Ann Chandler gets sworn onto Library Board.
The Taylorville City Council met in their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday Night at the Taylorville Municipal Building. The meeting started off with the Mayoral Appointment of Ann Chandler to the Library Board, which the council approved unanimously. The Council also voted to accept the resignation of former Police Chief Dave Herpstreith, which also passed unanimously, with comments coming from the council commending the job that Herpstreith has done.
The major item of the night revolved around the pay of several elected officials. There were motions to direct City Attorney Rocci Romano to prepare ordinances to provide an annual salary of $58,000 for the Mayor during the four-year term of office that begins in May of 2017, as well as for ordinances regarding pay for the city Alderman, as well as City Clerk and Treasurer. Alderman Shawn Burtle commented on the matter stating how he believes that a raise in the Mayor’s pay doesn’t always equate to a raise in performance from the office, bringing up examples of how the city had paid past mayors substantially more, and how current Mayor Greg Brotherton was currently doing a good job at a lower rate of pay without having a secretary.
Another issue that was brought up by Alderman Ernie Dorchinecz was the fact that two Alderman, Bruce Jones and Rob Heberling, were both absent from the meeting. He felt it was only fair that the motions regarding official salaries were tabled until they could be voted on by the full council. The motion to table for the raise for the Mayor’s Salary was passed 4-3, with the motion to table for all other matters failing, and those motions all passing with only one no vote for each.
One item on the agenda that had received some interest in the community was an ordinance to eliminate the residency requirement for the City Librarian. Alderman Larry Budd read an e-mail he had received from a concerned citizen that stated how her grand kids attended schools in Taylorville, however lived in another city. The e-mail detailed how her kids could not utilize the Taylorville library, due to not technically being residents of the city. She asked that should the council eliminate the residency requirement for the City Librarian position, they consider allowing non-residence of the city to utilize the library, should they work or attend school in the city. Alderman Budd shared that he had explained to the citizen that the reason the city was eliminating the residency requirement for the Librarian position, was due to a lack of qualified candidates within city limits who were interested in the position. Ultimately the motion to eliminate the residency requirement for the City Librarian position passed unanimously.
Another topic of discussion at Monday Nights Taylorville City Council meeting revolved around the security at Lake Taylorville. The Lake and Airport Committee held a meeting prior to the city council meeting, where they voted on a motion to install a new security system at the Lake Area, which includes the replacement of cameras with new, high definition security cameras in many different locations around the lake and marina. The motion passed unanimously in the committee, as well as during the council meeting. Alderman Martin Vota wanted to let the public know that the issue of security at Lake Taylorville has been addressed.
After approving the payment of bills, the Taylorville City Council meeting adjourned at 7:52pm.
