Forsyth Fast Facts

Items of interest from the Jan. 4 Board meeting

BOARD DECISIONS

• Trustee Bob Rasho cast the sole “no” vote as other trustees voted in favor of accepting trustee Eric Morr’s suggestion to have Village Attorney Darrell Woolums craft a letter to homeowners affected by sanitary sewer backups in September 2008. Morr said the letter should reflect the Village’s position that, unless staff finds a “smoking gun,” the Village no longer will pursue restitution payments from its insurance company. The company has declined to pay claims; twice in writing and once verbally. Village Attorney Darrell Woolums advised that the Village would only be liable for the situation if it was determined to have been negligent, but that “approximate causation” for the back ups has not been determined. Rasho asked that a file be compiled with documentation to identify the issues and problems attributed to the sanitary sewer backups.
• Consultant Dave Anderson facilitated a Board discussion during which trustees approved revised documents pertaining to the search for a new Village administrator. Unanimous approval was given for a job advertisement, job description, employment agreement and timeline for the administrative search. Applications close Feb. 12 with trustees scheduled to meet Feb. 23 in closed session to rank the applicants. Candidate interviews are scheduled for March 13. Trustees also reviewed and approved job descriptions for the Village clerk and Village treasurer positions.

OTHER NEWS

• Village Attorney Darrell Woolums reported that the Village is ready to file a complaint based on the taxation issue involving Warrensburg’s Barclay Public Library. Trustee Eric Morr volunteered to seek two residents willing to participate in the litigation. The residents must live north or south of Weaver Road and west of Oakland Avenue. 
• A high number of accidents at the corner of Barnett Avenue and Rt. 51 prompted Mayor Hap Gilbert to ask the Macon County Sheriff’s Office for a copy of the statistics for review by trustees.
• Another manhole in need of repair was found in the Nora’s Way subdivision following completion of repairs at a nearby location. It was determined that repairs can be delayed until spring since a significant amount of infiltration is lacking, according to a report from Village Engineer Chuck Hunsinger.
• Trustee Bob Rasho acknowledged Village Attorney Darrell Woolums’ “consistency and professionalism” regarding his legal advice on the recently approved enabling ordinance No. 784 for the Village administrator. Rasho asked that the Board minutes include an unedited copy of Woolums’ letter on this topic.
• A discussion of employee pay increases drew mixed opinions among trustees. The last employee pay raise was May 1, 2008. (See details next issue.)
• Trustee Bob Rasho referred to the December issue of Illinois Municipal Review magazine and specifically the idea of the mayor providing a report on the state of the Village. He commented he had never seen one. He further requested an overview of the production process for Village Vision newsletter be discussed at the Jan. 19 Board meeting. In addition, Trustee Jeff Allsup joined Rasho in asking for implementation of the plan to develop the Village’s strategic plan as a parallel project to the administrative search.