Edgar trustee questions assessments

By Kevin O’Brien

After the Edgar Village Board recently approved special assessments for about 40 homeowners who are getting new sidewalk and curbs in front of their properties, one trustee said she would like the board to consider spreading the cost of future improvements across all taxpayers in the village.

“Everybody uses the sidewalks and everybody parks by the curb,” said trustee Cathy Schueller at Monday night’s monthly board meeting.

Schueller said she made the suggestion, which came during a discussion about the village’s fee schedule for 2024-2025, based on comments she heard from a constituent.

Under the village’s ordinances, landowners must pay 80 percent of the cost for new curb and gutter and 50 percent for new sidewalk. This can create a financial burden, Schueller said, especially for those living on corner lots who have a lot of footage to pay for.

Village administrator Jennifer Lopez said the village could put the full cost of those improvements on the tax levy so all residents share the expense, but that would likely generate complaints from those who’ve had to pay the assessments in the past.

Trustee Jon Streit, who owns a corner lot, said the village should just keep the current system in place. Even though the village has made adjustments to the cost split for sidewalks, he said it’s best to remain consistent over time to avoid a backlash.

“No matter what project we do in the village, somebody’s going to complain,” he said.

Lopez noted that some municipalities special assess for all of the road work in front of someone’s home, not just sidewalk and curb. Streit said he’s heard of at least one homeowner in another community whose special assessment bill was $9,000.

The village was able to get good prices on concrete for the most recent projects, Lopez noted, helping residents save money.

“With the quantity we did, we did get good

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pricing this year,” she said.

Trustee Mike Butt said it sounds like a “great idea” to spread the cost of sidewalk and curb over the larger tax base, but he worried about the reaction from residents.

“I think it’s just too difficult to make that change,” he said.

During the same discussion about fees, Streit suggested the board raise the fees for renting village parks and ballfields by $5, just to help the village keep up with the increase cost of toilet paper and other materials used at the park facilities.

Lopez said the village raised its revenue for park rentals last year by decreasing the amount of the security deposit returned to the renter, and the board can change the rates at any time. However, she noted that the village park facilities have already been booked out for nearly every weekend this summer, so any rate increases would not apply until new rentals are registered.

Ultimately, the board voted to keep all of the village’s fees the same at this point, but Lopez said she would research what other municipalities charge for their facilities, so the issue could come back in the future.

Police department update

Staffing at the Edgar Police Department continues to be in flux.

Officer-in-charge Ramsay Plautz resigned at the end of April and officer Matthew Krembs retired but is continuing to provide advice in an unofficial volunteer capacity, Lopez said.

Lopez said officer Brad Wolff is working two days a week leading up to a surgery in June, and is training newly sworn officer Ben Smith. The plan it is to have Smith fully trained before the Edgar Fireman’s Homecoming, June 14-16, and to possibly request additional help from the sheriff’s department or Stratford for the event, she said.

The board recently interviewed four applicants for police chief but decided to repost the job opening as a full-time position with a higher salary range going up to $80,000 per year, according to Lopez.

Audit shows ‘strong position’

David Minch, a certified public accountant from Kerber Rose, presented the village’s 2023 audit, giving the village high marks for maintaining healthy cash reserves and keeping good track of its expenditures related to the federally funded project at the wastewater treatment plant.

Minch commended the village for complying with USDA’s Rural Development loan program, which is financing the upgrade of the treatment plant and sewer main replacements. A separate audit report was required to ensure compliance with federal regulations, and no issues were found, he said.

“For an entity that hasn’t had a single audit report before, this is a very good report, to not have problems related to compliance,” he said.

The village ended 2023 with over $500,000 in its unassigned fund balance, which represents 45 percent of the $1.1 million in total expenditures last year. He said this is well above the 20 to 30 percent minimum he often recommends, which indicates the village’s finances are in a “very strong position.”

Minch said the water utility did show a $20,000 loss last year, so the board may want to look at raising its rates in the future to make sure the utility is meeting its expenses.

As part of the auditor’s annual review of the village’s internal controls, Minch noted that most small municipalities like Edgar do not have multiple staff members overseeing financial transactions, so it’s important for elected officials to provide additional oversight.

“We don’t find a lot of fraud when we do our audits, but we do find a lot of simple human error, so I just encourage everybody to ask questions, and make sure you’re understanding what you’re looking at and what you’re approving,” he told the board.

Other business

n Engineer Gary Strand of Cooper Engineering said Switlick & Sons has completed its work on the north end of CTH H, and is currently installing curb and gutter and sidewalk on Birch Street. Work has also started on Thomas Hill Road and on the south side of CTH H.

n The board approved a $65,805 change order for the project on CTH H, to pay for 400 feet of water main that was relocated because it was too close to the sewer mains just south of Chesak Avenue. Pay requests from Switlick, Staab Construction and Earth, Inc. were also approved for work done on the village’s sewer infrastructure.

Fire guts Athens home

A fire destroyed a home on Munes Street in the village of Athens on Monday. Fire chief Brian Lavicka declined to provide details, saying the incident is under investigation. Sheriff Chad Billeb said the incident involved “a person threatening self-harm and armed with a firearm” at the scene of the house fire. STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER