DEERFIELD
Village mulls raises for non-union staff
Deerfield is considering a 2 percent increase to staff salaries for fiscal year 2009-10. Introduced at a board meeting this week, the raises would go into effect May 1. Last year the village approved a 3.5 percent increase for non-union employees, officials said.
Excluding police officers and most public works employees, who are part of collective bargaining agreements, the increase affects everyone from the village manager, who would make $170,000 annually, to crossing guards, who would earn $16.64 per hour. Officials say the increases are needed to remain competitive among North Shore communities.
The increases would be offset by two vacant positions — a staff engineer and the assistant village manager — which will remain open for at least part of the upcoming year, Street said.
The board is expected to vote on the salary increase April 20.
— Robert Channick
DES PLAINES
Schools backing fix to tax district
Des Plaines has won support from two school districts for its plan to restructure a troubled special taxing district, Mayor Tony Arredia and other city officials say.
In January, aldermen voted to extend the life of the taxing district by 12 years and admitted a flawed business deal would cost Des Plaines taxpayers at least $900,000. Extending the life of the district needs the support of other government agencies and the approval of the Illinois legislature.
Officials said that Township High School District 214 and Community Consolidated School District 59, both based in Arlington Heights, have agreed in principle to support the move.
The taxing district was created in 2000 and includes more than 50 acres of industrial property southwest of Mt. Prospect and Wille Roads, officials said. Des Plaines issued $16 million in bonds to buy and prepare the land, which was then sold at a deep discount to a developer.
— Mark Shuman
ELK GROVE VILLAGE
Mayor: New village building is ‘greener’
Elk Grove Village will show off a new $30 million public safety and administration facility Saturday that Mayor Craig Johnson is calling “a greener, healthier building for people to be proud of.”
An open house will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the facility, at Biesterfield Road east of Wellington Avenue. The building will feature a 30,000 square foot “living roof” filled with sedum plants that will act as insulation and absorb rain.
The building is east of the existing Village Hall.
The village administration will move by next week into second-floor offices in the new building, followed by the Health Department and Channel 6 community television offices. The Police Department should be in by May 1, Johnson said.
— Ken Manson
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GLENVIEW
Flushing of fire hydrants planned
Glenview residents may notice their tap water slightly discolored in coming weeks as the village flushes its fire hydrants.
The village is about to begin cleaning out 3,000 hydrants to remove rust and other sediments built up inside water mains over the winter. Flushing may take place during the night or on weekends, and signs will be posted in neighborhoods 48 hours ahead of time.
— Courtney Flynn
LAKE COUNTY
Stimulus funding going to housing
Lake County received $4.6 million in federal economic stimulus funds this week to buy and rehabilitate foreclosed and abandoned homes in the county’s hardest hit communities, including Waukegan, North Chicago, Zion, Mundelein and the Round Lake area, said County Board Chairman Suzi Schmidt.
Once homes are ready to go on the market, they will be offered to buyers who qualify.
The aim is to stabilize neighborhoods by halting declining home values, said Ray Willis, Illinois director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “It won’t solve all the foreclosure issues and it won’t help those [homeowners] currently in foreclosure,” he said Tuesday.
— Ralph Zahorik
HOFFMAN ESTATES
Officials seek funds for sewer projects
Hoffman Estates will apply for slightly more than $7 million in Illinois Environmental Protection Agency loans for seven sewer or water projects, and officials hope that federal economic stimulus funds to pay for a quarter of the costs.
The Village Board voted Monday to apply for the loans. If the village receives $1.77 million in federal stimulus funds, it would pay off the remaining $5.3 million over 20 years at no interest.
If Hoffman Estates does not receive stimulus funds, officials would have to choose from among the projects, said Village Manager James Norris.
Among the projects are building a new sewer line that would allow several lift stations to be abandoned, painting a water tank and installing emergency backup generators at six village wells.
— Ken Manson
PALATINE
Council OKs moving motorcycle dealer
The Village Council has approved revised plans for the proposed relocation of City Limits Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership.
Plans call for the dealership to move from its current home at 2200 N. Rand Rd., into a new two-story, 50,000 square-foot showroom at 2015 N. Rand Rd.
The changes approved by council members at a meeting Monday included a prominent glass entrance to the building.
“What we really did was redesign the skin here,” said owner Ozzie Giglio. “We think this look is more architecturally appealing and brings more zazz to the corner we are dealing with.”
— Jeff Borgardt