By Kelly Costa

During Monday night’s city council meeting, the council approved Trick-or-Treat days and hours in Staunton on Oct. 30 and 31 from dusk to 9 p.m. on both nights.

The council also received a letter from the Staunton Lions Club regarding the upcoming Halloween Parade. The plan is to have the parade on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. with Monday, Oct. 31 as the rain date. The parade will begin in front of the fire department and proceed east on Main Street to Laurel Street and then south on Laurel Street to Henry Street ending at the VFW Hall. While there, parade participants will be treated to hotdogs, chips, etc.

A letter of resignation dated Sept. 14 was received from full-time police officer Ronald Boris with his last day of employment being Sept. 15. He has accepted another job that provides family insurance.

City Clerk Dennis Stiegemeier announced that he has received all of the information regarding the upcoming Consolidated Election, which will be held on April 4, 2023. Petition packets are available now and can be circulated immediately. Candidates can pick up the packets at the City Clerk’s office, and the filing dates for completed packets will be Dec. 12-19, 2022.

Also, Governor Pritzker has signed a new Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation extending the statewide declaration through Oct. 15, 2022, which means that public meetings may continue to be held remotely.

The council voted to approve payment of several invoices –

• Russell Furniture for new flooring at the police department for $5,382.25;

• Keith Marks for installing the new flooring at the police department for $7,585;

• Laughlin Electric, Inc. for lighting updates at the soccer fields for $2,737. This is a partial payout as more work will be done in the near future.

• Sandberg Phoenix for professional services rendered regarding the Teamster’s Contract negotiations and the Gensing Creek drainage project for $1,001.85. Alderman Rick Johnson voted no. The motion passed 5 to 1.

• Bruckert, Behme & Long, P.C. for professional services rendered regarding Interstate TIF discussions for $1,072.50.

• Midwest Municipal Supply for culvert materials used on Henrietta Street for $3,588.48.

The council voted to order three 2023 Dodge Charger police cars from Staunton Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram at a cost of $38,705 per car. One will be paid from the 2022 budget and the other two cars will be paid from the 2023 budget.

The interim construction loan financing proposal from Bank of Hillsboro was accepted for temporary financing of the Ginseng Creek Culvert Project at an interest rate of 3.19 percent and retention of Hart, Southworth & Witsman to provide required interim loan documentation related to bond issuance.

The city council voted to hire Robert Hermans as an alternate crossing guard/yard waste attendant.

The council voted to allow senior police dispatcher Beverly Laurent to carry over 80 hours of vacation time.

In Judiciary, the first reading was given for an ordinance approving a charity roadblock by the Lions Club to conduct their annual Candy Day drive at the intersection of Main Street and Route 4 and Main and Union streets on Oct. 22.

The council waived the first reading and approved Ordinance #2177 modifying the compensation method for the city collector. Alderman Moore voted no to waiving the first reading.

The ordinance changes the method of compensation for city collector Dennis Stiegemeier from an hourly position to a salaried position. City collector is an appointed position that includes collection, allocation and distribution of city revenue. Stiegemeier's city collector annual salary will now be $54,000. It will be prorated for the remainder of the fiscal year – until April 30, 2023.

In part, the collector’s report includes: State of Illinois - Income Tax $44,529.85; State Use Tax $17,780.4; Cannabis Use Tax $652.44; Telecommunications Tax $4,996.71; Video Gaming Tax $12,919.27; ARPA Relief Dollars – 2nd Installment $337,081.67; Rebuild Illinois Grant # 6 Installment - $56,446.72.

Those present for the meeting were Mayor Craig Neuhaus, City Clerk Dennis Stiegemeier, City Treasurer Cindy Pirok, City Attorney Phil Lading, Police Chief Jeff Doerr, aldermen Rick Johnson, Ryan Machota, John Moore, David Manning, and David Dias. Alderman Terry Tipler attended electronically. Public Works Director Mike Kuethe, and aldermen Chad Plenske, and Randy Hanks were absent. The next city council meeting will be Monday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m.