Less than a week after announcing layoffs that will hit 10% of the city’s workforce, the Harvey City Council faced a packed room at Monday night’s meeting.
The council approved a $900,000 settlement in a lawsuit deriving from a fatal police car chase as well as harsher penalties for those in violation of the city’s noise control ordinance.
But debate centered on the city’s financial concerns, including a high debt load and millions of dollars in unpaid property taxes that Mayor Christopher Clark blamed for the staffing cuts.
Political tensions between Clark and 2nd Ward Ald. Colby Chapman were also visible, as a felony charge of aggravated battery to a police officer against her was dismissed earlier this month.
Chapman opposed bill payments she said were excessive and the noise control change for placing too heavy a financial burden on residents. The measures ultimately passed.
“At some point, you had to know 10% of our staff would be laid off,” Chapman said during debate over bill payments for recent months.
She said knowing there would be layoffs, the city shouldn’t be funding a $19,000 gospel concert that was on the July bill list.
“I think it’s great — we need all of God’s gospel here in the city of Harvey. However, we have to figure out the best way or practice for measurable spending,” Chapman said.
Chapman also bemoaned a nearly $25,000 payment to Chicago Moonwalks, a bouncy house rental service, for the city’s Fourth of July celebration.
Clark defended the spending, saying residents deserve to reap some of the benefits provided in neighboring communities and events attract the attention of those who can donate to help the city. He also said the city’s funding of certain events, such as the planned gospel concert, is supported by previous donations that must be used for specific purposes.
“When we first started doing the Fourth of July celebration, I didn’t want to spend any money on it for the simple fact that we didn’t have any,” Clark said.
The mayor said others convinced him such events would help the city raise money.
Noise control
The city could also raise extra funds through increasing fines for noise control violations, which the council approved on a 4-2 vote Monday.
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Minimum fines will increase from $50 to $125, with the maximum fine remaining at $750. Violations of the noise ordinance in a commercially zoned area warrant a higher fine as well, increasing from $300 per occurrence to $500 per occurrence, city documents show.
Chapman and 4th Ward Ald. Tracy Key, who voted against the ordinance change, said a $500 fine is too high for Harvey residents, many of whom are already struggling financially.
“My belief is that this needs some further review,” Chapman said.
Aldermen who voted in favor of the change, including the 5th Ward Ald. Dominique Randle-El, said stricter noise control penalties are needed to discourage bad actors from causing trouble in the struggling city.
“This is really a common sense ordinance,” Randle-El said. “People come into the city of Harvey and think they can do whatever they want … If you are not financially able, then the one thing you should do is obey the law.”
The city also removed a provision that adjusted the fine based on number of violations and expanded the time periods where certain types of noises are prohibited.
“Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing” in a residential district is now banned from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., rather than from midnight to 6 a.m. as set previously, according to the ordinance. Using any noise-creating blower or power fan or any internal combustion engine without a muffler is also prohibited from 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., rather than 10 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.
The ordinance also calls for discplinary action against any city employee who fails to enforce any provision of the ordinance without discretion.
Settling disputes
The City Council voted unanimously to approve a settlement in a lawsuit brought after two 19-year-olds were killed in a high-speed police chase in 2022.
Hazel Crest police said the vehicle was traveling south on Dixie Highway from 159th Street at a high rate of speed, veered to avoid hitting another vehicle as it was crossing the intersection, and hit a sign outside a business on the east side of Dixie Highway.
A Harvey officer followed the vehicle the three people were in, which traveled at a high speed down Dixie, police said. The vehicle’s three occupants had initially been involved in a disturbance in Harvey, police said.
Elexis Dampier, of Hazel Crest, and Justin Alston, of Markham, were killed in the crash.
Shellrece Mcintyre, administrator of the Dampier’s estate, will receive $900,000 on a payment plan ending in 2033, according to the settlement. In exchange, Harvey is released from any claims of responsibility for Dampier’s death.
The city was awarded $25,000 in another lawsuit brought against Chicago Title and Trust Company for violating city code in constructing a concrete pad without a permit and erecting a fence without a permit at 43 West 159th St.
The $25,000 represents a portion of the city’s attorneys fees and will be paid in $500 per month installments, according to the judgment in the lawsuit.