City of Rochelle Council Chambers
420 N 6th Street, Rochelle, IL 61068
I. CALL TO ORDER:
• Pledge to the Flag
• Prayer
II. ROLL CALL:
III. PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, ETC:
IV. REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS:
• Mayor
- Appointment of Roy Jones to the Airport Advisory Board as a Voting Member for a term to expire July 1, 2016
- Appointment of John "Skip" Kenny to the Airport Advisory Board as a Member at Large for a term to expire July 1, 2018
• Council Members
• Hub Theater
V. PUBLIC COMMENTARY:
VI. BUSINESS ITEMS:
1) CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS BY OMNIBUS VOTE with Recommendations:
a) Approve Minutes of City Council Meeting – November 23, 2015
b) Approve Bills – pdf 111315-111915 (101 KB) , pdf 112015-112615 (76 KB) , pdf 112715-120315 (95 KB)
c) Approve Payroll – pdf 110915-112215 (52 KB)
d) pdf Approve City of Rochelle Meeting Dates for 2016 (23 KB)
e) pdf Approve City of Rochelle Legal Holidays for 2016 (23 KB)
f) Accept and Place on File Minutes of TIF Public Hearing – pdf November 19, 2015 (108 KB)
g) Approve Use of Rochelle Municipal Airport for Rochelle Area Chamber of Commerce Summer Country Jam Concert – pdf August 13, 2016 (94 KB)
h) Authorize St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival – pdf March 12, 2016 (64 KB)
i) Approve Closure of City Street for the Lucky Hub Dash – pdf March 12, 2016 (69 KB)
2) Ordinance Adopting 2015 Tax Levy
3) Ordinance Abating the Taxes Levied for 2015 - Taxable General Obligation Bonds
4) Lee Ogle Enterprise Zone Intergovernmental Agreement
5) ISC Operations Agreement – Control Room Services RMU Electric
VII. DISCUSSION ITEMS:
1) City of Rochelle Strategic Plan
VIII. EXECUTIVE SESSION
IX. ADJOURNMENT
Agenda Item #2 Ordinance Adopting 2015 Tax Levy
References:
pdf Memo from Finance Manager Chris Cardott (87 KB)
pdf Real Estate Tax Rate Extension (16 KB)
pdf Ordinance Levying Taxes for the City of Rochelle (50 KB)
Recommended Action:
Consider an Ordinance Levying Taxes for the City of Rochelle
History and Fact:
The State of Illinois requires the City annually to adopt and file a Property Tax Levy Ordinance on or before the last Tuesday in December. Last year the City’s Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) was $211,439,971 and its property tax rate was $1.053650 per $100 of EAV, which allowed the City to collect $2,168,253.47 in property taxes. For the upcoming year, Ogle County has estimated the City’s EAV at $237,869,359.
Discussion:
Finance Manager Chris Frye led a discussion on the 2015 Tax Levy at the November 23rd City Council meeting. The Fire and Police Pension Boards have requested that council fully fund their recommendations based on actuarial studies. The Fire Pension Board is seeking a contribution from property taxes of $284,203. The Police Pension Board is seeking a contribution of $319,397.
The proposed levy calculations would result in the City collecting $2,276, 386 in property taxes, an increase of 4.99% over 2014. Based on the estimated EAV, the tax rate would decrease by .070004 per $100 EAV, compared to 2014, to a rate of 0.983646. The proposed 2015 levy includes funding the Police and Fire Pension Funds as recommended by the boards.
Recommendation:
Approve an Ordinance Levying Property Taxes for the City of Rochelle for the Fiscal Year May 1, 2015 through April 30, 2016
Agenda Item #3 Ordinance Abating the Taxes Levied for 2015 – Taxable General Obligation Bonds
References:
pdf Ordinance Abating the Taxes Levied for 2015 – Taxable General Obligation Bonds (143 KB)
Recommended Action:
Consider an Ordinance Abating the Taxes Levied for 2015 to Pay Debt Service on Taxable General Obligation Bonds
History and Fact:
In 2010 the Mayor and Council approved an ordinance providing for the issuance of bonds to finance offsite improvements related to the Lighthouse Pointe Subdivision and Route 38 corridor. The City subsequently issued Taxable General Obligation Bonds, Series 2010 (Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds) in the amount of $2,940,000. In April of 2013, due to federal budget cuts which affected the subsidy available through the Recovery Zone Bond program, the council approved the issuance of General Obligation Refunding Bonds in an amount not to exceed $3,125,000, which included interest and bond issuance costs.
Discussion:
The annual debt service related to these bonds will be paid through TIF revenues, instead of property taxes, when sufficient funds are available. In order to abate the property taxes, the proposed ordinance must be approved annually and forwarded to Lee and Ogle County.
Recommendation:
Approve an Ordinance Abating the Taxes Levied for 2015 to Pay Debt Service on Taxable General Obligation Bonds
Agenda Item #4 Lee Ogle Enterprise Zone Intergovernmental Agreement
References:
pdf Memo from Economic Development Director Jason Anderson (30 KB)
pdf Ordinance Establishing Lee Ogle Enterprise Zone (370 KB)
Recommended Action:
Consider the Lee Ogle Enterprise Zone Agreement
History and Fact:
New legislation in the State of Illinois has opened the door for Ogle County and the City of Rochelle to have a designated Enterprise Zone. The new zone would encompass the Cities of Dixon and Rochelle and include Commercial, Retail and Industrial zoned properties within the Cities as well as in unincorporated properties in the counties.
Discussion:
Under the new legislation 4 units of government can join together to form a new zone which, has been named the Lee - Ogle Enterprise Zone and will include 9,600 acres evenly divided between the two counties and both cities. Of the 9,600 acres, 1000 acres will be "undesignated" which will allow for other communities to adopt the Enterprise Zone at a later date if an economic development opportunity should become available in other communities.
The Lee Ogle Intergovernmental Agreement includes a tax abatement incentive which will apply to approved projects within the zone. The tax abatement is the same as the current tax abatement in the existing Enterprise Zone. Taxes on incremental increase of EAV would be at 50% for six years. Each of the 42 taxing districts within the proposed zone are being asked to approve the tax abatement under the Enterprise Zone application.
Applications for the new Enterprise Zone are due by Dec 31, 2015 with an expected announcement of Enterprise Zone awards expected in September of 2016. Staff recommends that the City Council pass the ordinance establishing the Lee Ogle County Enterprise Zone.
Recommendation:
Authorize an Ordinance Establishing Lee Ogle Enterprise Zone City of Rochelle-Enterprise Zone Designation – Property Tax Abatement
Agenda Item #5 ISC Operations Agreement – Control Room Services RMU Electric
References:
pdf Memo from Director Utilities Business Management and Energy Production Dan Westin (84 KB)
pdf Operating Services Agreement (183 KB)
Recommended Action:
Consider an Operations Agreement with ISC
History and Fact:
The City of Rochelle entered into an Operating Services Agreement with the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) on January 1, 2006 for a term of ten years. As a result ISC, the service arm of IMPA, has acted on RMU’s behalf in making energy purchases on a daily basis during that time period.
Discussion:
IMPA recently reviewed its business model and has decided to discontinue this service to entities outside of Indiana. As a result, RMU staff recommend going through an RFQ process to select a new service provider. During this transition, Director of Utilities Business Management and Energy Production Dan Westin recommends that the City enter into the proposed agreement with ISC for the next four months for a flat fee of $20,900 per month.
Recommendation:
Authorize the City Manager to sign an Operating Services Agreement with ISC for control room services for RMU Electric
Discussion Item #1 City of Rochelle Strategic Plan
Earlier this year the City hired Dr. Alicia Schatteman to assist with the development of a Strategic Plan for the City of Rochelle. After the initial data collection, Dr. Schatteman met with the City Council and Senior Staff on October 5th to go over the planning process and do a SWOT analysis. She subsequently prepared a draft of strategic issues and met with Council and Senior Staff again on November 2nd to discuss her report and build consensus on the strategic issues and goals. As a result, Dr. Schatteman has delivered the draft City of Rochelle Strategic Plan for 2016-18 for council review and adoption when appropriate.
References:
pdf City of Rochelle Strategic Plan 2016-2018 (Draft) (718 KB)
