Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1993A CITY -SCHOOL LIAISON COMMITTEE Minutes August 19, 1993 7:30 P.M. at ETHS Jane Colleton, District 202 Board of Education, Chairperson Attendance: City — Eric Anderson, Art Newman, Jay Terry; District 65 — Ann deBrauw, Sandra Hill, Mary Metcalf, Joe Pollack, Emanuel Pollack; District 202 -- Allan Alson, Jane Colleton, Jason Edgecombe, Fay Godman, and Gerald Leibforth. in addition, Carol Johnson, District 202, Support Start Union President; and Janet Webb, District 202 Teachers' Council President. Discussion: Schgnl-Based Hcalh Clinics — 202 Dr. Alson distributed a letter — enclosed — that expresses our community's interest in ETHS being one of two possible Illinois schools to participate in the school -based health services initiative. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is considering funding one-year planning grants to be followed by four-year implementation grants. If we are a recipient, planning would start January 1, 1994. The dollar amount is unknown. The concept is that schools would become entry points for families through their children for health services and health education. Evanston and St. Francis Hospitals, our city health department plus youth -serving agencies, e.g. Family Focus and YOU have indicated support for this possible venture and have written letters to substantiate the ETHS request. Dr. Pollack mentioned that there are a variety of models throughout the country; some school -based health clinics, for example, are run by the city. Mr. Terry reported that an Evanston Health Department nurse comes to ETHS once each week to work with teen parents. All recognized that the public perception of school -based health clinics is frequently centered upon condom distribution, and that PR would need to focus upon broadening the perception to include a whole range of services and education. Dr. Alson pointed out that during a recent MA -sponsored meeting concerning the school's responsibility for AIDS education, most parents favored education, but the group split when condom availability at school was mentioned. Two high school union leaders present raised concern over the City -School Liaison Committee conducting such a discussion without invitation to potentially affected groups to attend. All recognized not only the severity of taxpayer concern as well as high expectations for service from both city and schools, but also the need to cooperate in whatever ways possible to contain costs and identify additional sources of revenue. In that spirit, the City -School Liaison Committee decided to recommend to its respective bodies that a public meeting be planned this fall to focus upon city and school district budgets and to seek solutions for ever-growing concern over taxes. The meeting should be well publicized and well organized to avoid a gripe session. The focus should be broader than labor negotiations, and participants should represent the business community, school and neighborhood groups as well as government officials. District 65 representatives elaborated upon the difficulties in agreeing upon cost - containment measures amidst rising enrollment and the prevailing and historic attitude toward change - that it's okay to make cuts and/or changes, as long as "my child, my program, my school" is not affocted. Superintendent Alson requested that Districts 65, 202 and the City of Evanston combine in a strong statement on gun control — against the manufacture, sale and possession of hand guns (except for police, etc.) Distribution of such a statement is unclear as yet. Dr. Pollack and Dr. Alson will draft the statement to be presented at the next City/School Liaison meeting. Several members of the committee spoke about the need to meet regularly, write and distribute minutes, accomplish more, and commit to a non -defensive stance. The next meeting is to be Thursday, October 7, 7:30 P.M. at District 65 and every two months thereafter. Respectfully submitted, Fay Godman 3 Currently the ETHS Health Service does all of the traditional things, but the nurse is increasingly needed as a counselor and referral service for sex -related matters. There is a several week waiting period at our hospitals for appointments for pre -natal services for pregnant teenagers. Both superintendents will address that issue with hospital administrators soon. Communication lines are already open. District officials shared a written city communication regarding arrangements for handicapped parking at schools without parking lots - Lincoln, Willard, Nichols, Orrington and Dewey. Parking for school stall' at those schools is a bigger issue and compounded in some instances by Resident Only parking so designated by city ordinances. Mr. Anderson and Mr. Newman both concurred that school employee parking should be an agenda item for the city Parking Committee and promised to get the appropriate ward alderman to the committee meetings after communicating with them District 65 needs. Mr. Newman elaborated on the taxpayer concern that often surfaces at city council meetings and informally throughout the city. He also told us that Mayor Morton has suggested that the City -School Liaison Commnittee be a vehicle for discussing property tax concerns and possible solutions. As an example of a problem that our high tax rate poses, Mr. Newman cited difficulty in getting Research Park tenants because of high rent requirements. How can we cooperate to cut costs and hold -the -line, or decrease the taxpayer burden? Mr. Newman used the city negotiations with the Police Department for a one year zero percent increase as an example. He called for discussion of an overall budget policy agreement and/or labor negotiations agreement between city and two school districts. The major purpose of such agreements would be to limit property taxes. This request raised several concerns which ranged from questioning the legality of such agreements since we are three separately elected bodies, to questioning fairness of a joint policy given the city's multiple revenue sources compared to the schools reliance on property tax revenue. 2 CITY -SCHOOL LIAISON COMIVITTI'F,i? October 7, 1993 Meeting Minutes 7:30 p.m. Joseph E. Hill Administration Center - Board Room Attendance: City -Mayor Morton, Eric Anderson, Julie Guthrie, Arr Newman; District 65-Arm deBrauw, Chairperson, Mary Metcalf Emanuel Pollack, Joseph Palladq District 202-ARM Alson, Jane Colleton, Jason Edgecombe, Carol Mullins. Also Present: Ellen Newcomer, Ann Stein. Joint Insurance Dr. Alson pmpased the exploration of a joint effort to assess the feasibility of a pooled or self-insurance cooperative for the delivery of medical benefits to the employees of both school districts and the city. Curr+ nfly the city offers two HMO's and the separate police union coverage to approximately 716 employees. District 202 offers Blue Cross/Blue Shield and three HMO's to approximately 500 employers. District 65 offers to approximately 850 employees an HMO and a PPO from HumaruL Each constituency will be negotiating with employee groups beginning in 1994. Because time is of the essence, Mr. Anderson volunteered the City's consultant, Judy Witt, to coordinate an investigation of the possibilities open to the group to develop a combined, cost-effective medical insurance pool for the respective employee groups. 2. Gui Control Dr. Alson distributed a proposed Gun Control resolution for discussion (attached). He presented the philosophy behind the five individual statements comprising the resolution. He then asked for discussion and the possibility of presenting this resolution to the respective Boards. Much discussion followed from attendees representing the membership. Participants voiced concern about the extreme position expressed in the five points of the resolution. Although it expresses a worthy goal, is it a statement that echieves a "band wagon" effect, which a majority can buy into. A suggestion was made to propose a tax on the sale of guns and ammunition as well as to urge the immediate passage of the Brady Bill. Concern was addressed regarding a proposed resclution which will support the current Evanston law. It was recommended that a meeting be arranged with Sidney Yates to present our views and position and to develop a resolution that everyone could agree was "reasonable." It was finther recommended that a preamble be written to the resolution which states that there should be no handguns allowed (with the exception of law enforcement), rearrange specific points from most immediate to more restrictive and urge the passage of the Brady Bill. It was further agreed that the Resolution should be presented to all three units' Boards for a vote. 3. Budget Building Process Dr. Pollack opened the discussion stating that a better understanding of both schools' and the city s budget process is important to understanding the current financial issues. He asked Mrs. .� ..Metcalfo.}1}riefly r�eview.the dal budget building Process and development cf the annual lcvy�, . F b 'Mr."N stated that the citizenry are expecting the City -School liaison Committee to 4yy, , t ; address ti a -issue of the t,r.,k,;,.# j tax level and the possible developmerd of tauwal brtdge�t- 8Dai&_ . It was reiterated that the schools are limited to where their revenues come from in relation to the City who has more flembility but there are areas for us to collaborate, such as insurance. The need for greater support from the State is evident. Although the need to do something substantive to reduce expenditures was discussed; the overriding expectation was to encourage collaboration with business, city and school leaders to jointly solve the problem of local property tax burden. It was announced that the Joint 65-202 Task Force Comnrittee is planning a beast meeting for members of Inventure, the Council and our legislators in the near future. It was also urged that a push would be put on the State legislators to support schools through an increase in the State Income Tux. This issue will be placed on the Decembrr agenda for fiuther discussion. 4. Other Mr. Newman announced that the City Council will vote this month on the Home Depot project, which is different than customary TIFs. With this project, Home Depot will finance the cost to develop the site and solve the soil problems with a contribution of $2,000,000 from the City which Home Depot w H repay to the City out of sales tax. Upon completion of the development it is estimated that it will generate $8,000,000 in real estate taxes and $8,000,000 in sales tax over a ten-year period. The projected opening is 1995. This project, he believes, demonstrates a sensitivity to the concerns of the school districts in regard to TIF financing. Mr. Newman asked that this committee brainstorm ideas for activities for young people in the area of Custer/Callan, as there is a lack of neighborhood facilities. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 30, 1993, at 7:30 p.m. in the Civic Center. Respectfully submitted, Mary Metcalf _ X M 1 H 1 of .Id �i II W W��LYi The budget is a plan of operations for the fiscal year beginning July 1 through June 30th of each year with proposed program activities and estimates of 'both program costs and revenues. It is both a management plan and a financial plan. Adoption of Annual Budagt Within or before the first quarter of each fiscal year the Board of Education must adopt an annual budget which at a minimum must contain: -- statement of cash on hand at beginning of the fiscal year - estimate of cash expected to be received during the fiscal year from all sources - estimate of the expenditures contemplated for the fiscal year - statement of the estimated cash expected to be on hand at the end of the fiscal year Budeetarv_Frocess The Iliinois'School Code Chapter 17-1 specifies the budgetary process: -- the budget is prepared in tentative form by a person designated by the Board of Education - the tentative budget must be made available for public inspection for at least thirty days prior to final adoption - a public hearing of the tentative budget must be held prior to final adoption notice of availability for public inspection and of the public hearing shall be made in a newspaper published in the District at least thirty days prior to the time of the hear- ing the budget must be adopted by the Board of Education no later then _the end of .the .first quarter of the fiscal .year. �cA copy =-3 of the Illinois�State Board of Education LEA (Local Education Agency) budget _form must be filed with the .county .clerk with- =K; . ,sin thirty ;days, of the adoption of the .budget .or actober l5 �_=mot'.• 1. r s Amendment to the 8udoet The Board of Education may amend the budget by the same proce- dure provided for the budget's adoption. Thus, the Board may take care of unbudgeted items that may arise after the budget has teen adopted. Transfers between various items within a fund not exceeding ten percent may be made. Budget Calendar At the beginning of each calendar year, the Board of Education adopts a Budget Preparation Calendar which outlines the timelines for -the development of the tentative budget. - January/February: Preparation of program costs and revenues; enrollment projections; personnel projections; preparation of supply requisition bids - March/April: Staffing recommendations for next school year presented to Board of Education - May: Recommendation to the Board of Education on supply purchases for next school year - May/June: Presentation of First Draft of Tentative Budget to finance committee, Board of Education - July/August: Presentation to Board of Education of Tentative Budget - September: Public Hearing and Adoption of Tentative Budget Lew Procedure After adoption of the budget, the amount of revenue to be raised from the local property tax for the succeeding budget year will be decided. The amount ascertained is stated in the Certificate of Levy and adopted by the Board of Education and certified annually to the County Clerk on or befora the last Tuesday in December. The oroperty tax cycle is such th6t taxes levied in the current year are not received by the School District until the suc- ceeding year. The 1993 levy will be collected and distributed _n the 1994-95 budget year. Whereas, gun violence is a public health issue due to the growing epidemic of violence involving guns in our community, state and country, Hereby Be it Resolved: That the City Government, and Evanston/Skokie School Boards of Districts 65 and 202 urge the federal govern- ment to take swift and immediate action to: 1. Ban the manufacture, sale and possession of assault weapons at the Federal, State and local levels 2. Ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns at the Federal, State and Local levels 3. Eliminate mail order of guns and ammunition 4. Define guns and ammunition as hazardous prod- ucts to be regulated appropriately by the National Product Safety Council 5. Enact a Child Accident Protection Act making parents responsible for putting guns in a safe, locked area where children cannot gain access 0J r Y JI II i I4i uui l% DRAFT - NOT APPROVED MINUTES CITY -SCHOOL LIAISON COMMITTEE November 30, 1993 7:30 P.M. zvanhton Civic Center - Room 2403 Members Present: Aldermen Arthur B. Newman and Emily Guthrie; City Manager Eric A. Anderson; Lisa Kupferberg, Rosie Rees, and Supt. Joseph Pollack of S.D. 65; Jane Colleton, Steven Gilford, and Supt. Allan Alson of S.D. #202 Others Present: Jason Edgecombe and Jerry Leibforth of S.D. #202 Presiding Official: Alderman Arthur B. Newman The meeting was called to order at 7:40 P.M. by the Chair, Alderman Newman, who asked for approval of the minutes of the October 7, 1993 minutes. Alderman Guthrie asked that her name (which was shown as Julie Gutihxie) be corrected. History of Downtown II Research Park Tax Increment Financina District The Chair stated that there had been so much discussion of Tax Increment Financing Districts, he thought it would be appropriate to place it on tonight's agenda. He stated that it was a mistake to be against or in favor of every TIF. It all depends on the location, what the economic circumstances are, and what the history of the property is. He had hoped tonight to give a little back- ground on one of the major TIFs, the Research Park, and answer questions the Committee might have so they might get an idea of the taxes generated and how much it will cost tLe various taxing bodies over a 20-year period. He stated that he had expected Judith Aiello, Assistant City Manager, to be in attendance tonight to discuss the TIF and answer questions an the process, but she is ill and couldn't make it. He continued that this TIF has a major ;impact on all of the taxing bodies because one of the buildings, 1800 Sherman, feeds $1 million a year into the TIF District and, if that District did not exist, the $1 million would be divided into the various taxing bodies. City -School Liaison - 11/30/93 -2- City Manager Anderson stated that Ms. Aiello really has the best first --hand knowledge about the project, having been with the City through the whole process, including the original conceptualization and implementation of it, and there are a lot of misunderstandings abot4t the Park and how it came about. He suggested that this Committee might want, to discuss it briefly tonight and ask ques- tions that could be specifically answered at the next meeting. The Chair stated that he would be willing to discuss the Washington National TIF, which he was more familiar with. The City has made a preliminary commitment to go forward and has scheduled a public hearing for December 13 for citizen input before a final decision is made. The matter is scheduled for Council introduction on January 10, 1994 and additional time will be set aside in January before final deliberation. There has been a study done by Balcor consultants, which was chartered by the City Council, that will be given to the Economic Development Committee for analysis and will be available to the public on December 6. Ms. Colleton asked if copies of this report could be sent to the School Board offices. The City Manager responded affirmatively. Discussion continued and centered on the process for creating the Tax Incre- ment Financing District around the Washington National site on Chicago Avenue. Ms. Rees asked whether this site would be designated a TIF District whether or not John Buck was the developer. The City Manager responded it is tied to the Buck proposal but, if Buck were to leave, the City Council would re- evaluate the TIF, and any new project would have to stand on its own. Whoever comes in to develop this property will have an additional expense of several million dollars to demolish the building now standing there. Ms. Kupferberg asked if there had been any effort made to find any other developers for this project. The City Manager responded that there was an extensive Request for Proposals sent out, and a number of proposals were received. Alderman Newman stated that he believed that Buck had an agreement with Washington National that was in the best interest of the company. He staters that he had contacted a number of major developers prior to voting against the project and found that they felt that some amount of money would be necessary on the project in order to deal with demolition costs. If no project is developed, the property would sit and generate about $200,000 per year in taxes. The theory in doing the John Buck project is that the property could generate about $750,000 per year or about $15,000,000 over a 20-year period, and we would get certainty that there would a major parcel of downtown that would not become blighted or contribute to decline. The City Manager explained how these figures were calculated. r City -School Liaison - 11/30/93 -3- There was more discussion centered around the various circumstances under which a TIF could be dissolved, the generation of taxes, disposition of the proceeds, and how long a taxing body would be willing to wait to see revenue. Mr. Anderson explained that there were two things going on: one is the TIF, which is under a State Statute that lays out the process to be followed, what is eligible, and how it is repaid; the other is an agreement with the developer that sets out how much money is to be contributed and what is expected of the developers so that they will do specifically what they say they will do. Before any change is made, they have to come back to the City Council for approval. You basically have a couple of choices about how a project is paid for. In the case of a TIF, it is all of the taxing districts. With the Home Depot, the Council has decided that the City will carry the whole cost of the development. Mr. Gilford asked what changes in sales taxes or other economic consequences other than property taxes might be likely. Alderman Guthrie responded that this is hard to project. It is hard to predict the future on these things. There is a lot at stake and one could argue that something needed to be done to avoid having a blighted building in the downtown. Ms. Colleton asked if and when we finish the bonds and we start getting some of this money, does it come through the regular tax rolls. The City Manager responded that what rrn be done on the front end of the project is to describe the way in which the bonds will be repaid and how the TIF will contribute to those. Mr. Gilford asked if the City asked them to agree on the EAV. That would be a way to eliminate some of the uncertainty. Superintendent Alson commented that the frustrating point from District 202's view is the School Districts have not curried public favor in terms of property taxes. This has been a very tantalizing process thinking initially that there was a way to have an impact on what would happen and how it would happen. He stated that he had learned an enormous amount but had not truly had any real role in shaping public policy other than to make a few public comments. The part that is so difficult is that you feel out of control. You are watching something developing and you don't know whether or not it really will be of long-term benefit or there is something else that could have been done. What we do know is that in the short- term, while we are hurting for money and having to make very significant reductions in the million dollar range in the foresee- able future on a yearly basis, watching possible income not be available is of great frustration. City -School Liaison - 11/30/93 -4- Mr. Anderson commented that it should be understood that, if the City Council in January said "no" to the TIF and Buck said no project, the next three years would not change in the short term. There would be a loss of income for the next three years whether the building was demolished or not until there is construction in place, and that could take two to three years to be completed and another year for it to get completely onto the rolls. Alderman Newman stated that he believed the School Boards can have an impact on the process. It would be good if our staff people went to the Boards and gave an explanation of what is going on so that the Board could have an understanding. To have an impact on the process, you have to be involved at the beginning and you have to become knowledgeable and go through some of the issues related to development. Alderman Guthrie commented that what was originally proposed was changed drastically over the last six months. Mr. Anderson suggested that the School Board representa- tives might want to attend the public hearing on December 13, City staff could sit down and go through the various phases, or perhaps this group could hold a special meeting sometime in January for that purpose. Superintendent Alson commented that, in terms of quality and quantity of information, he believed that enough information had already been provided but, for the future, he would be very interested if there was an opportunity for District #202 to be included in the process to ensure their interests are protected. Ms. Colleton stated that she read about it in THE EVANSTON REVIEW before the School Board knew about it. The City Manager suggested that this Committee meet in January to work on this prior to the City Council's decision so that the Districts have an opportunity to have some input on how the repay- ment might be structured. Alderman Newman stated that one of the things this Committee could do would be to agree to an amendment and make a recommendation for consideration by the whole City Council. After much discussion, the Committee agreed to meet in January for more discussion on the repayment structure, and Alderman Newman will propose a Council Resolution which would call for notifying the School Boards of any economic development project which has an impact on the Districts and asking for comment and input. District #202 will put this matter on the agenda for their December b, 1994 meeting. A tentative date for the next meeting of this Committee will be January 4, 1994. City -School Liaison - 11/30/93 -5- Joint Lobbyinq Efforts Alderman Newman stated that the City has a Lobbyist, Larry Suffredin, that we use for all types of issues, and we really have an opportunity to have some impact with our Federal legislators. He asked if there was any interest in having him come to the City - School Liaison Committee to discuss some of the common issues, like the gun control legislation and school security. For example, if somehow the City of Evanston could make the case for getting a fair share of the school aid formula from the State, it is in every- body's interest to see more money coming into the City. Superintendent Alson stated that the two School Districts have a Joint Legislative Task Force where pending and future legislation is addressed. in addition, there is a consortium of about 64 school districts, an organization that does lobbying on behalf of the Evanston schools. Superintendent Pollack agreed that it would be a good idea to meet with the City's Lobbyist to share informa- tion on common interests. As an example, he noted his concerns with the Private Industry Council. He stated that he didn't believe Evanston was getting its fair share of the Job Training Partnership Act funds, and Evanston should have more control over what goes on. For the area served, Evanston should be getting the bulk of the money. There is a tremendous amount of staff time spent on writing grant proposals for a small amount of funds, and the assistance is fragmented. The Committee agreed that there are many matters of common interest that could be discussed with the City's Lobbyist. The City Manager will contact him and ask that he attend the next meeting. Superintendent Alson noted that there will be a press conference on gun control on Monday, December 6 at 11.00 A.M. at the Civic Center. He suggested that the subject of gun control should be an agenda item for the next meeting. Alderman Newman noted that perhaps other school districts could be recruited for the purpose of making a joint effort to consider what the next steps should be. Parkinq - District 65 Schools Dr. Pollack noted that there is a major problem with parking because of construction in South Evanston, and he believed that this Committee could give some impetus to having the City consider a limited amount of parking for teaching staff and visitors at the schools during the hours of 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Also, District 65 is being called upon to do curb cuts now because of handicapped parking and is not sure exactly how to deal with this ADA issue. The District believes this is a City responsibility. C City -School Liaison - 11/30/93 -6- After discussion, it was agreed that the parking matters will be discussed at the December 14 meeting of the Parking Committee. The curb cut matter will be made a part of the FY 1994-95 City budget deliberations. Other Matters The City Manager noted that the Committee should be aware that the City is talking to District 65 about some work at the King Lab School regarding the sewer work that is underway. He also noted that the City had engaged a consultant and there had been some preliminary analysis on a proposed joint health insurance program. Alderman Newman called attention to an article in yesterday's THE CHICAGO SUN -TIMES on school test results and distributed copies to the Committee members. He said that he had called the author of the article to encourage her that more needs to be done here. Much public relations needs to be done to bring the true story to attention. These types of articles are read, and it is nct fair that many people are not aware of the truth. We are at the mercy of what people want to read, but equal time should be given to some of the positive ratings. r3 The next meeting will be held on January p, 1994 at School District #202. There being no other business the Committee adjourned at 9:45 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn A. Taylor City Manager's Secretary