MINUTES
Moraine Township Board of Trustees
Thursday, February 8, 2007 5:00 PM
Township Office
MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
February 8, 2007
The meeting was called to order at 5:14 PM, and upon roll call the following members were present: Supervisor Mari Barnes; Trustees Margoth Moreno, Cynthia Plouché and Jeff Zaluda. Trustee Bryna Gamson arrived shortly after the meeting was convened. Also Present: Assessor Peter Koukos, Chief Deputy Assessor Trish Lenzini, Clerk Ellen Gussin, Director General Assistance Tracy Coleman, and community member Janet Freed.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 25, 2007 stand approved as written.
Approval of Bills
Trustee Zaluda moved, seconded by Trustee Moreno, approval of the bills through January 31, 2007. Upon roll call, motion carried.
Public Comment
None
Budget Discussion/Hearing
Assessor Koukos reviewed the Assessor’s portion of the Budget, noting that with a new employee hire and salary increases for existing staff the salaries are now in parity with those of other township assessor’s offices. Also, there is a substantial increase in the budget for equipment; space reallocation will be a primary goal to make the office more efficient. He expects to close the books this year on August 27, 2007 to enable better servicing of appeals.
Supervisor Barnes presented the Supervisor’s portion of the Budget, noting that line item 4402 should be removed and that more emergency assistance has been given this year than general assistance. The Board is encouraged to take the budgets home to look over in greater detail. The Budget will be adopted at the February 22 meeting following the final public hearing on the Budget. Discussion pursued about how we value and account for in-kind contributions, by both the Board and outside community; Supervisor Barnes will discuss with the auditor and report back to the Board. Consensus reached that valuation and accounting of in-kind contributions are important to report back to the community in a variety of ways including the Township newsletter and at the Annual Town Meeting in April.
Assessor’s Report
Assessor Koukos announced that Mark McCraren has been hired as a new, full-time employee. He also reported the Board of Review hearings went well; there were significantly fewer appeals this year. Chief Deputy Assessor Lenzini voiced her lingering frustration with the Board of Review for allowing some hearings to go way beyond the 15-minute time allottment.
Supervisor’s Report
A recent meeting with the participants in the Phyllis Santullano group resulted in a productive discussion concerning how best to reduce duplication of effort. Catholic Charities and the social worker from District 112 attended; the Township will be providing the leadership and coordination of the needs and activities. Supervisor Barnes continues to try to encourage as much involvement and contributory effort as possible to place the emphasis on social action as opposed to just monetary donations.
Committee Reports
Food Pantry and Clothing Closet are well stocked.
Transportation – Grant from the Healthcare Foundation of Highland Park for $60,000 in support of the Township's Affordable Medical Care Transportation Program (part of Moraine Door-to-Door paratransit van service) has been awarded and officially accepted by the Township.
Grant Program – Some grants were received late due to the date change, but the committee is working diligently to include these.
Human Relations Commission – The first meeting of the calendar year is this evening and will be focusing on Celebrating Diversity 2007, a collaborative event being planned for April 2007 by the City of Highland Park, The Art Center, Library, Highland Park High School, District 112, and East of Central.
Old Business
Trustee Moreno suggested the need to increase communication with senior citizens living in Highwood to insure their awareness of and access to Township services.
New Business
Trustee Moreno reported on her attendance, as a private citizen, at the Highwood City Council meeting last Tuesday, where she voiced her concern over the new Ordinance and the need for greater cooperation with the Latino community and that Mayor Donofrio agreed to address the issue.
Adjournment
With no further business to conduct, Trustee Moreno moved, seconded by Trustee Plouché, the meeting be adjourned at 6:32 PM. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
_______________________
Ellen S. Gussin, Moraine Township Clerk
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