November 23, Town Board Meeting Recap
The Town of Cicero Board meeting reunites for their bi-weekly meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 26th, 2021, at the Cicero Town Hall. Photo courtesy of Paul Goyette.
By Michael Izquierdo
The Cicero Town Board met on November 23 at 10 a.m. to discuss matters about the estimated tax levy for the 2021 tax year, updating their liability and property insurance policies, a settlement for a 2018 eye injury and more.
All members of the board were present and on time, with the exception of an excused absence from Larry Banks and Victor Garcia joining the meeting a few minutes late.
An ordinance for approving the purchase of cleaning equipment and a resolution for urban elevators were dismissed until the next board meeting. All other ordinances and resolutions were approved.
A summary of the approved agenda items include:
Insurance Policies
The Board approved two resolutions related to renewing their liability insurance policy with Illinois Counties Risk Management Trust (ICRMT) and their property insurance policies with Allianz/APIP. These policies are in both effect from December 1, 2021 to December 1, 2022.
The liability insurance policy’s premium comes out to $1,061,322 and the property insurance policy’s premium comes out to $194,211.
Proposed Tax Levy
A resolution was approved surrounding the estimated tax levy for the 2021 tax year. The tax levy refers to the annual amount of money local governments have to raise to meet expenses. Local jurisdictions have to submit these levies to the Cook County Clerk’s Tax Extension Unit. The Tax Extension Unit uses the assessed value of all properties in a district to determine the property tax rate that will ensure there is enough revenue to meet the requested levies.
The town will need to raise a total of $37,786,974 through the new tax levy to meet all their expenses, this amount is consistent with the 2020 tax levy.
This money gets distributed between the corporate bond & interest, police pension, fire pension and judgment.
The Town will levy $4,824,160 for debt service in 2021.
The Cicero Public Library, Mental Health Commission and General Assistance Fund have their own separate levies in the amounts of $1,888,209, $644,798 and $140,081 respectively. The total proposed levy for the 2021 tax year for all funds and agencies amounts to $45,284,222 — all consistent amounts from the previous year.
Settlement Agreement
The Town of Cicero reached a settlement agreement for the case, Jonathon Sochacki v. Town of Cicero, with Fire Department Lieutenant Jonathan Sochacki.
In 2018, Sochacki was taking his fire truck to receive maintenance at the tire store when a tree branch snapped and punctured his right eye. The lieutenant was diagnosed with a corneal abrasion and received two laser surgeries in the following years to repair the damages.
The total amount of the settlement agreement was $14,271.83 and Sochacki received $11,275.46 after paying off attorney fees and medical expenses.
Approval of Certain Agreements
Town President Larry Dominick approved an addendum to the already existing Emergency Dispatch Services contract the Town of Cicero had with NORCOMM Public Safety Communications, Inc.
The contract initially agreed to provide emergency dispatch services to the Town of Cicero for a term starting from April 29, 2020 to April 28, 2025. However, during this year, NORCOMM issued a termination notice in accordance with an article issued in the contract.
There is no explicit reason listed as to NORCOMM’s desire to end the contract according to Board meeting documents obtained by Cicero Independiente via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
The addendum states the two parties have agreed for NORCOMM to continue providing their services until November 24, 2022. NORCOMM has no right to terminate the contract moving forward; however, the Town of Cicero can at their own discretion.
Authorization of Invoices
There were only two invoices that sought approval for this week’s meeting, both relating to equipment services. One invoice was for equipment provided to the Cicero Police Department and the other was a breathing air module compressor provided to the Cicero Fire Department.
Computer Information Systems: 4 payments of $4,975 and an additional $13,961.89
Air One Equipment: $20,521
Michael Izquierdo is a local freelance journalist and a contributing reporter for Cicero Independiente.
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