I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Madam Clerk, please call the roll.
Ted Odendahl.
Here.
Kathy Wilken.
Here.
Kevin McIlwain.
Here.
Kathy Altensey.
Patrick Sellers.
We have a quorum.
The first of the minutes is approval of minutes for the March 16th, 2026 meeting.
I need a motion and a second please.
I'll make a motion.
I'll make a second.
Motion by Wilken, second by Odendahl.
Please take a look at the minutes if you haven't done so already.
And I have to apologize, I thought I looked at these minutes and look I was in them, but at any rate it has me voting yes on the proposal for Boys and Girls Club and actually I abstain.
Okay, where would that be?
Under 7, 52.
Under 7?
Yep.
I have.
Okay, that's the old minutes.
I'm sorry.
Let me get the old minutes up and make this.
Under 7.
Thank you.
7, Okay, and you abstain, right?
Yes, abstain.
Okay, let me get this here in case of stain.
I'll correct that.
Alright, thank you.
Anything else?
Any other comments on this?
Okay, all in favor?
Aye.
Any opposed?
Motion carries.
The initial business is a pool of bills payable, and then most of the second please.
So we'll second.
Second by Mcllwain, second by Odendahl.
Please take a look at the bills payable.
Yes.
Was the copier expenses planned or did something happen all of a sudden with copiers?
The copier expenses were planned.
Okay.
The copy was obsolete, and they didn't even make parts for it anymore, and so they were like, it was time for us to get a new one, so that's why we did it, in case of what could put on us.
Any questions or claims in the man's trustees?
Seeing as there is none, Madam Clerk, please call the roll.
Wilken?
Aye.
McIlwain?
Aye.
Odendahl?
Aye.
Sellers?
Aye.
Motion passes.
The next order of business is the, is discussion on Corporation Ordinance, uh, 20, 2026 T. O. O. 1, Fiscal year 2026-2027.
We had our motion and our second.
It's open, I guess, for discussion.
There are a number of things I had questions on, and I don't, we can deal with questions in the meeting, or I could arrange to.
Really, they're just questions for my understanding, thanks or not.
Any kind of, I'm not sure I have a second guess, the process.
So I don't know, I don't want to take up a lot of time for my education.
Do you want to come in and speak with Liz?
I could do that.
Okay, yeah.
Well I guess you can, but just in general.
I mean if it's going to be beneficial to everybody, I don't mind doing it.
That's what I'm wondering.
Yeah, I mean sure.
Well, I guess the probably the most basic question is in terms of what our kind of game time is long term.
So if I'm looking at this correctly, our budgeted expenses exceed our expected revenue, current revenue.
Now we have reserves to cover that, so we're okay.
I understand that.
But long term, that seems to be a problem if we are constantly eroding reserves.
So I didn't know if the budgeting was done in such a way that it was conservative or generous, however you want to look at it and say, well this is, we're going to budget this amount, but we probably won't spend that amount and that's kind of our practice.
We go along and we actually many times add to reserves instead of drawing down reserves or is it the budget in many respects seems to be pretty bare bones so saying is it our expectation that we almost certainly will be drawing down reserves?
No, not necessarily.
Usually we are putting money back from the budget.
We don't spend more than we budget.
We run our budget very, very lean.
I know this year we are going to be looking at, I'm thinking, probably putting back, I have to make cultural layers, I'm thinking close to $80,000 being put back into our budget.
So we don't we don't we don't we don't do a whole lot of drawing down on our reserves okay so so kind of history has been that we Amend the budget later and go through this whole process again.
I account for it in case it's needed.
So, and a couple of those funds I'll have money going back in this year.
Right.
So, like take for instance, insurance.
Liz automatically puts in X amount extra for insurance every year.
We've tried to stay within budget.
We've never gone over budget on a line item, not since, uh, 2000 and what?
13, 14?
We started 13.
Yeah.
So, we don't normally, we don't normally, we don't normally, we don't normally, we don't normally, we don't normally, we don't normally, we don't normally, we don't normally, Our budget will exceed our revenues.
I think what Ted might be getting at is if you look at the budget, and I think we kind of make up, not so much make up for, but I think it's accounted for because a lot of times we don't spend everything that we budget for.
So the actual ending balance is probably more than what it is if you look at what we do historically.
Berkley.
Now I think what he's looking at though is if you look at the, let's just look at the general fund for instance, the beginning balance is $8.66, $8.48 and the projected in the balance for next year is $6.67, $2.60.
So on the surface that could look like you ate into some of the reserves.
So I can see where the question is coming from but I think what you're saying is that typically we don't, our ending balance that we project is usually higher than what we're Well, specifically, like in that case, our budget for the general fund is $809,000.
Our estimated revenues is $609,000.
So our budget is $200,000 over our revenues.
Now we've got $866,000 in reserve, so it's not like we're going to be a deficit if we spend all of this.
If we spend all of this, but if we're getting into a period where we are continually spending more than we're taking in, it's going to erode our end balance.
That's never been the case, has it?
That's not the case.
Never.
We haven't done that.
It's been the opposite.
That's what we do.
Yeah, that has not happened.
Is getting at is historically historically our ending balance is always higher than what we might anticipate so at the end of the day at the end of the year we're not eroding at the reserve but I see what you're saying if we were to actually like let's say with the general fund if we actually did end up at the actual 667 next year and that happened every year after that What's the ending balance next year when we start?
If it's higher than the 667, then that's doing what we typically do.
Typically we end higher than what we were projected.
If we're, if the ending balance is lower than what we have projected for the ending, then what you're saying is probably something we definitely can start taking a look out for.
We could end up that way for one of two reasons.
We could spend less than we budget, or we could take in more than what we anticipated, and I'm just kind of wondering, what has normally been the case?
Do we tend to spend less than we budget, or do we tend to take in more than what we anticipate?
We tend to spend less than what we budget.
Historically that's what we do.
We haven't raised the levy either for quite a few years.
That's always the case.
We spend less than what we budget.
And if I may, because the assessed values have been increasing at the rate they have, we have been getting a little bit more back in tax dollars than what the levy originally shows.
Do we have a sense like for this year and the current year that we're in how how we're going to end up on those two items are we going to we have taken in more revenue than what we anticipated at the beginning?
Well, I mean, the assessments took another increase, so I would assume we would get some more.
We also get some personal property taxes from the state, and that's been larger than what we've anticipated also, so you have those two incomes coming in that have been a little bit larger than what we budgeted for, or what we've considered, right?
And the personal property tax comes from the state and that's, they dictate what we get so we can't really judge that from my understanding.
So we don't really try to anticipate that so it just becomes extra.
Well it's based on history, right?
So it's based on past, what we've gotten in the past.
I know when Liz looks at that, she's looking at what have we received in the past, and then try to gauge moving forward.
So is that reflected in one of these line items revenue, line items currently, or no?
No, that's money coming in, so that comes in at a different.
This is just expenditures.
And maybe for my purposes it might be useful for me to spend some time with Liz so she We set those at the beginning of the term.
We set those 180 days before the election, and so we set that.
So they're in stone until when?
Until the next election, right?
Four years.
I was surprised to see the clerk said it was going down.
I don't think it went down.
I think it went up.
I think Liz told me about this.
It wasn't that the salary itself was going down.
There's something for supplies that were in there.
In part of that line item that you don't need and you just use copy paper from them, and she was just kind of cleaning it up, I think, that line item.
So when it says minus 908, it's what we're talking about, 908 less than what the number was last year.
So the number last year might just not have been a salary accurate number.
And in terms of staff salaries, well, I mean, there is, the CFO's salary is a pretty substantial increase.
Now that's something we determine, right?
No.
It's part of the budget.
No, no, no.
We determine that.
Yeah.
I determine that and the assessor determines that.
Yeah, when I say we, I don't mean the board.
I mean, it's determined local, it's the most west statute.
Right.
And then, whether it looked like, in terms of personnel staff in the Assessors area, there was maybe something around a 10% increase?
Yes, so there's four full-time employees.
Last year I had a part-time employee part of the year and then a full-time because of wanting to be able to cross-train and have someone be ready to go.
Because I have, the person that retired was older, I have three other people in the office that are about the same age that could be retiring in the next few years if they chose to.
And I wanted to make sure the office was taken care of, so I had gone to the board at that time and they agreed to change that position to full-time, so there's a difference in pay there that I have to account for, there was the cost of living, and then I have, we do have an ordinance for longevity in place, and I do have, I think, two that qualify on that.
So that's where that comes from.
I noticed in the township office there was only like a 2% increase or something.
So the main reason is because there we're actually looking at not just salary increases, we're looking at actual expansion of, you know, okay.
And I'm pretty sure that conversation happened before you were elected, so, yeah.
Yeah, a lot of this was all done before the term.
So I say a lot of this is just, you know, for me to kind of get caught up on the history and what the expectation is and such.
Okay, good.
Appreciate it.
Well, good question.
No, actually, I'm glad you asked them here because it was good for us to all hear that and get an explanation.
So, perfect.
All right.
Any more questions, comments, or concerns about the budget?
And Ted, call in and come and speak with Liz.
Okay?
I'll let her know that you'll be giving her a call.
Okay?
The only question I had got covered was the minus 908.
Okay.
You're looking out for Barb.
Oh, not yet.
Not yet.
Yeah.
Okay.
Next order of business is the supervisor report.
Believe it or not, I don't have much.
I'm handing out what you need.
You should have a motion to postpone.
Thanks, Mike.
I need a motion to postpone the discussion on the appropriation ordinance 2026T001 fiscal year 2026-2027.
I need a motion to postpone until the next meeting.
Which will be April?
Which is April 2nd.
No.
April 20th.
That's it.
We are, this is April 6th today.
Postation, okay.
April 20th, sorry.
Yes, April 20th.
Thank you.
I'll make that motion.
Okay.
I'll second it.
All righty.
So, voice vote is fine or?
Voice vote is fine.
Okay.
All in favor?
Aye.
Any opposed?
Motion carries.
Thanks, Mike.
And we'll be voting on it at the next meeting.
Yes.
All right.
Next one will be the Supervisors report.
I don't have much, but what I do have This is the packet for the annual town meeting.
Guys, bring this packet with you, please, because Barb is not going to be having a whole lot of them.
All right, there you go Michael, there you go, oh yes, I put one on her, I put one on her box, thank you, Dad, I appreciate it, um, let's see, do I have anything?
No, I do not.
Next order of business is the assessor report.
Assessor.
Okay.
All righty.
Next order of business is trustees report.
Trustees.
Okay.
Next order of business is public comments.
Any public comments?
Shane Arlo, as you guys know, we're just getting off the spring break.
I just want you guys to be aware that as the weather changes, kids are more active in the community.
They like to get into trouble when they don't even try to find it.
So please encourage them to be involved with activities.
We have sports all summer long.
Those are going to be starting up soon.
School's going to start getting out, so we want to make sure that they're active and healthy and safe over the summer and not getting into those things.
I know it's only April, but it comes up fast, so if you guys can keep that in the back of your head and start promoting that in the community, I'd be happy to help with any communications that you guys have and show kids the right direction so that they're not getting into any trouble this summer or spring.
All right, thank you.
Any other public comments?
Any other business come before the town?
I just want to remind people above the annual town hall meeting, which is April 14th, at 605 at the Farm Bureau.
Everyone is encouraged to come.
All right.
There's no other business while I intend to motion to adjourn until Monday, April 20th, 2026 at 4:30 PM So moved.
I'll second it.
Motion by McIlwain, seconded by Wilken.
Okay, all in favor?
Aye.
Any opposed?
Motion carries, meeting is adjourned.
Thank you all.