Rockford Sun

Village of Rockton Budget & Finance Committee met April 5.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Chairwoman May called the regular meeting of the Budget & Finance Committee to order at 6:30 pm. Members present: Mayor Peterson, Scott Danielson, Scott Fridly, Corine Hughes and Jodi May Staff present: Tricia, Diduch, Deputy Chief Hollinger and Arianne Honkamp

Motion by Mr. Fridly, second by Mr. Danielson, to waive the reading of and approve the minutes of March 15, 2022. All ayes. Motion approved 3-0.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

SPECIAL WARRANT CONSIDERATIONS

None.

RECOMMENDATION OF PAYMENT

Bills were reviewed and recommended for approval in the amount of $175,799.65.

MAYOR PETERSON

Mayor Peterson stated that he spoke to Deputy Chief Hollinger last week in regards to fuel for the police department vehicles and stated that Deputy Chief Hollinger is currently working on budget numbers. Mayor Peterson added that Ms. Hughes is also working on projected numbers for the budget.

VILLAGE COLLECTOR, CORINE HUGHES

Ms. Hughes stated that she is $30,000 short to cover the bills and payroll, but that she should be receiving sales tax by Friday or Monday so we should be okay.

Ms. Hughes advised the Committee that the Village Clerk mailed out requests for proposal for the audit and that none were turned in by the April 5th due date. Mayor Peterson said that he can reach out to other mayors and see who they use since we didn’t get any responses.

Ms. Hughes said that she supplied the second round of information to the current auditors (Wipfli) so she is hopeful that the audit should be completed soon.

Ms. Hughes stated that she talked to Ms. Quimby about possible investments for the Village. Ms. Quimby said that CD’s are an option, but the rates are low right now. Ms. Hughes said that the Village can also look for an investment group who works with municipalities.

Ms. Hughes added that she watched a webinar in reference to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and that the Village needs to file project estimates by the end of April 2022 and then annually thereafter. Ms. Hughes advised that the Village can claim up to $10M in revenue loss. Ms. Hughes said that the Village is still restricted as to what the funds can be used for and stated that we can use the funds for downtown, but it can’t be used to redesign a Village website. Ms. May asked if Ms. Hughes could provide a list of projects to Ms. Diduch that the funds could be used for. Ms. Hughes stated that she can send a link to everyone and that we can discuss this further at the next set of meetings. Ms. May asked the Committee to review the information in the link and come back with questions at the next meeting. Ms. Hughes added that whatever funds the Village doesn’t spend or aren’t spent appropriately has to be given back.

JODI MAY, CHAIRWOMAN

None.

SCOTT FRIDLY, TRUSTEE

Mr. Fridly spoke to the Committee about using sewer funds to pay for the sewer projects instead of using the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Mr. Fridly said that this was discussed at the special Village Board meeting on March 16th and that he spoke with Ms. Hughes, Village Collector, and was advised that there is currently $400,000 in the sewer fund. Mr. Fridly added that the general fund currently owes the sewer fund $591,497. Mr. Fridly stated that the Committee needs to consider this when making a decision on the use of the ARPA funds.

SCOTT DANIELSON, TRUSTEE

None.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS ALLOWED BY LAW

None.

ADJOURN

Motion by Mr. Fridly, second by Mr. Danielson to adjourn at 7:01 pm.

https://www.rocktonvillage.com/vertical/sites/%7B5EFC50B8-A3D6-48DC-ACA0-E05F307CFA0B%7D/uploads/4-5-22__Budget__Finance_Minutes.pdf