are in a position right now that we don't have set-aside funds for the roadways. 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:59.439 And as you heard also in public comments, it's going to take 12 to 18 months, if not 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:06.560 24 months, to get a referendum item through all of the process steps if it were to pass 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:08.839 in a public vote in 2024. 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:14.040 So that would first come up for vote, I believe, in November of 2024, and then it would have 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:18.680 We have to go through all of the process to get the funds set up to move forward and we 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:24.080 are in a position right now where our roads are not in a position to wait any longer. 00:07:24.080 --> 00:07:31.240 So in an effort to kind of bring people together and clearly that hasn't achieved its goal 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:38.000 was to decrease the ordinance from 1% down to .75%. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:42.480 It would also keep us in line with what Rockford and other large cities across northern Illinois 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:51.520 Royer doing. It would also fund the road work for the next two years. It would then be sunset 00:07:51.520 --> 00:07:55.640 when those two years were up. And what that means is this is a two-year ordinance with 00:07:55.640 --> 00:08:01.600 a drop-dead date at the very end of it, and the City will speak and tell us what they 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:08.640 want to do. It's not the way I wanted to go, but in an effort to kind of bring sides together, 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:15.079 I think it makes a lot of sense to fund this for the next two years and then move to whatever 00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:16.079 we're going to do. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:24.079 If it's a referendum in November of 2024 or some other direction, which seems unclear 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:27.599 at this time. 00:08:27.599 --> 00:08:31.959 Anybody else like to speak, add anything to it? 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:36.600 You know, from my standpoint, we have to continue to move forward on the road. 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:39.300 We bought a lot of good equipment in the last two years. 00:08:39.300 --> 00:08:41.399 We've got our crews trained. 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:46.279 The Public Works Department is doing, you know, a much better job. 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:47.279 They're doing a great job. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:51.680 Now, it started out a little bit rough, as the City Manager will say, as he was head 00:08:51.680 --> 00:08:55.840 of the Public Works, but the guys and gals are out working hard. 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:59.360 You see them, they're taking pride in what they're doing, and, you know, I'm proud to 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:04.800 kind of fund that continued improvement of our infrastructure, and at least give the 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:10.799 the City Manager and the staff a chance to continue to move forward on fixing our streets. 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:17.259 And I will say out loud, I really am against new taxes. I think new taxes for the City 00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:24.120 of Freeport put a wet blanket on our economy, and I really think it hurts some of our businesses. 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:29.500 But right now, the roads themselves are hurting our businesses. So we have to make a decision. 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:32.860 we have to act as grownups and we have to do something 00:09:32.860 --> 00:09:35.279 to move things forward, Mayor. 00:09:43.340 --> 00:09:44.340 Further discussion? 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:54.460 Well, how do you propose we move forward? 00:09:54.460 --> 00:10:00.040 I'm going to make a motion that we adopt 00:10:00.040 --> 00:10:13.040 We have a motion that we adopt Ordinance 2023-46 and move it to a special meeting. Can I do that at this point or? 00:10:13.040 --> 00:10:20.040 Our normal protocol is you need a motion and a second to move the item forward. So that's all that would be on it. I'll do that. 00:10:20.040 --> 00:10:28.960 Okay, so we have a motion made by Alderman Monroe, seconded by Alderman Parker to move 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:33.560 Ordinance 2023-46 on to the next regularly scheduled meeting. 00:10:33.560 --> 00:10:40.560 and Mr. Clem. Now that it's made a motion and seconded on the floor, my intentions are 00:10:40.560 --> 00:10:47.560 and Mayor. Now that it's made a motion and seconded on the floor, my intentions are to 00:10:59.560 --> 00:11:06.560 vote against this and I'll tell you why when I do the vote. Don't need a whole debate, 00:11:06.560 --> 00:11:10.280 but if we're talking about what we're seeing here, 00:11:10.280 --> 00:11:13.760 we basically have four people absent, okay? 00:11:14.800 --> 00:11:17.160 We have a couple of people, one of those persons, 00:11:17.160 --> 00:11:19.920 I know has got a husband that's very ill. 00:11:19.920 --> 00:11:24.360 One of them I know had a meeting that they couldn't attend 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:25.800 to be at this one. 00:11:25.800 --> 00:11:29.200 I asked at the last meeting that we delay the vote of this 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:34.040 because everybody was not here, Mr. Parker was not here, 00:11:34.040 --> 00:11:37.760 so we didn't have a full array of Aldermen 00:11:37.760 --> 00:11:41.760 and I believe something that's this important should be. 00:11:43.100 --> 00:11:47.600 However, one of our jobs as being Aldermen 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:52.600 is to do what we feel is the best thing for our community 00:11:55.260 --> 00:11:57.880 and that's obviously been displayed 00:11:57.880 --> 00:12:00.600 that that's not happening on either side. 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:04.340 No how, no way in the leadership, anything else. 00:12:04.340 --> 00:12:09.340 To come back with this, one week after it was voted on 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.740 to kill it, to move it to a referendum, 00:12:13.740 --> 00:12:16.780 some place people gotta take a look at ethics, 00:12:16.780 --> 00:12:18.640 group goals, so on and so forth. 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:24.500 And we passed that, I think this since in my 16 plus years 00:12:24.500 --> 00:12:37.500 16 plus years on the Council is probably the biggest mirrored thing of the national political scene that there is and the county scene that there is. 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:48.500 I believe this was engineered by some people that weren't here and some people went along with it and I don't believe this is the way this Council should do business. 00:12:48.500 --> 00:12:52.500 Thank you. 00:12:52.500 --> 00:13:00.400 Madam Mayor, Alderman Monroe, I don't disagree with Alderman Klemm on some of his points, 00:13:00.400 --> 00:13:02.300 but what I'll say is this. 00:13:02.300 --> 00:13:07.420 We have sat and looked at the streets of Freeport for 20, 30, 40 years. 00:13:07.420 --> 00:13:09.300 The infrastructure is falling apart. 00:13:09.300 --> 00:13:14.460 I've only been on the Council two years, and all I've done is try to fix both streets 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:16.180 on both east and west side. 00:13:16.180 --> 00:13:21.140 I always constantly hear east side, west side of 26. 00:13:21.140 --> 00:13:28.700 It is a way to try and push a divide between people based on the color of their skin. 00:13:28.700 --> 00:13:30.780 And I've got a real problem with that. 00:13:30.780 --> 00:13:34.220 I've got a problem with people that don't want to fix our streets. 00:13:34.220 --> 00:13:39.100 And I'm disappointed that 16 years on the council, I've seen very little in the way 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:41.420 of roads getting repaired. 00:13:41.420 --> 00:13:45.300 What we've done in the last two and a half to three years is incredible. 00:13:45.300 --> 00:13:47.940 We've cleaned up Chicago Street. 00:13:47.940 --> 00:13:49.820 We've done major construction. 00:13:49.820 --> 00:13:53.920 We're seeing that now on some of our streets that support some of the biggest businesses 00:13:53.920 --> 00:13:55.460 in our town. 00:13:55.460 --> 00:14:02.560 And now we run the risk of going to referendum two years from now, being able to put money 00:14:02.560 --> 00:14:03.560 towards something. 00:14:03.560 --> 00:14:05.360 The Hancock Bridge could fail. 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:10.340 If that fails, those businesses, those people are cut off from a lot of services. 00:14:10.340 --> 00:14:12.960 You have a major fire, a major disaster there. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:13.960 They're stuck. 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:17.040 Sorry, only trucks that can get through there are the Freeport Fire Department. 00:14:17.040 --> 00:14:19.540 No other outside agencies can. 00:14:19.540 --> 00:14:24.420 and this is disappointing. This is disappointing because this isn't about the east or west 00:14:24.420 --> 00:14:28.220 side. This is about the city of Freeport. This is about doing the right thing by the 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:34.820 people. And here we sit, four people. I understand. It's hard. I missed a lot of meetings myself 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:40.780 with health issues. But the second I could get back, I was here. And this isn't a difficult 00:14:40.780 --> 00:14:49.700 Fowler, I've made phone calls, I've sent texts, and I've gotten nothing back. Not one call, 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:57.340 except for Alderman Sellers. She's the only one to try to call me back. The rest? MIA. 00:14:57.340 --> 00:15:06.660 I've done a lot of research, and I'm fired up, I'm angry, I'm just beyond, I can't even 00:15:06.660 --> 00:15:12.460 Say How I Feel, because, you know, the decorum of this room is much more important. 00:15:12.460 --> 00:15:16.260 But I did a FOIA request. 00:15:16.260 --> 00:15:20.180 Sixteen years, Alderman Klemm, you've sat on this council. 00:15:20.180 --> 00:15:24.260 Nobody has held the Freeport School District accountable. 00:15:24.260 --> 00:15:34.260 Thirty-three thousand, three hundred ninety-one pages of emails between two people who are 00:15:34.260 --> 00:15:39.620 We're Jim teachers, one member of this council, and another member of the Freeport School 00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:44.820 District about election interference and election stuff going on. 00:15:44.820 --> 00:15:49.780 We are not holding anybody accountable, specifically the people in this room. 00:15:49.780 --> 00:15:54.820 And that's what I ran for office because I saw it happening and I sat back for years. 00:15:54.820 --> 00:16:00.380 86% increase in this Freeport School District annual expenditures. 00:16:00.380 --> 00:16:05.740 Meanwhile, the City of Freeport up only 44 percent, 44 percent. I've got the numbers right here. 00:16:06.420 --> 00:16:10.500 We've held our taxes in check. We've done all we can. 00:16:11.300 --> 00:16:18.340 Meanwhile, the City's been fleeced by the Freeport Township, the Freeport School District, and they continue to take money out of this economy 00:16:18.700 --> 00:16:20.860 that could help us get back on our feet. 00:16:21.820 --> 00:16:23.820 It's disappointing. 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:28.500 $23,000 per student, the highest of anybody in Northern Illinois. 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:29.500 Fowler. 00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:30.500 The highest. 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:35.460 And we have the lowest rated school in all of North Central and Northwest Illinois, and 00:16:35.460 --> 00:16:39.860 we can't get three and a half million dollars to fix the roads into this city. 00:16:39.860 --> 00:16:44.860 It's beyond, it's beyond believable at this point. 00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:49.980 We sit here, we argue about a three quarter percent increase to get the roads fixed, meanwhile 00:16:49.980 --> 00:16:54.340 eighty-six percent, eighty-five million dollars goes to the Freeport School District, and 00:16:54.340 --> 00:16:56.940 they turn out some of the worst students in the state of Illinois. 00:16:56.940 --> 00:16:57.940 That's not me. 00:16:57.940 --> 00:17:22.720 and 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:27.660 Foss, Mar państwa, 00:17:27.660 --> 00:17:30.460 We got water in sewer that's failing. 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:34.039 So how many times do we go and put a tanker truck, 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:37.880 we had to run water out of the out of the Peck River. 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:42.000 I mean, those are real issues and 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:48.140 I can't believe that we can't come together to come up with a solution for this. 00:17:48.140 --> 00:17:50.760 And if you're voting no, we're done here. 00:17:50.760 --> 00:18:03.760 I just wanted to go back to the quorum, Mr. So I did have a chance to check our code. 00:18:03.760 --> 00:18:05.680 So I appreciate Mr. Land bringing that to our attention. 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:12.400 So our code is actually specifically different than what is typically state statute. 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:16.000 Our code actually deviates from what is what I will say the majority of communities do 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:20.920 You, and actually what even IML as recently as last week had chimed in as to what our 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:26.320 quorum is, normally they say you count the mayor, that's the normal calculation, however, 00:18:26.320 --> 00:18:30.760 our specific code of ordinance says that all meetings, a majority of Alderpersons elected 00:18:30.760 --> 00:18:34.800 shall constitute a quorum, so it references a majority of the Aldermen, so it actually 00:18:34.800 --> 00:18:39.320 doesn't include the mayor, so because of that, we actually do not have a quorum for tonight's 00:18:39.320 --> 00:18:40.320 meeting, so. 00:18:40.320 --> 00:18:43.120 I make a motion to adjourn then. 00:18:43.120 --> 00:18:44.120 Second. 00:18:44.120 --> 00:18:51.120 Second. Is there a second? Motion made by Alderman Monroe, seconded by Alderman Shadle. All those in favor? 00:18:51.120 --> 00:18:52.120 Aye.