Town Board Meeting on the Tuesday Morning of November 12th, 2019.

By April Alonso

This Town Board meeting took place on a cold Tuesday morning, November 12th, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes. To prepare or understand what this board meeting is about, Cicero residents would have had to fill out a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) and read 289 pages worth of documents. Cicero Independiente requested a copy of all the documents, which are available below. There were important discussions about tax levies, which help determine next year’s property taxes, expenses made by the Town (including $54,000 for holiday gift cards), a change to the requirements necessary to be a water commissioner, and a discussion about environmental risks facing Cicero residents.

You can read the full text of the meeting documents by clicking this link: Copies of Meeting Documents.

Who was there?

7 board of trustees plus Town President Larry Dominick. In the seating area there were about 20 people in attendance who joined about 20 Cicero firefighters standing in the back of the room.

What happened?

An itemized list of bills was approved after Town Supervisor Virruso, made a motion to approve which was seconded by Trustee Cava. There was no discussion on the topic, just a quick roll call of ayes. The payroll from November 7th was also approved without discussion.

The collector’s office report from the month of October was approved, the motion to accept was made by Virruso and seconded by Cava. No discussion took place, just straight to roll call for approval.

There were several ordinances approved during the meeting. One of them removes the requirement that water commissioners live and vote in the Town of Cicero. It also allows for them to receive compensation and medical insurance for serving.

Another ordinance establishes new fees for business that operate video poker and slot machines but who do not have a liquor license. New fees will be $1,500 for those that operate with a liquor license and $3,500 for those that do not.

Sewer Systems, Tornados, and Severe Weather: Risks Facing Cicero Residents

Amongst the adopted resolutions was one adopting the updated multi-jurisdictional mitigation plan for the town sent by the Fire Chief of the Cicero Fire Department who wrote, “It is our hope that the Town of Cicero can adopt these provisions as they are currently presented.”

This multi-jurisdictional plan addresses the hazards that can be county-wide risks. The Risk Assessment section in this plan addresses the hazardous risks relevant to the town which include: flooding due to the Town’s old sewer system, tornados, and severe weather such as strong wind gusts. The plan also includes strategies to prevent losses from these risks.

One proposed strategy is to educate and create public awareness, both verbally and in multiple written languages, aimed towards people experiencing homelessness in Cicero. The goal is to provide them with information about where to find shelter should there be extreme weather conditions or natural disasters. Another proposed action aims to educate residents of the importance of carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. The third action is to follow through with a plan to create green infrastructure in the town. This last action does not have an estimated cost or completion date. The estimated cost of the first two action programs are $5,000 each with an estimated completion date in 2020.

Property Tax Discussion

Daniel G. Schultz from the Department of Financial Affairs discussed the Determination of Estimate of Revenues to be raised by the annual tax levy of the town. The tax levy refers to the annual amount of money local governments request from property tax payers. 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 $37,973,000 through the new tax levy to meet expenses. This money is distributed between the general corporate fund, judgment fund, public welfare, mental health, firefighters pension fund, police pension fund, and the Cicero Public Library.

The general corporate fund pays for expenses such as: the fire and police department, rodent control, the community center, special events, public relations, animal control, and general overhead expenses.

Daniel Schultz presented a document that shows a comparison of tax levies from prior years and displays the effects of the proposed 2019 levy on a typical tax bill. According to the document, the net of the 2019 annual tax levy on a typical tax bill increased 1.17% from 2018. This increase brings the debt of the town down by 2.85%. For a Cicero property tax payer with a median value home of $139,400, their monthly tax bill will increase by $1.95, resulting in a $23.40 increase on their annual property tax bill.

The Tax Levy will be submitted for approval at the first town meeting that will take place in the month of December 2019.