MINUTES
Moraine Township Board of Trustees
Thursday, June 12, 2008 5:00 PM
Moraine Township Office
MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
June 12, 2008
The meeting was called to order at 5:02 PM by Supervisor Barnes and upon roll call the following members were present: Trustees Bryna Gamson, Margoth Moreno, and Jeff Zaluda. Also Present: Assessor Peter Koukos, Chief Deputy Assessor Trish Lenzini and Clerk Ellen Gussin. Trustee Cynthia Plouché was absent.
Approval of Minutes
The Regular Meeting Minutes of May 29, 2008 stand approved as written.
Approval of Bills
Trustee Moreno moved, seconded by Trustee Zaluda, approval of the bills. Upon roll call, motion carried.
Public Comment -- None
Township Salaries
Assessor Koukos passed out a Survey on Salaries of Township Officials for use by the Board as a support document for his proposal to increase the Assessor’s salary to $80,000 for the coming term of office, which for the Assessor begins January 2010 (vs. the remainder of the elected Township officials’ terms which begin May 2009). He pointed out that the equalized assessed valuations of homes in Moraine Township are higher than in other Townships and that 20% of the appeals in the entire County are filed in Moraine Township thus significantly increasing the workload. (A copy of the Survey is attached to these minutes.[not available online; see the Clerk.]) Supervisor Barnes asked for input but stated that she would like to defer a vote to a meeting when Trustee Plouché will be present—the July 24 meeting at 7:30 PM. Trustee Zaluda stated that he thought the request was fair, and there was also discussion about the Supervisor’s salary which ranks 15 out of 18.
Assessor’s Report – None beyond the above salary discussion
Supervisor’s Report
The Township will participate in the 4th of July parade in Highland Park with the Township Van and banner. Employees are encouraged to participate.
Supervisor Barnes has conferred with the City of Highland Park concerning those people who reside within the City borders but not the Township borders that fall through the cracks for transportation services. The City has agreed to put the issue up for discussion at the next budget planning session.
Efforts to find a space for the Community Family Center continue with no resolution yet in place; a meeting of the government bodies (City, Township, School Districts) took place recently and future efforts may focus on the day care centers as the priority.
Committee Reports
Newsletter will be mailed shortly—now at the printer--and has had 300 new addresses added to the distribution.
Food Pantry shelves are stocked
County-wide Transportation – The Lake County Board recently addressed how to use the new Collar County Transportation Empowerment Funds. The anticipated new sales tax funds will be used mostly for road improvements but also to provide a Dept. of Transportation/DOT staff position of Project Manager for Paratransit. The LC-DOT staff person is to work with the LCCTSC to achieve eventual coordinated countywide paratransit service for seniors and persons with disabilities or medical needs.
Old Business
Latino Advisory Committee – Discussion of the draft prepared by Supervisor Barnes and distributed to the Board at the last meeting brought forth various comments. Trustee Moreno reminded the Board that CHISPA (Comunidad Hispana In Search of Positive Action) exists and is trying to address similar needs to those outlined in Supervisor Barnes’ draft and that therefore this might be duplicating efforts. Trustee Zaluda expressed his opinion that this committee would be beneficial as a way to respond to the significant needs that have been identified among the Latino community, and suggested that we include CHISPA organizers at a meeting. Trustee Gamson suggested revision of the specific language of the draft calling for “voting” members, liaisons from particular groups, and that the Ex-officio authority figures not be included, at least to begin with. Consensus of the Board was to continue the discussion at the July 10 meeting.
New Business -- None
Adjournment
With no further business to conduct, Trustee Gamson moved, seconded by Trustee Moreno, the meeting be adjourned at 6:10 PM. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
_______________________
Ellen S. Gussin
Moraine Township Clerk
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