2026-10-27 - City Council Budget Workshop II

02:02Hey.

04:05>> Hey.

06:07>> Hey.

07:39>> Good evening and welcome to the second

07:40workshop for the proposed 2027 budget.

07:43Tonight, our professional staff will

07:45focus on the maintenance and operating

07:46budget, including revenue and expense

07:48information.

07:50As a reminder, no final actions are

07:51being taken at this meeting since it is

07:53only a workshop.

07:55Also, all the rules of the city council

07:57still apply.

07:59Speakers are asked to present their

08:00comments in a respectful and courteous

08:02manner. Speakers should stay on topic

08:04and be cognizant of their words.

08:06Speakers are given 3 minutes to address

08:08city council and to help speakers stay

08:10within the 3-minute time frame, speakers

08:12should be aware of the timer located on

08:13the side dais to your right. The timer

08:16will hit but will buzz when it hits zero

08:19and we will alert the speaker that their

08:21time is up.

08:22Mr. Krieger, do we have any public forum

08:23speakers?

08:24>> Uh yes, sir. We have five.

08:26>> Okay. Will the first five speakers as

08:29Mr. Krieger calls them all come to the

08:31front row so we can

08:33make sure we get you through in a timely

08:34manner.

08:35>> All right. These speakers are Bill

08:37Simon, Steve Rubin, Katie Wood,

08:40uh Chris Mason, and Mary Lou Werley.

08:44>> If you've heard your name called, please

08:45move to the front row. And Mr. Mason,

08:48All right. I'm sorry. Mr. Mr. Simon,

08:50you're up.

08:53>> Hello. Hello.

08:56Good evening. My name is Bill Simon. I'm

08:57a resident and president of Naperville

08:59Preservation Inc.

09:01I've already shared with you statistics

09:03about the benefits of uh

09:06historic preservation nationally. The

09:09uh we they've seen 116,000 new jobs

09:12created, $6.8 billion in rehabilitation

09:16investment, and $1.8 billion in tax

09:19receipts received by governments.

09:21Uh

09:22as we talked to staff, the reasons for

09:25not doing more

09:26about historic preservation is always

09:28the same. We don't have enough staff.

09:31So, that's why we are recommending that

09:33we increase staff time for historic

09:36preservation to a half of FTE

09:39and also to obtain nationally available

09:42camp training

09:43uh in historic preservation so that

09:45staff and also HPC members who are

09:48available can can learn more about um

09:51historic preservation.

09:53Now, if a permanent increase in head

09:55count is not desirable at this time,

09:58there are other there are other options.

10:00You could consider a consultant. We

10:03recently obtained a proposal from a

10:05recognized consultant that was on

10:07Landmarks Illinois'

10:09a qualified consultant list. And that

10:12was a $15,000 effort over 3 months. Now,

10:16I'm sure the city with

10:18with better scope definition and a

10:20competitive bidding process could get a

10:23real value for for the money there. So,

10:26one way or the other,

10:28we do recommend more emphasis on

10:31historic preservation either through

10:33staff or a consultant. Thank you.

10:37>> Thank you. Next speaker.

10:39>> Next speaker is Steve Rubin followed by

10:40Katie Wood.

10:49>> Good evening, council, mayor, citizens.

10:53I'm Steve Rubin, long-time property

10:54owner representing the Downtown Advisory

10:56Committee, Downtown Naperville Alliance,

10:58Naperville Development Partnership, and

11:00the library.

11:01Uh that total approximately 100 board

11:04members, citizens of the city

11:06spend their time and effort and energy

11:09uh supporting those organizations and in

11:11turn supporting the downtown.

11:14Downtown is a

11:15Downtown Naperville is a living,

11:17breathing organism. It requires constant

11:19nurturing and investment to remain

11:21successful.

11:23I'm old enough to remember when No, it's

11:25hard to believe. I'm old enough to

11:26remember when you practically couldn't

11:28give property away downtown.

11:30Fortunately, city councils before you,

11:32along with organizations such as those

11:34I've just mentioned,

11:35and countless community leaders

11:38had the foresight to invest in the

11:39future.

11:41And look at what we've built together.

11:43Today, we have a downtown

11:45Today, we have a downtown that is second

11:47to none.

11:52This has been built built by

11:55built on the organizations that your

11:56predecessors established for focused

11:58advice, reliable advice. And we were

12:01telling you the same thing.

12:03We need more parking.

12:05So, why are we fighting so hard to

12:07justify something that we've advocated

12:09for nearly 20 years? Frankly, I'm

12:11perplexed. Nobody thinks $90,000 per

12:14parking space is reasonable, but those

12:16estimates are based on other designs,

12:18old designs, emphasizing aesthetics

12:20rather than efficiency. Surely, we can

12:23find more cost-effective solutions.

12:26And let's remember downtown restaurants

12:27are funding roughly 2/3 of this project.

12:32With approximately 160,000 square feet

12:34of additional development coming

12:36downtown in the next few years, we

12:38cannot plan simply for today's needs.

12:41Look at other downtowns. Santa Monica

12:44Third Avenue, San Francisco commercial

12:46district, and even closer in,

12:49Oak Park.

12:51And there are ups and downs based on

12:53faulty planning.

12:57Downtown is at the top of its game, but

12:59staying there requires growth

13:01mindset

13:03requires a growth mindset, not a

13:04restrictive one.

13:06This isn't about today, it's about the

13:07future, 20 and 40 years out. Previous

13:10councils had the vision to invest in

13:12downtown when its future was uncertain.

13:15Certainly, we can demonstrate that same

13:17vision today when its future is so

13:19bright. Thank you.

13:22>> Thank you. Next speaker. Next speaker is

13:24Katie Wood, followed by Chris Mason.

13:27>> Good evening, Mayor and City Council.

13:29Katie Wood, Downtown Naperville

13:30Alliance. Hello again.

13:32Um and I'm going to just add on what

13:34Steve's comments were regarding the

13:36proposed Nichols Library deck. Over the

13:38past year, we've done our part. We've

13:40met with constituent groups, educated

13:43stakeholders, and met individually with

13:45most of you. We live and breathe

13:48downtown every day, and we're telling

13:50you what our merchants, our property

13:52owners, and even prospective tenants are

13:54telling us. We need more parking

13:56downtown. The perception that downtown

13:59parking is difficult remains one of the

14:01biggest barriers to visiting. Even the

14:03library's recent survey identified

14:05parking availability as their leading

14:07concern among its patrons.

14:10Let me remind you of some of the numbers

14:12of our downtown. Within just 10 square

14:14blocks of our downtown central business

14:16district, we have approximately 325

14:19businesses generating an estimated $300

14:23million in annual sales producing close

14:25to 22 million in sales tax revenue and

14:29another seven and eight seven to eight

14:31million in property tax revenue.

14:33To serve those 325 businesses, plus the

14:37perimeter poles on downtown parking, we

14:40have roughly 3,500 parking spaces

14:43serving 9 and 1/2 million visits a year,

14:46of which 65% of those are coming from

14:49out of town.

14:50Downtown is an extraordinary economic

14:52engine for all of Naperville. And here's

14:55what continues to frustrate us, as Steve

14:57said, for years, for close to 20 years

15:00downtown restaurants have paid a special

15:02tax specifically intended to fund new

15:05parking facilities. And of the estimated

15:08$39 million for a new Nichols parking

15:11deck, roughly 2/3 would come from those

15:14restaurant-generated funds. And so the

15:17very businesses asking for this

15:19investment are paying for the majority

15:21of it themselves.

15:23The city's remaining share is supported

15:25in part by the substantial

15:28tax revenue that our downtown generates.

15:31We're asking you to trust those who

15:33invested downtown who operate our

15:35businesses here and understand its needs

15:38firsthand.

15:39After nearly 20 years, an alternative

15:41that adds only 30 parking spaces, option

15:44C

15:45is very disappointing. It does little to

15:48address future needs or honor the

15:51purpose of those restaurant

15:52contributions.

15:54Our downtown businesses have already

15:55made their financial commitment. They've

15:58invested, they've contributed, and

16:00they've waited patiently. Now we're

16:02asking the city to honor that same

16:04commitment. With respect, I thank you

16:06for your consideration and your valued

16:08commitment to Naperville.

16:11>> Thank you. Next speaker.

16:12>> Next speaker is Chris Mason, followed by

16:14Mary Lou Werly.

16:19>> Good evening, city council members. Uh

16:22Mr. Mayor, thank you for your time. I'm

16:24Chris Mason, chef owner of Allegory

16:27right here at 224 South Main.

16:29Tonight, we are asking for your support

16:32in approving construction of the Nichols

16:34Library parking deck.

16:36As restaurant owners in downtown

16:38Naperville, we understand firsthand

16:40how important convenient and accessible

16:42parking is to the success

16:45of our businesses.

16:47Downtown Naperville is a destination for

16:49dining, shopping, and entertaining

16:51tainment,

16:52attracting visitors from all across the

16:54region.

16:55Last year, more than 9 million people

16:57visited downtown, and 60 65% of those

17:00visitors uh do not live in in in

17:03Naperville.

17:04These visitors are essential to our

17:06local economy,

17:08yet many struggle to find convenient

17:10parking when they come downtown.

17:13Just stand at my front door at Allegory

17:15on Friday or Saturday, and you will hear

17:16it

17:18unsolicited. People come in and

17:21apologize to our hosts about their

17:23tardiness because of parking.

17:26Parking um is

17:29Downtown businesses have been uh

17:31contributing to the food and beverage

17:32fund since 2008

17:35with the explicit understanding

17:37that these revenues would help fund the

17:39construction of this parking deck.

17:42The city made a commitment that the

17:44additional taxes collected that would be

17:46used for this purpose.

17:48Restaurant owners across downtown upheld

17:50their part in this commit- commitment,

17:52accepting this additional expense

17:55because we believe it would help address

17:57long-term ongoing parking needs.

18:00If the parking deck is not approved,

18:02what happens to the $15 million our

18:05businesses have already already

18:07contributed to the food and beverage

18:09fund?

18:10Will those funds remain dedicated to the

18:12parking deck? Are they going to re- be

18:14redirected elsewhere?

18:17We believe it's important to honor that

18:19commitment and use these funds to

18:21address the need they were intended to

18:22meet.

18:23The Nichols uh library parking deck is

18:26an investment in the future

18:28uh for downtown Naperville. It supports

18:30our restaurants, retailers, and

18:32strengthens our local economy, helps

18:35ensure that downtown remains a welcoming

18:38destination for the millions of people

18:39who visit each year.

18:42With so many visitors coming from

18:43outside

18:45uh Naperville, providing adequate

18:47parking is not just a benefit to

18:48downtown businesses, it benefits the

18:51entire city.

18:52We recognize that the city must make

18:54difficult decisions when balancing

18:56competing priorities.

18:58However, we ask you to consider the

19:00commitment made to our business

19:02community, the significant number of

19:04visitors who depend on downtown parking,

19:06and the long-term economic impact of

19:09this project.

19:11Tonight, we ask you to stand with

19:12downtown Naperville businesses, with

19:15business owners, and approve the

19:16construction of the Nichols Library

19:18parking deck.

19:21>> All right, time's up. Thank you all.

19:24>> Thank you. Next speaker.

19:25>> The final speaker is Mary Lou Wehrli.

19:29>> Good evening, Naperville residents,

19:31honorable mayor and council, and

19:32dedicated staff.

19:34Full-time employees, Riverwalk South

19:36extension, quality of life.

19:39The budget before you asks for 9.375

19:43full full-time employees, but wait,

19:46there's one more.

19:48Entwined in this budget is the five is a

19:50$6.8 million Riverwalk South extension.

19:54In the intergovernmental agreement with

19:55the park district, the city reimburses

19:57100% of additional costs to care for a

20:01Riverwalk extension.

20:03The park district confirms that the

20:04South extension will necessitate the

20:06employment of an additional full-time

20:08employee, therefore, the city will be

20:10indirectly paying for one more FTE.

20:13The construction estimate of $6.8

20:15million could easily come in closer to 7

20:18million. The Eagle Street Gateway was

20:2030% over budget. Naperville residents

20:23and businesses have not stepped up to

20:25meet the 40 to 50% goal of funding the

20:28South extension.

20:29$700,000 from the state is still tax

20:32dollars.

20:34Should the Riverwalk South extension

20:36fall on taxpayers? Is it perhaps a want

20:39and not a need? And maybe now is not the

20:41time as good as it might be designed.

20:45There is already sidewalk pedestrian

20:46connectivity to Martin between Martin

20:49and Hillside. The newly approved bicycle

20:51and pedestrian plan should look at any

20:53potential benefit of a Riverwalk South

20:55extension which includes a bike trail.

20:57The trail is not identified in the bike

20:59plan.

21:01Washington Street between Martin Avenue

21:03and Hillside Road offers travelers a

21:05long green gateway of grass and trees

21:08presented by the Naperville Cemetery and

21:11Bill Frederick Park across the street.

21:13It is a breathtaking peaceful entrance

21:15to our exciting buzzing downtown that is

21:18still four blocks north of Hillside.

21:21The proposed extension wouldn't will not

21:23serve the economy and it will serve very

21:25few users.

21:27Naper Settlement is now approaching in

21:28on $7 million a dip into taxpayer

21:31pockets. The Riverwalk and Naper

21:33Settlement solidly contribute to the

21:35quality of life here. Even the

21:37preservation of historic structures

21:39defines our community and could use a

21:41part-time employee support.

21:43Our community is strong cuz we do so

21:45much together.

21:47How much is enough? What is the right

21:49time?

21:50The tough conversation before you

21:52tonight is where does taxpayer money go?

21:55We look forward to hearing from each of

21:57you

21:58what you think is best for Naperville

22:00now.

22:01Please strike a fair balance.

22:03Thank you for your thoughtful evaluation

22:05of how to best spend taxpayer dollars

22:08and thank you for the opportunity to

22:09speak.

22:12>> Thank you.

22:13Any more speakers?

22:14>> Uh she was the final speaker.

22:16>> Okay. Mr. Kreger, do you want to go

22:17ahead and

22:19start your presentation?

22:20>> Absolutely. Um thanks, Mayor. Uh

22:23tonight's the second of three workshops

22:25discussing the proposed 2027 budget, uh,

22:28which was published on October 9th on

22:31the city's website. Uh, our focus

22:33tonight is on the operating budget which

22:34funds the city's day-to-day services.

22:37Before we start the conversation, uh,

22:39just wanted to take a moment to thank,

22:42uh, council for the excellent questions

22:43they've asked, uh,

22:45during our last budget workshop and

22:47would encourage you to do the same, uh,

22:49tonight as well. Uh, if we can't answer

22:51your questions right away,

22:54uh, staff will issue a post-workshop Q&A

22:56with the materials for the third

22:58workshop on November 10th.

23:02So, um, we're going to start tonight by

23:05reviewing major considerations for

23:06developing next year's budget. Uh, then

23:09we'll take a look at some of the major

23:10requests for next year.

23:12For 2027, department requests focused on

23:15additional staffing resources to address

23:18operational demands and service needs.

23:21Tonight, we'll review each proposed

23:23position, its intended purpose, and how

23:26staff prioritized requests based on

23:28community needs and available resources.

23:32After that, we'll hear from both the

23:33Naper Settlement and the Naperville

23:35Public Library about their budgets. And

23:38lastly, we'll wrap up the second

23:40workshop with a follow-up discussion on

23:43some options for downtown parking.

23:46Now, I'd like to turn things over to,

23:48uh, Tracy Marroquin.

23:51>> Thank you, Doug.

23:53As we develop the 2027 budget, money on

23:55a mission remained our focus and overall

23:57theme.

23:58Why we use it? Because many of the

24:00issues we addressed during last year's

24:01budget workshops will continue into the

24:03coming years.

24:05You can see a few of them listed on the

24:06screen.

24:07We will continue with the mindset that

24:09every dollar serves a purpose. This

24:11addresses our highest priority service

24:13needs and maintains the city's financial

24:15flexibility.

24:17The general fund budget is balanced,

24:19supported by continued strength in our

24:20major revenue sources and disciplined

24:22management of operating costs.

24:25The general fund's strong financial

24:26position supports future investments in

24:28the city's most critical asset, our

24:30professional staff.

24:32Strategic staffing is a key part of this

24:34year's budget discussion. Departments

24:36submitted requests for a total of 20

24:38full-time equivalent positions.

24:41Staff evaluated those requests based on

24:43current service needs, operational

24:45priorities, and opportunities to improve

24:47service delivery with additional

24:48resources.

24:50After that evaluation, the proposed 2027

24:53budget includes 9.375 FTEs, 5.375 in the

24:58general fund and four in the utility

24:59funds.

25:01These recommendations reflect a targeted

25:03approach to staffing, focusing on where

25:05additional resources are most needed,

25:08rather than funding every request.

25:11As we consider these investments, we're

25:12also mindful of the broader financial

25:14environment, property tax stability,

25:17aging infrastructure, and national and

25:19global economic

25:21conditions all influence our ability to

25:23sustain services and plan for future

25:25needs.

25:27Ultimately, this budget is about

25:28balancing today's service priorities

25:30with tomorrow's financial obligations,

25:32making strategic decisions while

25:34continuing to preserve the city's strong

25:36financial position.

25:41And here are some highlights from the

25:42proposed budget. The 2027 budget is

25:45recommended at $724 million,

25:47an increase of 5.6% over the 2026

25:50budget.

25:52This amount includes $703 million in

25:54expenses and $21 million in transfers

25:56across all funds that make up the

25:58budget.

25:59The general fund proposed budget totals

26:01$183 million in 2027. At the first

26:04workshop, we reviewed the 2027 CIP,

26:07which totals over $210 million.

26:11That said, the property tax rate is once

26:13again projected to decrease from its

26:14already 50-year low.

26:17Tonight's topics are those where staff

26:19believes additional context and

26:20discussion around the request may

26:22benefit the council.

26:23In our third workshop, we will do a full

26:25fund-by-fund

26:26review of the entire budget.

26:30Looking at revenues, in 2027 revenues

26:33will total $677 million,

26:36an increase of 3.1% over 2026.

26:40Here you can see the revenue mix across

26:41all city funds. Charges for services

26:44continue to comprise the single largest

26:46revenue source for the city.

26:48Approximately 44% or nearly $300 of the

26:52city's revenues is generated by the

26:54public utilities.

26:56The next largest revenue sources are

26:58shared revenues, which include state

27:00shared sales tax, state income tax, and

27:03other revenues,

27:04which includes $30 million in insurance

27:06premiums.

27:08An important concept for our financial

27:09stability is revenue diversification,

27:12which means that we rely on various

27:14revenue sources to fund programs and

27:15services.

27:17Revenue diversification ensures that

27:19services are not reliant on any one

27:21revenue source or even groups of similar

27:23revenue sources.

27:25Revenues that are more impacted by the

27:26ups and downs of the economy, like sales

27:28tax, are balanced by more stable

27:30revenues like property tax.

27:33Speaking of property tax, uh next year's

27:35property tax levy will be presented in

27:37detail at our third and final workshop,

27:40but tonight we'd like to briefly talk

27:42about the strategy behind the

27:43development of our levy request.

27:46As stated in the past, a relatively

27:48small portion of a resident's property

27:49tax bill goes to the city of Naperville.

27:52An even smaller portion directly

27:54supports city services.

27:56In 2015 the city council set a goal to

27:58reduce its debt by 25%.

28:00That goal was a part of a broader set of

28:02financial principles that still guide

28:04our financial management strategies

28:05today.

28:07In short, we live within a balanced

28:08budget, maintain strong cash reserves,

28:11and limit the debt burden on the

28:12property tax levy.

28:15Another important strategy, not

28:16specifically called out in 2015, was our

28:19approach to pension funding.

28:21Today Naperville maintains maintains

28:23some of the strongest, most well-funded

28:25pension systems for comparable Illinois

28:28for comparable Illinois municipalities.

28:31It is our approach to debt management

28:33and pension stabilization that has

28:34allowed us to responsibly leverage our

28:36property tax levy.

28:39As the debt obligation has declined,

28:40we've been able to ensure that core city

28:43services receive the proper level of

28:45support from the tax levy to ensure that

28:47those services are supported by an

28:49appropriate mix of revenues that provide

28:51long-term stability.

28:54The chart on this slide shows how that

28:55change has been managed over time.

28:58I'll note here that the chart does not

28:59include the library or the Naples

29:01settlement levies as our focus is on the

29:03core services in the general fund.

29:06We've talked a lot about the declining

29:08property tax rate in recent years, but I

29:10want to be transparent that a declining

29:12rate does not necessarily mean that we

29:14are decreasing the amount we levy.

29:16The decreasing rate is more of a

29:17function of the increase in our property

29:19valuations than it is the amount we've

29:22levied in recent years.

29:24If we had levied to capture all EAB

29:26increases over the past few years,

29:28residents would have experienced an

29:29extraordinary increase in their property

29:31tax bills.

29:33The 2026 EAV reflects that the unusually

29:36high assessment growth of the past

29:38several years may be returning to a more

29:41normalized growth rate.

29:46Looking at expenses, in 2027 we project

29:49total expenses of $724 million

29:52across all funds.

29:54And this slide shows the breakdown of

29:56these expenses across all city funds.

29:59Personnel costs are our largest expense

30:01at $243 million or 29% of the total.

30:05This reflects our continued commitment

30:07to our professional staff that deliver

30:09delivers city services every day.

30:12Capital outlay and purchased electricity

30:13and water follow as our next largest

30:15expenses.

30:17Capital outlay totals $196 million or

30:2027%

30:22and purchased electricity and water

30:23totals $147 million or 20%.

30:28The capital outlay figure represents our

30:29ongoing investment in the city's

30:31infrastructure, which remains a

30:32priority.

30:34Purchased electricity and water, on the

30:35other hand, are the cost of supplying

30:37our public utilities.

30:40We'll now take a moment to answer any

30:42questions you might have.

30:45>> [snorts]

30:46>> See none, go ahead and proceed.

30:50>> Okay, general fund revenues are

30:51estimated at around $181 million when

30:54excluding interfund transfers.

30:57This equates to a 4.8% increase over the

31:00previous year's budgeted amount,

31:02slightly larger than the 4.4% increase

31:04seen last year.

31:06The largest revenue increase seen in the

31:08general fund is from our tax revenues.

31:10Notably, there is a $3.7 million

31:12increase in our state shared taxes,

31:15with sales tax increasing by 2.5 million

31:18and state income tax increasing by 1.2

31:20million.

31:22This reflects the underlying economic

31:24growth

31:25projected for next year by the Illinois

31:27Municipal League.

31:28Grocery tax revenues are projected to

31:30exceed the original estimate of 6.5

31:33million by approximately 700,000 for

31:352027 budget projection of 7.2 million.

31:40This increase primarily reflects a

31:41conservative initial revenue estimate as

31:44the city implemented the new local tax.

31:47Previously, grocery sales tax revenue

31:49was combined with general sales tax

31:51distributions, making it difficult to

31:53isolate grocery sales and accurately

31:55estimate the revenue that the local tax

31:57would generate.

31:59Lastly, property tax is also forecasted

32:01to increase by $2 million as the city's

32:04tax base, the equalized assessed value

32:07of taxable property, continues to rise.

32:12Overall, total general fund expenses are

32:14increasing by 4.5% when excluding

32:16transfers.

32:18Operating expenses increased by $7.6

32:21million.

32:22Personnel expenses comprise $6.2 million

32:25of this increase.

32:27The 2027 budget reflects an increase of

32:299.375 FTE positions, which will be

32:32covered later in the presentation.

32:35As we've mentioned, as a service

32:36provider, the city's largest expense is

32:38personnel.

32:40Salaries and wages increase $5.2 million

32:43and we'll review the assumptions used

32:44for the payroll budget on the next

32:46slide.

32:47Insurance benefits increase $760,000,

32:51while pension benefits increased by

32:52$200,000.

32:54We'll go into more detail on those in

32:56the next few slides.

32:58Outside of personnel expenses, operating

33:00expenses only increased by $1.5 million,

33:03largely located in the purchased

33:04services space with increases for

33:06software and hardware maintenance.

33:11All right, looking at employee

33:12compensation, 2027 is the second year

33:14for the new non-union compensation

33:16structure following the compensation

33:19classification study completed and

33:21approved by the council in the spring of

33:222025.

33:24Included in the budget is a 3% cost of

33:26living adjustment and a 1% merit pool

33:29based on employee performance

33:30evaluations.

33:32Additionally, $413,000

33:34is included in the 2027 budget to

33:36account for the next phase of non-union

33:39wage adjustments as a result of the

33:40outcomes of the compensation study.

33:43Union wages are also set to increase by

33:45the rates that are outlined in each

33:47individual negotiated agreement and have

33:49been budgeted accordingly.

33:53Our next topic is health care costs,

33:55which continue to be a significant

33:57budget consideration.

33:59If you recall during last year's

34:00workshops, Naperville's health health

34:02care costs were mirroring the national

34:04trend of a 6.8% average annual increase.

34:08The 2026 budget ultimately reflected an

34:1118.5% increase in medical premiums.

34:14This year, we're happy to report that

34:16Naperville's annual increase has slowed

34:17to 5%, while the national trend has

34:19grown to 7%.

34:22Our historical trend demonstrates that

34:23we have been managing these increases

34:25below the national average.

34:27Human Resources has worked with our

34:29health insurance broker over the years

34:30to keep costs low for our employees.

34:33And even though health insurance costs

34:35continue to climb, the 2027 budget

34:37reflects a more manageable 6.7% increase

34:40in health insurance premiums while

34:42dental premiums increased 4.8%.

34:46In addition, year-to-date medical claims

34:48are approximately $4 million below

34:50budget.

34:51Employer contributions are estimated at

34:5316.2 million, a 5.3% increase compared

34:56to 2026.

34:58Dental contributions are budgeted at

35:00954,000

35:01reflecting a 7.9% increase compared to

35:042026.

35:08Next up we have pension contributions

35:10which are expected to exceed $25 million

35:12in 2027.

35:15This includes fully funding police

35:16pensions at $11.4 million

35:18which represents an increase of 4.5%

35:21over 2026.

35:23Fire pensions are budgeted at $9.3

35:25million

35:26which is an increase of 1.7% compared to

35:282026.

35:31In addition to the required

35:32contributions made through the city's

35:33property tax levy, each public safety

35:35pension fund will receive an additional

35:38$921,000

35:39through the food and beverage fund.

35:42These additional contributions can help

35:44stabilize increases in the required

35:45contribution amount by offsetting

35:47changes in the pension funds actuarial

35:50and market values in future years.

35:53The IMR The IMRF rate is expected to

35:56decrease from 7.8% to 6.29% in 2027

36:00with total contributions estimated at $5

36:03million.

36:04This represents a nearly $500,000

36:06decrease in IMRF's contribution compared

36:09to 2026.

36:12All right, and at this point we're happy

36:13to pause and answer any questions.

36:15>> Councilman Kelly.

36:16Thank you, Mayor. Uh just a question on

36:18that last slide. If you could um give us

36:20some details on why firefighters and

36:22police pension uh contributions

36:25increased um and IMRF went down.

36:29>> So they're different pools, you know,

36:31pool pension funds. So it kind of

36:33depends on the

36:35um factors in each of those. So the um

36:38IMRF will be for our, you know,

36:40non-public safety employees. Um

36:43different actuarial assumptions in

36:44there, different um investment returns

36:46or different pools.

36:48So all that kind of plays in plays into

36:50the contributions for each of the funds.

36:53>> I was wondering if it was it mostly

36:54investment performance or is there any

36:56structural issue at play that

36:59>> I believe IMRF is very well funded

37:02in the 2025

37:04audit we reported that it was we

37:06exceeded in a sense it was kind of over

37:09funded.

37:10So that also is why the contribution

37:12rate for Naperville is decreasing for

37:14IMRF.

37:16>> Thank you.

37:17>> Councilman White.

37:19>> Yeah, thank you. Um

37:21question I have for you all. First of

37:23all, I appreciate the discipline that

37:25staff as well as the council and

37:27previous councils have had as far as

37:32paying into our pension funds.

37:35I don't know if city manager or Ms.

37:37Morocco if you can maybe discuss a

37:39little bit when

37:42we expect to have that fully paid in cuz

37:44I

37:45don't know if there's any other

37:46community that's really doing better

37:47than Naperville as far as funding our

37:49pensions.

37:52>> Krueger

37:53>> I'll I'll take that one.

37:55Yeah, you know, this is a point that I'm

37:57I am super proud of as well. Decision

37:59made you know, decades ago

38:02to fund in addition.

38:05We are

38:07you know, for the 20 largest Illinois

38:10communities we are the funded the best.

38:14When it gets when we hit 100%

38:18you never really know.

38:21We have been closing that gap over the

38:23years and

38:25I would anticipate that in 2026

38:28we are already going we I mean we've

38:30already kind of exceeded our actuarial

38:33investment returns

38:34which is going to put increased downward

38:36pressure.

38:38The additional funding that Ms. Morocco

38:42referred to

38:44is in my opinion probably the single

38:47most

38:48um

38:49impactful

38:51uh

38:52contribution that has set us apart from

38:56um kind of the rest of the rest of the

38:58larger communities. And we have no

39:01intention

39:02of slowing that down.

39:08>> No other questions.

39:12>> And then just a point on in the 2025

39:14audit, the police and fire pensions were

39:1595% funded.

39:18A fun fact.

39:20Okay. So, this next slide kind of sets

39:23the stage, kind of going explaining our

39:25money on a mission mindset. Our 2027

39:28budget direction to departments remain

39:30consistent with last year.

39:32Build budgets around actual spending,

39:33what we know and what we can control.

39:36This approach provides a more accurate

39:38accurate picture of our operating needs

39:40by comparing budgeted amounts to actual

39:42expenditures.

39:43Identifying spending trends and

39:45adjusting resources to reflect current

39:46operations.

39:48The budget team work collaboratively

39:49with departments to control expenses

39:51where possible and right-size operating

39:53budgets based on demonstrated needs.

39:56This fiscal discipline resulted in a

39:58$1.8 million reduction in general fund

40:00operating expenses when comparing

40:02departments' initial 2027 budget

40:04requests to the proposed budget.

40:07By budgeting based on actual needs and

40:09spending patterns, we can direct

40:10resources to higher priority services

40:13while maintaining financial flexibility

40:15and long-term sustainability.

40:17Now, I'll turn it over to Deputy City

40:18Manager Pam Galloway to walk us through

40:20the the uh proposed FTEs.

40:25>> Thank you, Tracy.

40:28For the council, as you've already

40:29heard, the budget team initially

40:31received 20 FTE requests from the

40:33departments.

40:35Through an internal review process,

40:37staff from HR, finance, and CMO

40:40evaluated requests based on community

40:42needs, opportunities to improve service

40:45delivery, and support of city

40:47priorities.

40:49The proposed 2027 budget includes 9.375

40:53FTEs in total.

40:555.375 are in the general fund.

40:58The 0.375 reflects an existing part-time

41:02position moving to full-time.

41:05Three FTEs are in the water utility fund

41:07and one in the electric utility fund.

41:11You may recall three requests from Ted

41:13were identified as higher priority needs

41:15and approved at the August 18th meeting.

41:19Strong general fund revenues and

41:20continuous budget evaluations ensure we

41:23have the financial capacity to support

41:25these out of cycle requests.

41:28This financial flexibility allows us to

41:30respond to emerging needs as they arise,

41:33adding FTEs when necessary to maintain

41:36or improve service levels.

41:38Those positions were the engineering

41:40manager, code official, and a building

41:42inspector.

41:44Our goal with the nine proposed FTEs for

41:472027 is to make strategic staffing

41:50investments that address the city's most

41:52pressing needs and provide measurable

41:54service improvements in the way of

41:56faster response times, greater

41:59operational capacity, improved service

42:01reliability, or increased transparency.

42:08First up

42:09is the senior traffic engineer.

42:12The city currently maintains a vast

42:14transportation network and signal

42:16system, including 97 signalized

42:18intersections and 502 lane miles.

42:22The size of the city's existing system

42:24is comparable to places like King

42:26County, whose entire system is made up

42:29of 115 signalized intersections and 750

42:33lane miles.

42:35Many comparable counties, including Kane

42:37and DuPage and other jurisdictions, have

42:39dedicated engineering staff to manage

42:42their transportation and signal systems.

42:45Right now, the city does not have a

42:47dedicated team or staff member that

42:49manages our system.

42:51And the duties are shared among 12

42:53employees across the engineering and

42:55transportation teams in TED.

42:58Without having a dedicated staff member,

43:00workload management across the teams

43:02becomes inefficient and unbalanced.

43:06As a result, engineering staff is

43:08spending more time managing the systems

43:10and less time on permit and development

43:12reviews, as well as management of

43:14capital projects.

43:17The city engineer has the most

43:19institutional knowledge and skills

43:21related to the system and is the only

43:23staff member who holds a professional

43:25traffic operations engineer

43:27certification.

43:29This only furthers the workload

43:31inefficiencies because the city engineer

43:33is required to perform traffic

43:35engineering related duties and field

43:37work

43:38that would be delegated to another

43:40member of staff if the necessary skill

43:42set were available.

43:45In addition to managing the traffic and

43:46signal system, TED partners with public

43:49works to manage the city's street light

43:51system.

43:53Street light maintenance work is

43:54performed by a public works contractor.

43:56However, TED currently reviews street

43:59light designs and shop drawings for new

44:01installations.

44:02Street light experience is also limited

44:05across the current team.

44:07Lastly, traffic impacts of new

44:09developments and projects that are

44:11outside of our jurisdiction continue to

44:14be a highly visible area of concern.

44:17At this time, TED does not have the

44:18capacity and specialized knowledge

44:20necessary to conduct more in-depth

44:22reviews of traffic studies.

44:26In order to address the issues facing us

44:28in this area, TED is requesting a senior

44:31traffic engineer for 2027.

44:34Hiring a dedicated position ensures

44:36expert full-time management of the

44:38city's transportation and signal

44:40networks, street lights, and traffic

44:43study review, and the ability to free up

44:45the team to improve project coordination

44:48with other agencies.

44:50Taking the responsibilities from being

44:52and across 12 members of staff down to

44:55one will create efficiencies in workload

44:57management across the TED teams.

45:00The 2027 budget includes a total of

45:02$160,000

45:04to account for salary and benefits of

45:06the proposed position.

45:11Next is code enforcement.

45:13The code enforcement team plays a vital

45:15role in maintaining community standards

45:17and preserving property values by

45:19investigating violations and guiding

45:21property owners toward compliance.

45:24However, the current team is

45:26understaffed, which leads to longer

45:28response times.

45:30When looking at other suburban

45:31communities that are complaint-based

45:32like Naperville, the standard is one

45:35code enforcement officer per 20 to

45:3725,000 residents.

45:40This equates to six to seven and a half

45:42code enforcement officers based on a

45:43population of 150,000.

45:47Prior to 2008, our code enforcement team

45:50was made up of six employees for a city

45:52with a population of 142,000.

45:56Currently,

45:57the team is four employees, three

45:59officers and one supervisor, for a

46:02population of 153,000.

46:06Population growth leads to more work for

46:08the code enforcement team.

46:10Also, new state laws will require all

46:13code enforcement officers to have ICC

46:15certifications for property maintenance

46:17by January 1st, 2029.

46:21In order to achieve certification and

46:23maintain the continuing education

46:25requirements, more emphasis needs to be

46:27placed on training, which will reduce

46:30the amount of time officers will be able

46:31to spend in the field.

46:34This will result in continued delays in

46:36response time, likely lower levels of

46:39property maintenance, and potential

46:41declines in property values over time.

46:46In order to address these challenges,

46:48staff is proposing the addition of one

46:50code enforcement officer in 2027.

46:53This new position will allow the team to

46:55attend the training courses needed to

46:57achieve and maintain the state mandated

46:59certifications without negatively

47:01impacting workload.

47:03While there is no cost recovery

47:05associated with this position,

47:07increasing the team by one FTE will

47:09ensure workload is better balanced and

47:12smaller areas are assigned per officer,

47:15which ultimately leads to better

47:16response times and increased compliance.

47:20The 2027 budget includes $146,000

47:24for the salary and benefits of the

47:25proposed code enforcement officer.

47:28And an additional $40,000 is included in

47:31the capital budget for a new vehicle.

47:36The development review team, or DRT,

47:39serves as a single point of contact for

47:41development and coordinates reviews

47:43across all city departments and TED

47:45teams.

47:47This team is also responsible for

47:48managing telecommunication agreements

47:50and installations,

47:52elevator permitting and inspection, and

47:54taking the lead on special projects such

47:57as the sale of city land and special

47:59service areas.

48:02However, the demand facing DRT has

48:03continued to grow as a number of

48:05developments increase and become more

48:07complex.

48:09While the DRT has been successful at

48:11maintaining quality and timely service

48:13for developments, the current workload

48:15does not allow time for cross-training.

48:18As a result, only one team member has a

48:21full understanding of telecommunication

48:23agreements, elevator permitting

48:25processes, which leads to limitations on

48:27institutional knowledge.

48:30As previously mentioned, DRT has

48:32historically been tasked with taking the

48:34lead on special development-based

48:35projects.

48:38Current DRT workload demands limit

48:40staff's capacity to effectively engage

48:42with these projects.

48:44And to ensure progress is made, the

48:46department director frequently absorbs

48:48this work, which highlights a critical

48:50need for balanced resource allocation.

48:55In order to address these issues, staff

48:56is proposing the addition of a DRT

48:58project manager in 2027.

49:02Approving this position will allow the

49:03team to effectively absorb and manage

49:05the increased workload.

49:07The resulting capacity would be

49:09dedicated to cross-training,

49:11significantly broadening institutional

49:13knowledge across the team, as well as

49:15creating the ability to focus on

49:17proactive process improvements, and

49:19freeing up the director's time to focus

49:21on leadership responsibilities.

49:24Should there be a time when the volume

49:26of permits and special projects

49:27decrease, TED leadership will evaluate

49:30department needs and assign staff

49:32accordingly.

49:34$150,000

49:36is in the 2027 budget for salary and

49:38benefits of this proposed position.

49:43Next up is public works.

49:45Workload in the public works forestry

49:47division continues to increase,

49:49resulting in the need for additional

49:51oversight.

49:52Since 2021, forestry-related requests

49:55have increased by 37%,

49:58resulting in higher volume of

49:59inspections, resident communications,

50:02and work coordination.

50:05At the same time, the budgets for

50:07contracted tree trimming and tree

50:08removal services have more than doubled,

50:11requiring increased oversight to ensure

50:13contractor performance, work quality,

50:16safety, and compliance with contract

50:18specifications.

50:20Specifically, the investment in tree

50:22trimming is now $550,000

50:25for 2027.

50:27The combination of rising service

50:29requests and planned investments has

50:31strained public works capacity and

50:33created a critical oversight gap that

50:36impacts the management of the forestry

50:38division.

50:41In order to address these issues, staff

50:43is proposing the addition of a field

50:45supervisor in 2027

50:47to provide direct supervision of the

50:49equipment operators in the forestry

50:51division.

50:53This supervisor will also help oversee

50:55the city's trimming contractor,

50:57coordinate emergency response, manage

51:00service requests, and establish

51:02appropriate service levels and

51:04priorities.

51:05Serving as a single point of contact for

51:07staff and contractors, this position

51:10will strengthen the overall management

51:11and effectiveness of our forestry

51:13program.

51:14And meaningful improvements in tree

51:16conditions and a reduction in resident

51:18complaints will occur over time with

51:20sustained investment.

51:23The 2027 budget includes $141,000

51:27for salary and benefits of the proposed

51:29supervisor. And an additional 74,000 is

51:32included in the capital budget for a new

51:34vehicle.

51:39The number of FOIA requests the city

51:40receives continues to increase. In 2025,

51:44the police department received a little

51:46over 4,000 requests and nearly that many

51:49in the first 6 months of 2026.

51:52To date in 2026, the city has received

51:551,309 police FOIA requests.

51:59Over the years, we have seen FOIA

52:00requests transition from an

52:02administrative document production

52:04responsibility to more legally complex

52:07and time-consuming.

52:09Specifically time-consuming are requests

52:12for body-worn camera footage, which with

52:14each request requiring an estimated 4

52:17and 1/2 hours of staff time to complete.

52:21The actual hours spent reviewing and

52:23processing FOIA requests in community

52:25services, police, and legal equate to

52:28six full-time employees.

52:31However, the actual number of employees

52:33involved in processing FOIA requests,

52:36either as their primary responsibility

52:38or assisting as needed, is a little more

52:41than 12.

52:43As FOIA is now involved significant

52:45staff resources from several

52:46departments, the current staffing model

52:48is no longer sustainable.

52:51In order to address the challenges of

52:53managing the changing FOIA landscape,

52:56staff will be implementing changes on

52:58how FOIAs are reviewed and processed.

53:01And one of the changes is the addition

53:03of a dedicated assistant city attorney

53:06to assist with the oversight of the FOIA

53:08program

53:09and resolve current capacity limitations

53:12in the legal department.

53:14Because of the time-sensitive nature of

53:16FOIA

53:17and the risk of penalties for

53:18non-compliance

53:20attorney priorities must often be

53:22immediately shifted to FOIA work thereby

53:24deprioritizing work for other

53:26departments.

53:28By centralizing legal review and

53:29consultation under this position

53:32the department can return four attorneys

53:34to other city matters.

53:37The 2027 budget includes $140,000

53:40for the salary and benefits associated

53:43with this proposed position.

53:46FOIA fees are statutorily limited, so

53:48while there is no direct revenue or fee

53:50recovery to help with this salary this

53:53position is expected to reduce risk

53:55exposure and associated costs from

53:57non-compliance.

54:01To keep pace with the fire department's

54:03expanding digital footprint, there is a

54:05critical need for dedicated

54:07communication expertise.

54:09Assigning this responsibility to a

54:11specialized professional will ensure

54:12consistent, high-quality information is

54:15provided to the community.

54:17Anticipated federal accessibility

54:19guidelines require professional

54:21oversight to ensure proper

54:23implementation and that oversight is

54:25what protects the city from compliance

54:27risk.

54:29An example of this vulnerability

54:30occurred this year when fire department

54:33posts were flagged for copyright

54:34violations.

54:36The department also currently lacks

54:38dedicated staff to write press releases,

54:40update fire section of the city's

54:42website and highlight stories about

54:45community outreach, accreditation, and

54:47other successes.

54:50To address this, converting a current

54:52part-time communication specialist into

54:55a full-time position is recommended

54:58as well as assigning part of their

54:59responsibilities to the fire department.

55:02The increased cost for 2027 salary and

55:05benefits is $67,000.

55:08This dedicated position would guide the

55:10fire department's efforts to align their

55:12communication strategy with the city's

55:14overall strategy.

55:16This is not a new model for us. This

55:18approach is already being used

55:20successfully by the police department

55:22and the electric utility.

55:24And like those departments, having this

55:26position embedded in the fire department

55:29will provide critical digital compliance

55:31oversight and increase transparency by

55:34handling day-to-day communication

55:36duties.

55:38And now I'll pause for questions about

55:40positions in the general fund.

55:43>> Councilman White.

55:44Thank you, Mayor. Um

55:47uh great job, Ms. Gallagher.

55:49Uh great information. I had a few

55:51questions.

55:53Um I was a little curious about the 37%

55:56increase in the forestry

55:58uh

55:59requirements. What what's driving that?

56:03Over the last 5 years.

56:07>> Director Randolph will be able to answer

56:09those specifics about the increase.

56:12>> Yeah, the

56:13the main factor contributing to that is

56:15the growth in the in the canopy. So, as

56:18the city gets older, the trees get

56:20bigger. We've also planted a lot of

56:22trees in the southern half of the city.

56:25>> Okay.

56:26Okay, thank you.

56:28Um here's the other the the question I

56:30have for you and you kind of mentioned

56:32it

56:33that uh

56:35when it comes to tree servicing and so

56:37on, a lot of that is

56:39um basically third party. You would kind

56:41of

56:43contract that out. So,

56:45can you kind of give us an an idea of

56:48that if we hire

56:49someone to take on this duty,

56:52where do we save from a third-party uh

56:56standpoint? So, you know, we can say,

56:59"Hey, we're we're going to present we're

57:00going to hire this new position, create

57:02it, but it should save us

57:04money on the other side." Can anyway you

57:07got any ideas you can do say on that?

57:12>> Well,

57:13we hire out or we contract out labor

57:15services.

57:17So, uh companies that bring in big crews

57:20with

57:21with specialized equipment to trim and

57:23and remove large trees.

57:25Um

57:26but the management is all in-house. So,

57:28this position that we're requesting is

57:30strictly a management position. So, it's

57:33not going to decrease our expenses

57:37for labor. But, what it will do is it

57:40will in essence be a multiplier for that

57:42labor. We're going to use it more

57:43effectively. We're going to be able to

57:45have better management practices, and

57:47we're going to manage emergencies much

57:49more effectively.

57:50>> Okay. Um

57:52and that question kind of goes really

57:54more of of an overall type of thing

57:57there, city manager, that as we're

58:00as you guys are requesting these new

58:02positions, if you can in your explaining

58:04why you need them, but um for me, I

58:07think it would be a little bit easier if

58:09I can

58:10if you can show

58:12based on that the efficiency of having

58:14this new position where it's going to

58:15save uh us money on the other end.

58:19And then I'll

58:21gives you a little more of a

58:21justification um

58:24in that regard.

58:26Okay.

58:26Thank you.

58:30>> Councilman Holtzclaw.

58:31Thank you, Mayor. Um I had a question

58:34for Mr. De Santo.

58:36Um

58:38can you share um

58:41why the number of FOIA requests has

58:44grown? I think the word used on the

58:45phone was exponentially, but could you

58:47could you share a little bit about sort

58:48of what is driving that?

58:50>> Mike De Santo, city attorney, be happy

58:52to. Uh we saw an initial increase coming

58:55after about 2014 when the uh in-car uh

58:58vehicle police vehicle cameras were

59:00implemented. Uh it then ramped up in

59:022022 with the advent of body cams. Uh

59:05there just were a lot of video being

59:07recorded, and people were interested in

59:09that, which takes a lot of staff time uh

59:11to review and to make redactions and we

59:14just saw an increase frankly from

59:17um

59:18maybe self-named public auditors who are

59:21out there are also influencers who are

59:23looking for, you know, interesting video

59:25to be able to post on YouTube or for

59:27clickbait and so we get an increased

59:29amount of requests for that. And then we

59:31saw uh even more increase with the

59:33advent of AI and and and people being

59:35able to submit uh FOIA requests that

59:38have been filtered through that type of

59:40uh announcement when they are more

59:41complex, they are broader and they're

59:43just easier to submit, they're easier to

59:45challenge. Um and so all of those

59:48factors combined over probably the last

59:50uh decade have just seen a steady

59:52increase not only in Naperville but uh

59:54throughout the state of Illinois and I'm

59:56guessing throughout the country.

59:57>> Yeah, and I want to by the way, if um

59:59whoever's in control of the slides, I'm

1:00:00not sure if it's Doug, if you could

1:00:02switch back to slide 27, I'd appreciate

1:00:04it. Um

1:00:06>> [clears throat]

1:00:06>> I want to especially pinpoint this AI

1:00:09issue. So,

1:00:11what I heard you say is

1:00:14it's basically very easy to create a

1:00:17FOIA request as a non-expert right now.

1:00:19In fact, you could hit a button and

1:00:21generate 20 of them. Um actually, would

1:00:24you mind sharing the anecdote about the

1:00:25the person that that's like saying

1:00:28asking for the same thing from 30

1:00:29different cities and share

1:00:30>> Sure, go ahead.

1:00:31>> Sure, be happy to. I share with

1:00:33Councilman Holt Sauer in a conversation

1:00:34that we had. Um you know, I'm on groups

1:00:36of municipal attorneys and the most

1:00:39frequent topic of discussion amongst

1:00:41municipal attorneys right now are the

1:00:42increase in FOIA requests and the burden

1:00:44they're being put on municipalities. Um

1:00:46and then attorney shared that over the

1:00:48weekend a Illinois Township that has

1:00:51zero employees received 65 FOIA requests

1:00:54over a weekend from a single requestor.

1:00:57And just the uh

1:00:58time it takes for an attorney to step in

1:01:01for a Township that has zero employees

1:01:03and review 65 attorneys to develop the

1:01:05strategy of how to

1:01:07review 65 FOIA requests to develop the

1:01:09strategy and how to respond to those is

1:01:12incredibly time-consuming and and the

1:01:13technicalities of the Freedom of

1:01:15Information Act make it uh very

1:01:17time-sensitive in terms of the responses

1:01:19needed.

1:01:20>> Yeah, I I really appreciate that. So, um

1:01:23very randomly, I actually had the job of

1:01:25being a FOIA attorney for the US

1:01:26government for a while. Um so, when I

1:01:29was in the Air Force, I was deployed to

1:01:30Guantanamo Bay, and I was actually a

1:01:32FOIA officer for Guantanamo Bay,

1:01:34which is wild because that was at that

1:01:37time

1:01:39one of the most visible

1:01:42places in the world for FOIA requests.

1:01:45And what I would say there is in spite

1:01:47of that, and in spite of the high

1:01:49visibility on that position,

1:01:52the In my view, the legal work was not

1:01:54that complicated. Um

1:01:56it just wasn't. Um and the way I would

1:02:00say, you know, at least in the military

1:02:02was structured, most most of the

1:02:05um

1:02:06most of the time-consuming work was was

1:02:08not done by attorneys. You know, it was

1:02:10a very very, if you were to draw a

1:02:12pyramid, I think

1:02:14the bottom of the pyramid is the most

1:02:15important part. I I just, you know, it

1:02:16seemed like balls and strikes at the

1:02:17top. Um like a job I could have learned

1:02:19in 2 days.

1:02:21Um and did. Um

1:02:24So, I struggle a little with why this is

1:02:26and I I know when we talked on the

1:02:28phone, you'd said this is originally a

1:02:29paralegal request.

1:02:31Um but I'm actually going to

1:02:34step back a little bit, and I I kind of

1:02:36feel like

1:02:40the FOIA system always operated on sort

1:02:42of the good faith assumption that people

1:02:44were writing a real FOIA request and

1:02:46submitting it. If you can use AI to

1:02:48submit 60 at a time,

1:02:50you can [clears throat] just as easily

1:02:51set submit 6,000 at a time. Like,

1:02:53there's nothing that stops you from

1:02:54doing that in the law.

1:02:56And so, a concern I have here is

1:03:00it's like there's now a gunfight out

1:03:01there, and you're asking for a bigger

1:03:03knife with another attorney. Like,

1:03:06this is not going to stop somebody from

1:03:08submitting 500 requests. Like, if they

1:03:09This is not even going to be a dent in

1:03:11that problem. You'll potentially coming

1:03:13back next year

1:03:15needing 20 staff members for this.

1:03:17So,

1:03:18um

1:03:19I mean, I have a lot of respect for your

1:03:21department. I have a lot of respect for

1:03:23all the work they do.

1:03:25And And maybe I'm okay with voting for

1:03:27this, but but as a bigger concern, I

1:03:30would really, really suggest

1:03:32um thinking about how to, you know, to

1:03:34use that gun fighting analogy,

1:03:36how to use maybe AI yourself.

1:03:39Um

1:03:40because if you get a 30-page FOIA

1:03:42request and an individual attorney's

1:03:44reviewing that, that's going to eat up

1:03:45their week.

1:03:46But if you have AI reviewing that and

1:03:49it's saying, "Hey, 29 of these 30 pages

1:03:51aren't even relevant to Naperville."

1:03:54talks.

1:03:58>> Um actually, the system's taken on a

1:04:00life of its own right now.

1:04:03And I think we might have to do some

1:04:05sort of system

1:04:06reset or something cuz it's uh

1:04:10it it's it's not responding.

1:04:18>> Testing.

1:04:18>> Oh, it's working now. Um just to kind of

1:04:21close out the uh it looks like Mr.

1:04:22Standa was dying to say something. So,

1:04:24um

1:04:25so yeah, just just to I'll give it back

1:04:27to you in a second, but

1:04:29I just would really encourage, I mean, I

1:04:32even off-the-shelf AI

1:04:35uh software like like Claude or ChatGPT,

1:04:38I mean, it's really good at doing things

1:04:40like

1:04:42search through these 30 pages of PDFs,

1:04:44suggest redactions for me. You know, I

1:04:47think unless you're on the forefront of

1:04:49those kind of technological

1:04:51solutions, I think humans are just going

1:04:53to get overwhelmed. That's my

1:04:54suggestion, but go ahead.

1:04:56Did you have a second?

1:04:57>> Uh thank you, Councilman. I I I

1:04:58completely agree with what you're

1:04:59sharing there. It's uh all issues that

1:05:01we've identified. I want Council to know

1:05:03that we wouldn't come with this request

1:05:04unless we thought it was absolutely

1:05:06necessary. We have explored software

1:05:08solutions. We have tried to do it

1:05:10through repositioning existing staff.

1:05:12And maybe most notably, and what we

1:05:13believe we need um

1:05:15primarily is legislative reform. Uh the

1:05:18Freedom of Information Act was written a

1:05:19long time ago in a completely different

1:05:21environment where FOIA requests came in

1:05:23for a police report of an accident that

1:05:26took place or, you know, very simple

1:05:28records that were existing and easy to

1:05:30access. Now, we are getting FOIA

1:05:32requests, as you indicated, for people

1:05:34who are angry or upset or trying to

1:05:36harass and they want, you know, big

1:05:37spans of emails or really specific

1:05:40information and they're they're

1:05:41submitting them like federal subpoenas

1:05:43and they're very complex to analyze and

1:05:45respond to. And and we have championed

1:05:48Naperville has been at the forefront of

1:05:49championing legislative change over the

1:05:51last several legislative cycles and we

1:05:53have gotten some movement on that. We

1:05:55have a sympathetic ears, but it's it's,

1:05:58you know, complicated and transparency

1:06:00is incredibly important and there's a

1:06:02lot of hesitation at the General

1:06:03Assembly to put parameters in place that

1:06:07may inhibit others from gaining

1:06:09information that they should have access

1:06:11to. So, it's complicated, but we're

1:06:12working on it, but it's going to have to

1:06:14accelerate at some point to get the

1:06:15legislative change we need to make this

1:06:17more manageable.

1:06:18>> And if I could make a final comment on

1:06:19that, Mayor. My I guess my comment would

1:06:21be, at least just one of nine, I would

1:06:24say if we grant this this year, um, my

1:06:27expectation would be that there really,

1:06:29frankly, that this is it. Um, technology

1:06:32is the answer from here. You know, if

1:06:34it's, "Hey, next year we need another

1:06:35one or another two," I think we're going

1:06:37to be getting a bigger FOIA team every

1:06:39year for into eternity and I just I

1:06:41don't think we can do that. So, thank

1:06:43you, Mayor.

1:06:45>> Thank you. Uh, Council, just so we're

1:06:47all aware of the the system reset here.

1:06:49So, I'm going in order of what it says

1:06:51currently and right now it says

1:06:53Councilman Wilson is next.

1:06:55>> Seems accurate to me.

1:07:00>> Uh, just a note on Councilman Hultgren's

1:07:03point. I thought there was, Mr. De

1:07:05Santo, you can correct me if I'm wrong,

1:07:07I thought there was some sort of,

1:07:08uh, AI software specifically for

1:07:11law,

1:07:13but maybe I'm

1:07:15I I we could chat offline about it, but

1:07:18uh, I did have a question for Deputy

1:07:22Director Galhue, the part-time

1:07:24communication specialist,

1:07:26uh is that

1:07:28is the part-time position currently

1:07:30filled or would it be it's a

1:07:35Oh, yeah.

1:07:36>> Hi, Ella Jones, Director of

1:07:38Communications.

1:07:39Uh actually, uh it is not filled um

1:07:42because I had a full-time employee leave

1:07:45the city and so the part-time employee

1:07:47who was in that position, she moved into

1:07:50the full-time position. So, the

1:07:53part-time position currently is open

1:07:55right now.

1:07:56>> And this would be converted to a

1:07:57full-time position.

1:07:58>> Correct. That's the request, yes.

1:07:59>> Got it. Okay.

1:08:01Uh

1:08:03All right. And then I did have a

1:08:05sort of a follow-up uh

1:08:07uh Councilman White was making about the

1:08:10forestry

1:08:12uh division. Um so, for Director

1:08:15Randolph,

1:08:16um I I don't know. We we heard we all up

1:08:18here

1:08:20hear about uh a lot of requests for tree

1:08:23trimming services.

1:08:25Um

1:08:27W-

1:08:28I guess I'm trying to

1:08:30understand the difference here between a

1:08:31field super- like, why I guess my

1:08:34question here is why a field supervisor

1:08:36as opposed to like,

1:08:38I don't know, a couple guys more that

1:08:41will actually do the trimming.

1:08:43>> Yes. Uh

1:08:44Dan Randolph, uh

1:08:46Director. That's a that's a really good

1:08:47question and that's something that we

1:08:49discussed uh with staff before we

1:08:51brought the request to the City

1:08:53Manager's office.

1:08:54So, there's and I think this answers

1:08:56both your question and Councilman

1:08:58White's about uh

1:09:01about how does this affect cost? So,

1:09:03there's if we look at like kind of the

1:09:05two main pillars of of what it is we're

1:09:06trying to do. We're trying to provide a

1:09:07service and we're trying to do it at the

1:09:09lowest possible cost.

1:09:11So, I think right now the main issue is

1:09:13that we're not meeting the expectations

1:09:15of the city with regards to maintaining

1:09:17our urban forest.

1:09:19So, when we look at that,

1:09:22we try to determine what the best way to

1:09:23accomplish that is

1:09:25and

1:09:26tree trimming services

1:09:29for routine services, not for immediate

1:09:32requests or emergencies, are best

1:09:34accomplished through contractors.

1:09:36Uh they're just lower cost and they have

1:09:38they have equipment. If we were to hire

1:09:40internal staff we would have to hire

1:09:43multiple people and equipment.

1:09:46And then there's additional maintenance

1:09:47cost that go with all that equipment.

1:09:49And it's

1:09:50it just from a from a strictly cost

1:09:51perspective, it doesn't make sense at

1:09:53this point in time with the workload

1:09:56that we're seeing.

1:09:57So, our request for

1:09:59a frontline supervisor

1:10:01is they're they're not only going to be

1:10:03able to manage the frontline staff that

1:10:05we have, but when we are hiring

1:10:07contractors, they can also manage those

1:10:10or this position could manage those

1:10:12contractors in town.

1:10:14So, what that means is contractors come

1:10:15in. Um

1:10:18they accomplish their work for the day.

1:10:20There's hundreds of work orders. There's

1:10:22maps that need to be updated. Sometimes

1:10:25there's incidents or accidents that

1:10:26require forms. There's all all that

1:10:29supervision and management required. So,

1:10:30this position is handling both the our

1:10:34city frontline staff and the

1:10:36contractors.

1:10:42>> Go ahead, Don.

1:10:43>> uh thanks. Something happened to the mic

1:10:44here.

1:10:45Uh

1:10:46okay, that that makes sense. I I guess

1:10:48like as a follow-up to that, say if we

1:10:50had contractors that were done at like

1:10:54I don't know.

1:11:01Uh it's

1:11:03Try it now.

1:11:29All right.

1:11:35>> Okay, why don't we take a

1:11:375-minute break? We'll be back at 7:09.

1:11:40While we get this resolved. Thank you.

1:13:17>> Check 1 2.

1:15:36>> Yeah.

1:17:22>> Testing, testing.

1:18:17>> Ladies and gentlemen, we appreciate your

1:18:19patience.

1:18:20We're trying to work on the system here.

1:18:22Right now, I don't have the ability to

1:18:23activate other council members'

1:18:25microphones, which might sound like a

1:18:27fun party trick, but it's it's not.

1:18:29Also, we have recording that we have to

1:18:32do for those people on the live stream,

1:18:34as well as the meeting minutes. So,

1:18:36until we get this resolved,

1:18:37we're going to have to sit

1:18:39tight.

1:20:24>> Testing.

1:20:54Test. Test.

1:20:56Testing. Testing.

1:21:00Yeah.

1:21:09>> Okay, at this time we got the system

1:21:11back up.

1:21:12We're going to go ahead and resume the

1:21:14meeting and council members if you could

1:21:16re-queue your your microphones for

1:21:20your position to speak on

1:21:24the remaining questions here.

1:21:25Councilwoman Jane.

1:21:27>> I think eight still up.

1:21:29>> Oh, I'm sorry. Can I

1:21:31I'll finish up real quick. Just uh

1:21:34follow up on that uh Director Reynolds.

1:21:36>> So, if we had

1:21:37uh

1:21:38the field supervisor and the consultants

1:21:40are done trimming the trees

1:21:42at like

1:21:444:00, would they get us more in line to

1:21:46say, "Hey, can you work on whatever

1:21:49different part of the city or this is

1:21:51close by,

1:21:53can you knock this out for

1:21:55you know, a couple hours or

1:21:57uh

1:21:58would it help the

1:22:00uh

1:22:01contractors know where they're going

1:22:04quicker the following end number of

1:22:06days? Did Does that Does that make

1:22:08sense?

1:22:10>> Yeah, I think I think I understand your

1:22:11question. Uh

1:22:13we don't really manage the contractors

1:22:15on a day-to-day basis. We give them

1:22:17field maps and we say, we you know,

1:22:20perform this area of town

1:22:22and there's an expectation or there's a

1:22:24specific contract requirement that they

1:22:25do it in an X number of days.

1:22:28Really, where the supervisor

1:22:30comes into play is

1:22:32um on any given day, we might get one or

1:22:34200 service requests. Someone needs to

1:22:37go through those, make sure they're not

1:22:38duplicates. And then And then they need

1:22:41to check, is the contractor in that

1:22:42area? Is that something they can pick up

1:22:44while they're there?

1:22:45So, for example, we had over 3,000

1:22:48service requests this year just related

1:22:51to storm damage. That's not regular

1:22:53trimming or or anything else.

1:22:55So, uh a

1:22:57an additional supervisor is a perfect

1:22:59position to help manage that workload.

1:23:02>> Thanks.

1:23:04>> Councilwoman Jain.

1:23:08Your Your

1:23:08>> Not on.

1:23:10>> Oh, boy. Uh Councilwoman White.

1:23:12>> Hold on.

1:23:13>> Does she want to use uh Councilwoman

1:23:16>> Councilwoman Sayed's.

1:23:16>> Oh, I don't think you Did you Did you

1:23:18want to speak, Councilwoman?

1:23:20>> No, no.

1:23:20>> Okay, so I thought hers wasn't working.

1:23:21Okay.

1:23:23Okay, well, it she's It shows her queued

1:23:25in, but

1:23:28Okay, oh, got it.

1:23:31Councilman Sayed.

1:23:32>> Yeah.

1:23:33Thank you, Mayor. Okay. So, city

1:23:35manager, when when we can add budget for

1:23:39the systems, you know?

1:23:41So that

1:23:41>> [laughter]

1:23:42>> next next year, we don't have the

1:23:44problem because last year also we had

1:23:46the same problem. We continued with the

1:23:49same problem now. Fine. So

1:23:53Okay. So this is for city attorney, Mr.

1:23:57Mike.

1:23:58And what what type of top three issues

1:24:01we get it for FOIA?

1:24:03And

1:24:05as Councilman Yancey said, you know, how

1:24:07do we handle this technology-wise and

1:24:09other things? Are any other larger

1:24:11cities like us how they are handling

1:24:14what type of

1:24:16you know, technology they are using? Did

1:24:18we

1:24:19get into that? Just wanted to know from

1:24:21you.

1:24:22>> Thank you, Councilman. Two points I was

1:24:23hoping to touch on.

1:24:25Last one first. Um

1:24:27I'm aware of many communities who are

1:24:29struggling with this as as the amount of

1:24:31requests and the complexity of the

1:24:32requests have amped up. I did notice

1:24:34today I received an an email from

1:24:37a FOIA attorney for the city of Aurora.

1:24:39So the city of Aurora does employ a peer

1:24:42a a full-time dedicated FOIA attorney

1:24:44like we're trying to do internally.

1:24:47And you know, this really came from the

1:24:49police department in part.

1:24:52We're kind of feel like the ducks on the

1:24:53water where we try to keep things

1:24:55looking smooth but under the water, you

1:24:56know, we're paddling like crazy to keep

1:24:58up with all of these responses. And we

1:25:01know the police department's pain and

1:25:02they know our pain in in responding to

1:25:04FOIA requests. And the chief kind of

1:25:06brought us together and said, "Hey,

1:25:08instead of continuously struggling with

1:25:10this, how do we become the best at it?

1:25:12If we could start from scratch, what

1:25:13would we do?" And really challenged us

1:25:15in that way. And that's how this came

1:25:17about in large part of saying, "If we

1:25:18could do this, we'd have a dedicated

1:25:20attorney who can respond to everyone

1:25:22immediately all the time." And and then

1:25:24we see the other communities are doing

1:25:25that, but we're really trying to be the

1:25:27leaders on this issue

1:25:29throughout the state of Illinois. And in

1:25:30terms of what are the most frequent

1:25:32requests, without a doubt, body cam

1:25:34footage that we're getting requests

1:25:36consistently to the police department.

1:25:38And you know, complex police scenes,

1:25:40there's multiple officers, they all have

1:25:42their cameras on. You're talking about

1:25:44hours, tens of hours, hundreds of hours

1:25:46of sometimes being captured and it's

1:25:48very easy just to put a sentence on a

1:25:50piece of paper which then triggers

1:25:52multiple hours of

1:25:54FOIA analysis in order to redact and

1:25:57review. Is there a juvenile caption in

1:25:59one of those videos that has to be

1:26:01redacted? Was something said that isn't

1:26:03allowed to be shared? Is there sensitive

1:26:04private information that was captured on

1:26:06video inside of someone's home? You

1:26:08know, all of these different levels of

1:26:10review. And so, no doubt the most of

1:26:12amount of FOIAs we receive are from the

1:26:13police department of them are involving

1:26:15body camera footage.

1:26:17>> Thank you. And I have a follow-up

1:26:19question on this as

1:26:21>> Go ahead.

1:26:21>> Yeah.

1:26:22I had a senior staff engineer and I've

1:26:25seen city manager that, you know, we

1:26:28have requested for a code enforcement

1:26:30officer and all those people. So, what

1:26:32type of salary range are we asking? Is

1:26:35it a higher end, middle, or lower, or,

1:26:38you know,

1:26:41>> I'm thinking that would probably go to

1:26:43Director Loudon should be able to

1:26:45respond to those.

1:26:49>> Um so, specifically for

1:26:52the traffic engineer, so, you know, we

1:26:54have a staff of civil engineers.

1:26:58This would fall within the established

1:27:00pay grade range that we have for members

1:27:03of that team that was established

1:27:04through

1:27:05the 2025 study.

1:27:08So, we would be looking for that

1:27:10advanced certification. So, that might

1:27:12be slightly higher

1:27:15within that range, more on the slightly

1:27:16higher side because we do they will need

1:27:18a professional engineer's license as

1:27:20well as the traffic operations license.

1:27:23So,

1:27:24that would but it would be still within

1:27:25that that established range that we have

1:27:27within our compensation study.

1:27:30>> Okay. Thank you, sir.

1:27:33>> Councilman White, second round.

1:27:36>> Thank you, Mayor. The um

1:27:39the question with the the FTEs um

1:27:42I think you guys have presented a pretty

1:27:44good argument for the need.

1:27:46Um but with with the number of FTEs that

1:27:49we are requesting, I'm um um

1:27:51looking at uh Mr. Simon was here with

1:27:54the Preservation Commission as an

1:27:56example and and every budget seems like

1:27:58they've been asking for some assistance

1:28:00to have staff uh help them out with

1:28:04providing some kind of full some type of

1:28:07time commitment to what they're doing

1:28:09from a historical preservation um

1:28:11standpoint. Uh I would just ask if we

1:28:14can if we look at the FTEs now that you

1:28:16have more employees that are potentially

1:28:18will be available, is there a way to

1:28:21address some of the concerns of that

1:28:24particular commission to see if we can

1:28:25provide, you know, maybe a half of an

1:28:27FTE or something along those lines.

1:28:30Uh just something to consider. I'm not

1:28:32sure if it's possible, but it seems like

1:28:34it's kind of opened up the possibility

1:28:36uh to look at that.

1:28:41>> Councilman McBroom?

1:28:43>> Thank you, Mayor. Um

1:28:45Yeah, since I've uh I've been like that,

1:28:47I feel like my my job is always to say

1:28:49no to everything and especially when it

1:28:50comes to general fund and adding um

1:28:54recurring obligations. Um

1:28:57But uh

1:28:58you know, I get all the same complaints

1:29:00and and um you know, I I I I take a lot

1:29:03of pride in in trying to explain to

1:29:05people the value they get for that

1:29:07portion of their property tax bill

1:29:09that's cities.

1:29:10And um I think there's some areas where

1:29:13the value has gone down. And um you

1:29:15know, I get the tree the parkway stuff

1:29:17all the time. And um

1:29:20and then in the development space. So,

1:29:22you know, I I talked to Bill Simon and

1:29:24and you know, some of the others in

1:29:26historic uh preservation and I say we

1:29:29can't even get permits out for actual

1:29:30developments. There's no way we can, you

1:29:33know, ask staff to you know, put

1:29:35together some kind of a historic

1:29:36preservation incentive program. And I'm

1:29:38I'm 100% open to something like that.

1:29:41Um

1:29:42you know, when when we had a unanimous

1:29:45uh unanimous vote uh to pursue 5th

1:29:48Avenue development and and uh and hire a

1:29:51consultant to move forward, we were told

1:29:53by staff we didn't have the capacity to

1:29:55do so. Not

1:29:56wasn't a never thing, but it was not

1:29:58now. And I think something like that

1:30:00should really make us all pause that,

1:30:02you know, one of the reasons why we get

1:30:04the value that we get on our property

1:30:05tax levy

1:30:07is because we we build things. And and

1:30:09so, you know, particularly in

1:30:11development

1:30:12um

1:30:14you know, that's an area where I think

1:30:16you got to start thinking you might need

1:30:18to spend some money to make some money.

1:30:20And um

1:30:21uh you know, I I so I I I do want to

1:30:23kind of just go through some of these

1:30:24these positions briefly. Um

1:30:27you know, when when we're adding new uh

1:30:29full-time employees

1:30:32you know, I I do want to know that they

1:30:33are

1:30:34investments.

1:30:36Um so

1:30:37uh

1:30:38and and just purely from So, we already

1:30:40added three um

1:30:43to TED this year. Here's another three.

1:30:45So, here's six. Um you know, it's

1:30:47traffic engineering, uh the code

1:30:49enforcement. I don't know what kind of

1:30:52return on that. You know, I don't get

1:30:54code code enforcement complaints. So,

1:30:56that's one where I'm like, I don't know

1:30:57what that does for for development and

1:30:59economic development. Um but uh

1:31:03you know

1:31:04when it comes to adding a new FTE up to

1:31:06public works and forestry and and to

1:31:08TED, I I think

1:31:10you know, making an investment like

1:31:11that, uh I'm going to I'm going to trust

1:31:13our directors and and they know their

1:31:15side of the deal that there's going to

1:31:17be an expectation that we pursue

1:31:21um

1:31:21that we catch up on the the tree

1:31:23trimming, uh you know, that kind of

1:31:25thing. So, I'm I'm supportive of of of

1:31:27those as as well. Um

1:31:29like everybody else, I'll just say it

1:31:31bluntly, I hate the FOIA thing. I mean,

1:31:33I hate it. Um

1:31:35you know, I don't know what I get out of

1:31:36that. Um and I just have to trust you

1:31:39Maybe I I dislike it because it's a

1:31:42necessary evil, maybe.

1:31:43And it almost sounds like it's

1:31:45harassment of our police department

1:31:46that's going on.

1:31:47And and I I do think that the state

1:31:49needs to do something about it. I mean,

1:31:51people need access to information. Um

1:31:54but uh it it sounds like there's a level

1:31:56of abuse going on that the state needs

1:31:58to address uh somehow. Um

1:32:02utilities, we're expanding our

1:32:04wastewater. I we'd have to expect

1:32:06there's going to be uh labor that's

1:32:08that's needed there and that's paid for

1:32:10through our utility rates that are still

1:32:12competitive. So, um you know, I I do

1:32:15think it's time to make some

1:32:16investments. Um I'm going to make I'm

1:32:18going to hold my nose on the on the FOIA

1:32:20um

1:32:21you know, full-time position.

1:32:24And then the last one is just is the

1:32:25fire communications. I I mean, I'm going

1:32:28to have a hard time getting my arms

1:32:29around that one. So, I maybe I just need

1:32:31a more of an explanation on it. Um

1:32:33I didn't do a deep dive into the um

1:32:35exactly what that position is, but it

1:32:37does sound like a PR social media type

1:32:40of position that we would be putting on

1:32:43salary and pension. So, um

1:32:45is can we get like another explanation

1:32:48of exactly what that person would be

1:32:49doing?

1:32:50>> Director LeClerc.

1:32:52>> Yes, thank you. Uh Linda LeClerc,

1:32:54director of communications.

1:32:56Um

1:32:57so

1:32:59currently um

1:33:01we have communication specialists within

1:33:03the city of Naperville. And so, one

1:33:06thing, you know, we just redid the

1:33:07entire website, right? Um and so, all

1:33:10our departments are subject matter

1:33:12experts. So, we rely on them to provide

1:33:14us information to then go out to the

1:33:17public and and use it in various forms

1:33:19and press releases and

1:33:21news uh you know, a monthly citizen

1:33:23newsletter, the website. We do uh manage

1:33:26over 10 social media channels. Um it is

1:33:29a way to interact and build community,

1:33:32right? And and including transparency

1:33:35with with our community. And so,

1:33:37currently in the fire department fire um

1:33:41senior fire officials are trying to do

1:33:43these communication

1:33:45use these tactics. Um

1:33:48similar to what we saw with the police

1:33:50department about 11 years ago. Um they

1:33:53just need some assistance so that it can

1:33:56free up their time to actually do the

1:33:58strategic things that their department

1:34:01needs. So,

1:34:02back in 2015, what the police department

1:34:05did was they offered a

1:34:07part-time position to the communications

1:34:10group, to my group, and said if you you

1:34:12know, we worked out something to embed

1:34:14somebody in with the police department.

1:34:16So,

1:34:17we're 11 years later, we've seen the

1:34:19success of that happening with the

1:34:21police department, and now with the fire

1:34:23department and some

1:34:25more federal unfunded mandates with the

1:34:28accessibility um

1:34:30requirements, we've uh looked to try to

1:34:33turn

1:34:34that same model and do that with the

1:34:36fire department. So, I um discussed this

1:34:39with, you know, Chief Pugnaitis, and

1:34:42what we had as a part-time

1:34:44communications person working 25 hours a

1:34:47week, and so the ask is to add 15 more

1:34:50hours to that to make it a full-time

1:34:53position.

1:34:54So, it it

1:34:56it does cover social media, but it also

1:34:58covers our website, it covers

1:35:00newsletters, it covers their annual

1:35:03report, um you know, so it it will be

1:35:05more communications,

1:35:07freeing the senior officials up in fire

1:35:09from doing that writing, and we would

1:35:11handle that for them.

1:35:13Be embedded there.

1:35:17>> Okay. Thank you. That's That's all I had

1:35:19on staffing.

1:35:21Councilman Kelly.

1:35:23>> Thank you, Mayor. Uh thank you for the

1:35:25presentation. Um it does sound like

1:35:27we're meeting uh quality of life

1:35:29concerns with a lot of these positions.

1:35:31Um but I do have a a few questions

1:35:33>> [snorts]

1:35:34>> um just to clarify some of these

1:35:36positions. Um taking in order, if we

1:35:39start with the uh senior traffic

1:35:40engineer,

1:35:42um maybe less about the position in a

1:35:44question about one of the

1:35:47uh

1:35:47yeah, I I think it's on that slide. Um

1:35:56I think it was that slide. I Somewhere,

1:35:58Somewhere there was discussion about uh

1:36:00increasing number of and complexity of

1:36:03developments.

1:36:05And um

1:36:07And certainly we've had some big cases

1:36:09the last year or two.

1:36:12But I feel like we also hear every year

1:36:13for the past many years that there's

1:36:15less and less or there will be less

1:36:17because we're running out of land. We're

1:36:19down to infill, but even the infill's

1:36:21getting smaller. I'm just curious what

1:36:23staff is seeing on the horizon there

1:36:25that makes you think we're going to have

1:36:27more and more complex projects in the

1:36:29coming years?

1:36:33>> Sure, Jennifer Loten, director of tied.

1:36:35Um

1:36:36We are we're we're not seeing really the

1:36:37development uh case load decrease and I

1:36:40would say that um

1:36:42uh traffic and stormwater in particular

1:36:44um are under higher and higher scrutiny

1:36:46um with the developments that we're

1:36:48seeing partly because we're seeing some

1:36:49land use changes. Um we're also seeing

1:36:52infill, so a lot of those are around um

1:36:54areas that are already developed and so

1:36:56I think they're a little more sensitive.

1:36:58Um you know, I'll take Spring and Mills

1:36:59as an example.

1:37:00Um

1:37:01that's one where you know, the traffic

1:37:03is highly scrutinized and while our

1:37:05staff does a very good job of reviewing

1:37:06the studies that are being uh put forth

1:37:09by um the developers' traffic

1:37:11consultants, um just having that even

1:37:13higher level of review um

1:37:15within our own team, I think will

1:37:17provide a lot of comfort as we're

1:37:18providing that information and

1:37:20responding to resident inquiries um as

1:37:22well as inquiries at the planning and

1:37:23zoning commission and then when the

1:37:25cases come here at City Council. Um and

1:37:27that's just I mean, that's just one

1:37:29component of what this person is going

1:37:30to focus their time on.

1:37:32>> Okay.

1:37:33Um and then it's the slide right before

1:37:35the one you have up right now, number

1:37:3618, mentioned that the city engineer is

1:37:38the only member who holds a professional

1:37:40traffic operations and engineer's

1:37:41certification. Just wondering how

1:37:44difficult that is to obtain. Is that

1:37:46something that any of our current

1:37:47employees could add to their portfolio

1:37:50or do is that really a very specialized

1:37:52that you have to go out and look for

1:37:53that

1:37:54preexisting certification?

1:37:56>> Um yes. So, we do have members on staff

1:37:58who could potentially pursue that with

1:38:00the time available to um

1:38:03uh increase their skill set in that

1:38:05area. So, as noted, we have a lot of

1:38:07staff members who are spending a little

1:38:09bit of their time on these various

1:38:11duties. So, we do have people who have

1:38:13some of the skill set and have the

1:38:15aptitude for it. So, I I do think that

1:38:17potentially,

1:38:18you know, it could be possible that an

1:38:19internal person

1:38:21moves into this role and then we would

1:38:24look at potentially backfilling their

1:38:25vacancy with a civil engineer who has

1:38:28like a broader level

1:38:30>> I I assume it's a pretty complex

1:38:33process, but I just have no idea to

1:38:34obtain a certification like that. Is

1:38:36that hours, tens of hours, hundreds of

1:38:38hours? Is that

1:38:40>> Yeah, it's a there's a testing process

1:38:41in order to get the certification. So,

1:38:43it's kind of like a next level beyond a

1:38:45professional engineer's license. So, you

1:38:47have to have work experience

1:38:49as well as

1:38:51you know, actually like pass a pass a

1:38:53rigorous testing.

1:38:54>> Got it. Okay.

1:38:57All right, then I had a question about

1:39:05Sorry, I'm just trying to take these in

1:39:06order.

1:39:07The FOIA, well, a lot of questions, a

1:39:10lot of information already, which I

1:39:11appreciate. Wondering if you could give

1:39:13just a little bit of insight on the

1:39:14salary also. We saw one of the slides

1:39:16said 140,000 salary plus benefits. And

1:39:20in the grand scheme of things for the

1:39:23attorney wages in this area, wondering

1:39:25how you view that.

1:39:28>> Um

1:39:29>> [clears throat]

1:39:29>> And and and I guess in conjunction with

1:39:31there was some conversation about a

1:39:32paralegal and I'm wondering about

1:39:33particularly is there

1:39:36a significant delta between if you hired

1:39:38up this position through a paralegal

1:39:40versus an attorney?

1:39:41>> Thank you. That's helpful. You know, the

1:39:43legal department has city attorney

1:39:44position, deputy city attorney position.

1:39:46We have senior assistant city attorney

1:39:48positions and then we have assistant

1:39:49city attorney positions. And this would

1:39:51be an assistant city attorney position.

1:39:53It would be on the lower end of the

1:39:55salaries for our attorneys because of

1:39:56the nature of the work. We believe we

1:39:58can find somebody in that range who

1:39:59likes to do this work and that would

1:40:01work well. The delta between that and a

1:40:03paralegal is not all that significant.

1:40:06We did talk about

1:40:07potential paralegal in this position.

1:40:09The personnel review committee, which we

1:40:11presented to before this got to council,

1:40:13challenged us on that as well. And the

1:40:15truth is, if we needed another

1:40:17operational person who processes FOIA

1:40:20and does those administrative tasks, a

1:40:21paralegal may work. That's not what the

1:40:24need is right now. We need someone who's

1:40:25able to interpret the law and make a

1:40:27decisions regarding

1:40:29FOIA compliance about interpreting

1:40:32requests, negotiating

1:40:34alternatives to the requests that are

1:40:36made, and then handling appeals and

1:40:38providing training to staff. And all of

1:40:40those need to be handled by an attorney

1:40:42position rather than a paralegal. We

1:40:43have seen paralegal work in the past. We

1:40:45worked with Ted and they put on a

1:40:46paralegal for some other contract and

1:40:48permit administration. That's been a

1:40:50great blessing and a help to a legal

1:40:51department. That's really worked well.

1:40:53It would not work as well here. And so,

1:40:55hopefully that answers your question.

1:40:56>> [clears throat]

1:40:57>> All right. Then, one more question on

1:40:59the fire communications position. I

1:41:01think I gathered it, but I'm just not

1:41:03100% sure. We heard about 25 hours now.

1:41:05Sounds like you're really adding more or

1:41:07less a third or calling it a 0.5, but is

1:41:11that person going to be solely dedicated

1:41:13to fire tasks? Will they be within the

1:41:16fire department? Are they going to be in

1:41:17communications and working partially

1:41:20>> Yeah, they're going to split their time

1:41:22between fire and then the rest of the

1:41:25city. And so, that's the model that has

1:41:27been used

1:41:29in the in the past. And so, again, we

1:41:32think

1:41:3320 20 hours a week would assist fire to

1:41:37get them

1:41:38on on the track and help, you know,

1:41:41again, remove some of those duties from

1:41:43their a senior fire personnel.

1:41:46And then, the the other 20 hours would

1:41:48continue to work on city projects across

1:41:50the board.

1:41:51>> And I see the 2027 salary and benefits

1:41:53is 67,000. Is that for the total FTE

1:41:56position? And if so, what are they

1:41:58making now? So, what would the delta be

1:42:00on that? What are they making now versus

1:42:01what would the delta be roughly?

1:42:04>> Actually, um, is um, the difference of

1:42:08the salary and then the benefits.

1:42:11So, they add in the benefits because the

1:42:12part-time a 25-hour person does not get

1:42:14benefits right now. So, um,

1:42:17so that adds in, you know, the

1:42:19additional part for the 15-hour salary.

1:42:21And it's within the salary range again,

1:42:23I have um, the positions are, um, senior

1:42:27communication specialist. This would be

1:42:28a communication specialist position. So,

1:42:31it's in the the salary band, um, for the

1:42:34you know, the approved compensation

1:42:36study that was approved in 2025. But, I

1:42:38don't know the delta offhand. I could

1:42:40get that answer.

1:42:41>> Okay.

1:42:42And I don't want to make you play

1:42:43musical chairs, but I see Chief Sleen in

1:42:45a few times now to see what he have

1:42:47anything to add, uh, to maybe explain

1:42:49why this is necessary from their

1:42:50perspective.

1:42:52>> Thank you, Councilman. Um, I'll be glad

1:42:54to answer a little bit more, have a

1:42:56little bit more clarification. Mark

1:42:57Pucknight is, um, the fire chief.

1:42:59Um, this position has a number of, uh,

1:43:03of arms to it. And, uh,

1:43:06when you talk about the investment to

1:43:07the community, Councilman, I appreciate

1:43:09that and I respect that. Uh, we have an

1:43:11emergency manager, brand new emergency

1:43:13manager, and one of her responsibilities

1:43:15is communicating, training, getting the

1:43:18message out to people, not only before

1:43:20and during the incident that happens,

1:43:22but post-incident.

1:43:24One of the things that we're going to be

1:43:25using this position for, if it gets

1:43:27approved, is to assist that Naperville

1:43:30Office of Emergency Management in

1:43:32communicating to the public. So, that's

1:43:34going to be one thing. The other part is

1:43:36public education.

1:43:38We currently have a vacancy in our

1:43:39public education department. We're

1:43:41planning on revamping that when we

1:43:43replace that position.

1:43:45Uh, it's vacated right now due to a

1:43:46retirement, but when we replace that,

1:43:49that position is going to extend not as

1:43:52much in the schools, but out to the

1:43:54public, our residents that are out there

1:43:56in a variety of different ways, not just

1:43:58school public education, but educating

1:44:01the public in a lot of other things that

1:44:03they need to know. The other and

1:44:04probably the biggest thing that I see is

1:44:06there's a lot of people that don't

1:44:08understand everything that the fire

1:44:09department does. They think that we just

1:44:11respond to structure fires and take

1:44:13people to the to the hospital. There is

1:44:15so much more that we do that we want to

1:44:17communicate to the public to get them

1:44:19accurate information. Councilman Sayed,

1:44:22I know you've asked me many times, what

1:44:24do we do with billing? Um the average

1:44:26person the the the resident in

1:44:28Naperville does not get any bill. The

1:44:30it's they're not responsible for any

1:44:32out-of-pocket expenses. How come more

1:44:34people don't know about that? It's

1:44:35because we don't have a communication

1:44:38person that is able to do that on a

1:44:40regular basis. So, that's the investment

1:44:42that we have. It's a half-time position.

1:44:44I think the money is well worthwhile.

1:44:47Could we figure out another way to do

1:44:48it? Probably. But, I think this is the

1:44:50most efficient and I I hope the council

1:44:53supports it.

1:44:54>> Thank you. And then the last position

1:44:57I'd like to get a little more

1:44:58>> Councilman I I believe

1:45:00Deputy Morocco wanted to

1:45:02chime in related to your last question.

1:45:05>> Sure, just a clarification on the

1:45:06salary. So, this is like the net impact

1:45:09to the budget. Um the current salary for

1:45:11the part-time employee

1:45:13is 40 about 45,000. That doesn't include

1:45:15benefits since it's part-time.

1:45:17So, the added

1:45:19kind of the delta to the budget is the

1:45:2167,000 because the um salary increase is

1:45:2526,000 and then it's about $40,000 for

1:45:28benefits.

1:45:30>> Okay, that's helpful. Thank you.

1:45:35Did you have another question?

1:45:37>> We might have another answer.

1:45:40But,

1:45:41it sounded like

1:45:43for the FOIA attorney you were asking

1:45:45kind of like what the salary piece was

1:45:47because that was salary and benefits and

1:45:50it's entered in the budget as $90,584.

1:45:54>> Okay.

1:45:55Yeah, and I would say that's a pretty

1:45:56good value for for new attorney on city

1:45:58staff.

1:45:59Um so, the last position I want to talk

1:46:01about is one that's not in here, but the

1:46:04potential of a historic preservation

1:46:05related

1:46:07staff position. And I I think I saw City

1:46:10Manager Krieger maybe had some comments

1:46:12when it came up earlier. I'm curious if

1:46:14staff has given this consideration, if

1:46:16you're if you've looked in depth at all

1:46:19at what we have now versus if staff

1:46:23does see a need, if so, what would that

1:46:25look like? Has that been a conversation

1:46:28internally or if not, could it be? Uh

1:46:31curious what your thoughts are for right

1:46:32now.

1:46:34Mr. Kreger.

1:46:34>> Sure. Um yeah, we have we have had uh

1:46:37conversations about this internally. Um

1:46:40you know, uh

1:46:41as a general rule, um staff doesn't like

1:46:45saying no. Uh we don't like saying no to

1:46:48um

1:46:49uh the public and we also don't like

1:46:51saying no to you.

1:46:52Um so,

1:46:54um what we have been doing um

1:46:57uh within TED uh has really been kind of

1:47:00a a prioritization and really trying to

1:47:03to figure out there there are a number

1:47:05of different competing interests along

1:47:07that way. Um you know, what that

1:47:10hierarchy is and really where council

1:47:12wants us to kind of focus those efforts

1:47:14on. Um

1:47:16you know, we can't we can't do

1:47:18everything, but we should focus on what

1:47:21council feels is the most important. And

1:47:25um you know,

1:47:26based on our discussions, it it it is

1:47:29not the um historic preservation

1:47:32component has not uh at least in my

1:47:34opinion kind of risen to the level

1:47:37um for us to reallocate resources toward

1:47:39that.

1:47:40>> And and all all totally fair. I'll say

1:47:42from my experience as the liaison on

1:47:44Historic Preservation Commission,

1:47:46separate from Naperville Preservation

1:47:48Inc., but but you know, there's some

1:47:49crossover there. Um being at those

1:47:52commission meetings for seven years,

1:47:54I have heard many times the the staff

1:47:57member in the room gets a request to

1:48:00look into something and and they're

1:48:02always happy to do it. And there's been

1:48:05many times the hesitation of, well, I I

1:48:07just don't know if or how or when I'm

1:48:08going to be able to get to that because

1:48:10we don't have a fully designated person.

1:48:13Um and I mean, just for clarification, I

1:48:14guess, can you confirm just for the

1:48:16public what is the current staffing for

1:48:19historic preservation?

1:48:22>> Ms. Loudon's got that one.

1:48:24>> Sure.

1:48:25So, we are currently at allocating 15%

1:48:28of one of our staff members' time and

1:48:30that is an assistant planner on our

1:48:31planning team.

1:48:32>> Right. So, to me that seems very light.

1:48:35We're not even at 0.5.

1:48:38And so, I'll say from my perspective

1:48:42generally but also specifically being a

1:48:45liaison on that commission, I do think

1:48:46it's it's worth looking at adding some

1:48:49time there, whether that's a full person

1:48:51or bumping that point

1:48:53you know, 0.15 to 1 or even 0.5. Um

1:48:59I don't know if

1:49:01the council's ready to do that as part

1:49:02of this budget. If it's not really been

1:49:04vetted by staff to figure out exactly

1:49:07what that position would look like and

1:49:09what responsibilities they would take

1:49:10on.

1:49:12Um And so, I I I don't know what the

1:49:13rest of the council thinks, but I guess

1:49:15I would be curious for staff to do a

1:49:17little more leg work to

1:49:20ask and answer those questions. What if

1:49:22if there was a will from council to see

1:49:25more staffing resources focused on that

1:49:28issue, what would it look like

1:49:30in terms of staff's recommendation and

1:49:32something that council could consider

1:49:34more seriously.

1:49:35So, I don't know. Is that something

1:49:36staff can do or would require show of

1:49:38hands or

1:49:39>> Mr. Krieger,

1:49:40>> You know, it's

1:49:41it's something we absolutely can do. You

1:49:44know, obviously from tonight's

1:49:46discussion, the fact that it's gotten,

1:49:48you know, a lot of airtime

1:49:50kind of elevates it from an important

1:49:52standpoint.

1:49:53I will tell you that

1:49:55you know, we have a number of

1:49:58other asks within TED and you know,

1:50:01based on how those pan out,

1:50:04that is likely going to create some

1:50:08areas of

1:50:10of increased availability for other

1:50:11staff.

1:50:13Too early to figure that out now because

1:50:15we don't

1:50:16you know, one, we don't know if we will

1:50:18be hiring in them, and two, we won't

1:50:20know how they will fit in, but

1:50:22um, I would think that it after

1:50:25um,

1:50:26the budget process and um,

1:50:30the the appropriate hires are made, then

1:50:33would be the time to kind of evaluate

1:50:36staffing, staff availability, um, and

1:50:39then would be the time to kind of

1:50:41re-prioritize. All right, thank you.

1:50:48>> Director Lowden, um, regarding the

1:50:49senior traffic engineer position,

1:50:52would that role

1:50:53also work with other governments towards

1:50:55interoperability with our traffic

1:50:57control management systems?

1:51:01>> Yeah, so in terms of our signal system,

1:51:03um, that person would closely

1:51:05coordinate, um, with DuPage County, Will

1:51:07County, um, IDOT on the management of

1:51:10the signal systems, particularly, um, on

1:51:12our centralized traffic management

1:51:14system.

1:51:15Um, in terms of just other coordination

1:51:17on roadway improvements, um, you know,

1:51:19we would

1:51:20generally our engineering team, uh,

1:51:22would focus on that, but that would

1:51:24give, um, our current city engineer, who

1:51:26does a lot of the traffic operations

1:51:27work, some more more, um, opportunity

1:51:29and time in in his workload in order to

1:51:31do that larger coordination, um, with

1:51:33the other jurisdictions on on other

1:51:35projects as well.

1:51:37>> You've obviously heard a lot of the

1:51:38concerns from the community regarding

1:51:40the Water Street project, Route 59

1:51:42improvements, all these other things

1:51:44happening at once that have

1:51:46got lots of people upset, and it's

1:51:47delaying their their their commutes.

1:51:50Would this be a person that could help

1:51:53um,

1:51:55advocate for our residents

1:51:57with these other government agencies and

1:52:00minimize disruption when there are

1:52:03future projects like this?

1:52:06>> Yes, I do think this gives us better

1:52:07capacity, um, to one, stay ahead of it.

1:52:10I think one of the things that we have

1:52:12to look at more strongly as team is

1:52:15because while we can't really control

1:52:17what, uh, IDOT is doing, um, on their

1:52:19own roadways, and, you know, we want

1:52:20them to invest in our community and

1:52:22maintain their roadways um and so we

1:52:25really can't dictate their schedules,

1:52:26but what we can do is look at our own

1:52:28and see what we might need to be doing.

1:52:30So, this will give us a better

1:52:31opportunity to, you know, address those,

1:52:33um look at those little more critically.

1:52:37>> Thank you. And um

1:52:39Director Randolph, on the forestry field

1:52:41supervisor position

1:52:43um

1:52:46we have a a a it's still seven-year tree

1:52:49trim schedule based upon the canopy.

1:52:51That that's still the current policy,

1:52:52correct? That every seven years parkway

1:52:55trees get trimmed.

1:52:56>> Yes, that's our goal.

1:52:58>> And that's regardless of what the

1:53:00species are.

1:53:02So, some species grow faster than

1:53:04others, right?

1:53:06>> Yes, that's correct.

1:53:07>> Okay. So,

1:53:08I guess where I'm at is

1:53:10$200,000 is $200,000. Is $200,000 going

1:53:14to get the trees trimmed faster or is it

1:53:16going to manage

1:53:19the trees

1:53:20trimming schedule?

1:53:22And you know, from my perspective

1:53:24$200,000 towards

1:53:26accelerating that seven-year cycle,

1:53:29which we know is not sufficient for a

1:53:32lot of our neighborhoods right now and

1:53:34and is

1:53:35creating these these $3,000 I'm sorry,

1:53:37the 3,000 requests that you're getting

1:53:40in addition to storm damage.

1:53:42Um

1:53:43yeah, I'm I'm just trying to

1:53:44get to the the bottom line here. Can

1:53:47you would $200,000 get the trees trimmed

1:53:50faster?

1:53:52>> Well, yes, $200,000 would get the trees

1:53:55trimmed faster.

1:53:57Um

1:53:58the

1:54:02What I'm trying to do

1:54:04uh through

1:54:07through our internal efforts and through

1:54:09this budget request is establish a set

1:54:11of policies and a team that is going to

1:54:14put the city in the best position in the

1:54:15long term.

1:54:17Um

1:54:18catching up on work and

1:54:21doing a lot of tree trimming now and

1:54:24then tapering off later

1:54:26that

1:54:27um

1:54:29that doesn't provide

1:54:31a good foundation for for long-term

1:54:33success in managing the urban forest.

1:54:36Whereas bringing on another professional

1:54:39to to manage our in our in-house staff

1:54:42and all the contractors, I think

1:54:44provides a

1:54:46a broader skill set and is going to

1:54:48provide a level of service across the

1:54:50board that is going to meet the

1:54:52council's expectation.

1:54:54I think regardless of what we do, we do

1:54:55need continual investment in tree

1:54:57trimming. So, it's not just 200,000 for

1:54:59next year and the year after, uh but

1:55:02this is going to be

1:55:04it from now on we're going to have to

1:55:06meet that 7-year cycle. So, as as the

1:55:09budget

1:55:11proposal currently is, this puts us on

1:55:13the 7-year cycle and we will soon be

1:55:15caught up.

1:55:18So,

1:55:19with the 200,000

1:55:21if it was pushed towards tree trimming

1:55:23today,

1:55:24would it reduce the 7-year cycle or or

1:55:26not?

1:55:29Yes, it would reduce the cycle.

1:55:31Okay.

1:55:33Um

1:55:34under the the the FOIA attorney

1:55:36I I I know a lot of the FOIA requests

1:55:38come out of the police department. We we

1:55:39heard it was like 4,000, I believe,

1:55:42already this year.

1:55:44Um Chief Aries,

1:55:45of those, which are the ones that you're

1:55:49really concerned about? I mean,

1:55:50obviously, when you do a an accident

1:55:52report, you have to do a FOIA to get

1:55:54your accident report. We're not worried

1:55:56about those, I assume. So, is it the the

1:55:58bulk of these 4,000 is is is that the

1:56:02the stuff that you're

1:56:03you're thinking that we need an attorney

1:56:05to review, like the body cam footage? Is

1:56:08that where we're at?

1:56:11So, while we are a big

1:56:13Yes, but I think the key to this is the

1:56:15ask for the attorney is because the

1:56:18staff working on this with the changing

1:56:20laws and the demands, we need someone

1:56:22dedicated to training, reviewing these

1:56:24law changes. I don't think we've hit on

1:56:26the liability piece enough. I know you

1:56:28threw a lot a lot out there tonight. The

1:56:31city could be open to liability, number

1:56:33one for not fulfilling these FOIAs in

1:56:34time, we could be sued and pay out on

1:56:36these. Um if we give out too much

1:56:39information on somewhat, that's

1:56:42give out too much information on a FOIA,

1:56:44that could open us up to liability. If

1:56:46we don't give up enough information on a

1:56:47FOIA, again, not in a malicious intent,

1:56:49but understanding the laws and the

1:56:51nuances of these laws is very difficult.

1:56:54And right now, the city attorney's team

1:56:56is doing an excellent job dividing and

1:56:58conquering, not just for us. I think if

1:57:00you were to and I hope they don't mind

1:57:01me bringing this up, the fire

1:57:02departments, you know, we work with them

1:57:04and talk to them. Their their FOIAs have

1:57:05gone up exponentially. So, we're talking

1:57:07about very sensitive information there.

1:57:10So, on the police side, we're already at

1:57:134910 this year.

1:57:15We were at 4100 the year before. 51% now

1:57:19are body-worn camera video.

1:57:2235%

1:57:23is what the number was at last year. So,

1:57:25the numbers continue to exponentially

1:57:27rise. The And I said like I said,

1:57:29there's a lot of nuances in the laws

1:57:31where we can apply exemptions and things

1:57:33of that nature. We are using

1:57:35the city attorney's staff all the time

1:57:37where it's a divide and conquer.

1:57:39>> Chief, of of the the several thousand

1:57:41requests you've had for body-worn camera

1:57:43video,

1:57:44how much of those do you perceive to be

1:57:46people who wish to take those body cam

1:57:50videos, publicize them on the internet

1:57:52for people's entertainment, and monetize

1:57:54them themselves?

1:57:57>> So, you know me well, and I hate

1:57:58speculation, but there's a lot. I'll

1:57:59give you an example I thought this

1:58:01question may be coming, so I did a

1:58:02search cuz I get alerted on a daily

1:58:04basis to potential, you know, these

1:58:06types of FOIAs. I don't want to promote

1:58:09the group's name right now, but I just

1:58:10searched them so I can answer it's not

1:58:12your traditional media companies. When I

1:58:14looked up the

1:58:15the second part of their email address,

1:58:17the at, it's someone with a Facebook

1:58:19page, a YouTube page, and I think it was

1:58:22Tik Tok that they had on there. So, what

1:58:24we're seeing is the monetization

1:58:27of these videos. So, where are we

1:58:29balancing transparency as a society? Cuz

1:58:32cuz this is a nationwide problem.

1:58:33Councilman Sayeh, you asked a great

1:58:35question. I was at a summit a couple

1:58:36months ago. Chiefs and records managers

1:58:39from across the country are trying to

1:58:40figure this problem out. We want to be

1:58:43transparent. We have zero issue

1:58:46supporting FOIAs, and we want FOIAs.

1:58:48When the media FOIAs us, the true That's

1:58:51what we're struggling with our

1:58:52legislators is defining what the true

1:58:54media is out there because of the way

1:58:56we're seeing this monetized on social

1:58:58media.

1:58:59I do think AI is going to help in this

1:59:01space. I really do. But, we are still

1:59:04going to need the human factors of

1:59:06review to make sure something doesn't go

1:59:09out

1:59:10that shouldn't go out.

1:59:12>> I'm sure they don't.

1:59:13So, just from the the the community's

1:59:16understanding of this, um Naperville, we

1:59:19we have six full-time equivalents doing

1:59:21nothing but FOIA responses.

1:59:24We're talking about adding a hundred and

1:59:25sixty thousand or I'm sorry, excuse me,

1:59:27a hundred and forty thousand dollars

1:59:28fully encumbered

1:59:30city attorney or assistant city attorney

1:59:31to do FOIA responses.

1:59:35And we can't really recover any charges

1:59:38for responding to these FOIAs.

1:59:41And you just heard the police chief.

1:59:45Lots of these videos are being FOIAed so

1:59:49they can be turned around, put on the

1:59:51internet, so people can make money and

1:59:54make a living by taking people's worst

1:59:56day and putting it out on the internet

1:59:59forever.

2:00:01It's one of our city's legislative

2:00:03priorities to try to

2:00:05address this or at least create a

2:00:07mechanism for us to collect money, but

2:00:10this is general fund taxpayer money from

2:00:13our residents that is now going to

2:00:15likely um be spending another hundred

2:00:18and forty thousand dollars so people can

2:00:21profit.

2:00:23Which is really disappointing.

2:00:28>> Okay.

2:00:29Councilwoman Jane?

2:00:31Where

2:00:32Councilman Sayed.

2:00:33>> [laughter]

2:00:34>> Thank you, Mayor.

2:00:35So, I always tell to people, you know,

2:00:37social media is the best friend and the

2:00:40worst enemy of ours.

2:00:42So, people need to use it appropriately.

2:00:45So, I have seen people using TikToks

2:00:48against Naperville police.

2:00:51Using our own

2:00:52information and attacking our own police

2:00:54officers, which they have been doing

2:00:56amazing job.

2:00:58Uh and uh I've seen people making money,

2:01:00definitely. And also on Instagram,

2:01:02people have been

2:01:04sharing all those information to get

2:01:06more views, more money, more attraction

2:01:09towards that. So, I don't know how

2:01:12practically we can stop all those

2:01:14things, but definitely there should be a

2:01:15law so that people are using and abusing

2:01:18the system.

2:01:19So, we need to work on those things and

2:01:22uh I can say, you know, police chief and

2:01:24fire chief and uh Mike,

2:01:26maybe you should speak to the

2:01:29state as well as, you know,

2:01:32uh state reps and state senators, how

2:01:34they have been misusing and abusing the

2:01:36system so that we can stop. Unless until

2:01:39we highlight this thing, it is going to

2:01:41increase and next year we may you may

2:01:44ask for another attorney to handle this

2:01:47200, 400 cases. So, we should start

2:01:50working from right now. Thank you so

2:01:52much.

2:01:54>> Okay, Mr. Krieger.

2:01:56All right, thanks, Mayor. Um

2:02:01All right, uh moving on to the

2:02:02utilities, uh which are fully funded uh

2:02:05by ratepayers and do not impact uh our

2:02:08property tax.

2:02:09Um starting with electric, uh when the

2:02:12city's electrical system experiences an

2:02:14outage during the nighttime, there's

2:02:16only one staff member tasked with

2:02:18managing multiple processes. Uh

2:02:20currently, this one employee is

2:02:21responsible for diagnosing the fault,

2:02:24safely isolating lines via SCADA, uh

2:02:27coordinating with field crews, and

2:02:29logging regulatory data. Um with only a

2:02:32single staff member responsible for

2:02:34these processes during night time

2:02:35outages, system interruptions last for a

2:02:38longer period of time. Uh, as a result,

2:02:40customer satisfaction is neg- negatively

2:02:43impacted due to longer periods of system

2:02:45interruptions.

2:02:48Uh, to address this issue,

2:02:50uh, staff is proposing to hire an

2:02:52additional electric system controller in

2:02:542027.

2:02:56Uh, having a second system controller to

2:02:58assist with night time outages creates a

2:03:00dual track execution system. That means,

2:03:03uh, one employee will be managing

2:03:05communication with field crews, uh,

2:03:07while the other will be executing switch

2:03:09orders.

2:03:10Uh, we estimate that having a second

2:03:12system controller to aid in the response

2:03:14to night time outages will reduce

2:03:17average interruption duration by 20 to

2:03:2030%.

2:03:22Uh, continuing to reduce system down

2:03:24time will create a better customer

2:03:26experience and help minimize negative

2:03:29financial impacts on the utility.

2:03:31Uh, in order to account for this

2:03:33proposed position, the 2027 budget

2:03:36includes $152,000

2:03:38for the salary and benefits of a new

2:03:40system controller.

2:03:44Shifting over to water, uh, another

2:03:47challenge we're seeing

2:03:49is at at the Springbrook Water

2:03:50Reclamation Facility where head count

2:03:52has remained unchanged for over 50

2:03:55years. Uh, during that time, the

2:03:57customer base has grown from 25,000 to

2:03:59over 170,000.

2:04:01Uh, plant capacity has also increased

2:04:04from 10 million to 26, uh, million

2:04:07gallons per day.

2:04:09Today, eight operators work shifts to

2:04:12maintain 24/7 365 coverage.

2:04:16That makes it difficult to fill overtime

2:04:18during extended absences and vacancies.

2:04:20Uh, third-party report also noted that

2:04:23our current staffing levels are

2:04:24insufficient relative to an industry

2:04:26standards.

2:04:27Uh, and on top of that, the pending

2:04:29Illinois EPA permit renewal will have

2:04:31more requirements than previous permits,

2:04:33uh, such as the phosphorus monitoring

2:04:35requirement. Meeting those requirements

2:04:38is going to take a more careful process

2:04:40control uh, to maintain compliance.

2:04:45So, uh, to address this, we're proposing

2:04:48to hire two wastewater treatment

2:04:50operators. The addition of these

2:04:51operators was always intended as part of

2:04:54the renovations being done at

2:04:55Springbrook. Uh, the cost for 2027 is

2:04:58$263,000

2:05:00in salary and benefits.

2:05:02Um, uh, adding to this head count uh,

2:05:05does result in a $37,000

2:05:08overtime cost reduction offset.

2:05:11Um, so that helps address some of the

2:05:13cost. Uh, spreading the workload across

2:05:1610 operators instead of the current

2:05:17eight uh, will allow more time to focus

2:05:20on process optimization rather than

2:05:22reactive operations.

2:05:24Uh, that added capacity will also help

2:05:26us meet the more demanding requirements

2:05:29of the Illinois EPA permit renewal.

2:05:31Uh, adequate staffing increases our

2:05:33emergency response capabilities and it

2:05:36also improves employee safety and

2:05:38strengthens system resiliency resiliency

2:05:41at the facility.

2:05:45Another issue we're facing at the water

2:05:47utility is that current staffing models

2:05:49cannot support the massive scale of its

2:05:51automation infrastructure.

2:05:53That infrastructure represents $15

2:05:55million worth of critical water assets.

2:05:58Uh, without adequate staffing, we have

2:06:00increased vulnerability to targeted

2:06:02cybersecurity attacks on those assets.

2:06:06We also face a higher probability of

2:06:07critical equipment failure, which can

2:06:09lead to operational disruptions.

2:06:12Uh, on top of that, the gap is affecting

2:06:14how we use our leadership's time. Right

2:06:17now, the deputy director uh, serves as a

2:06:20system administrator, which is an

2:06:22inefficient use of executive leadership

2:06:24time and pulls focus from their broader

2:06:27responsibilities.

2:06:30To address this, we're proposing to hire

2:06:33an additional utility supervisor.

2:06:36For 2027, the cost will be $192,000

2:06:39in salary and benefits.

2:06:41This position would bring our staffing

2:06:43in line with the ratios and industry

2:06:45best practices

2:06:47uh standards uh set by the American

2:06:50Water Works Association and Water I A C,

2:06:53which is uh the water information

2:06:55sharing and communications group.

2:06:57It would also reduce operational

2:06:59downtime and the risk associated with

2:07:01aging control logic.

2:07:03That directly addresses the higher

2:07:05probability of critical equipment

2:07:07failure we discussed on the previous

2:07:08slide.

2:07:10Finally, it frees up the deputy

2:07:12director's time from acting as a system

2:07:14administrator.

2:07:15Uh and with that change, the deputy

2:07:17director can fully focus on the

2:07:19strategic leadership the utility depends

2:07:22on.

2:07:24Uh tonight, um we are looking for your

2:07:26feedback on approving the 9.375

2:07:28positions that are outlined on this

2:07:30slide. Uh as a reminder, the cost of the

2:07:33utility positions will be borne by the

2:07:34utilities themselves, not the general

2:07:37fund.

2:07:38Uh therefore, no property impact.

2:07:42Now, we'd like to pause for questions

2:07:45and seek council's feedback at this

2:07:46time. Do you support the inclusion of

2:07:48the 9.375 FTEs in the 2027 budget?

2:07:58>> Councilwoman Gibson.

2:07:59>> Uh thank you, Mayor. I have some

2:08:00questions for City Manager Krieger about

2:08:02slide 31

2:08:04and the electric utility controller.

2:08:09Oops.

2:08:18Thanks.

2:08:19All right.

2:08:19>> aren't too good. Sorry about that.

2:08:21>> That's good. Um so, the electric utility

2:08:23controller would be specifically a

2:08:25nighttime position?

2:08:27>> Yeah, the the additional position will

2:08:29allow us to double up at double up at

2:08:31night.

2:08:31>> How many um controllers do we have

2:08:34during the day?

2:08:35>> Uh I think there's

2:08:37um Mr. Man can handle that, but um I

2:08:39believe right now it's just one.

2:08:42>> Could you repeat the question, please?

2:08:44>> Um yeah, how many electric utility

2:08:46controllers do we have monitoring the

2:08:48system during the day?

2:08:49>> Okay, thank you. Mike Man, Deputy

2:08:51Director Electric. Uh we have two to

2:08:53three during the daytime. And that's

2:08:55because that's when the vast amount of

2:08:57our resources, internal and external,

2:08:59are there. So, they're managing not only

2:09:02uh outages that come in the daytime, but

2:09:04they're also managing switching uh

2:09:06requests.

2:09:08For for scheduled work.

2:09:09>> Okay. So, the job includes more than

2:09:11just what the nighttime controller would

2:09:13be doing when they're there during the

2:09:15day.

2:09:16>> It is it's a little bit more because of

2:09:18volume, but the different the way we are

2:09:20structured is

2:09:22each controller has to have the skill

2:09:24set to operate the entire system,

2:09:27whether we're talking about

2:09:28distribution, subtransmission, or

2:09:30transmission work, as well as switching

2:09:33outages and handle emergencies all at

2:09:35one time.

2:09:37>> Okay. Is there a difference? Um

2:09:40do we receive the same amount of outages

2:09:42at night as we do during the day?

2:09:48>> You know, I

2:09:49I do not have that data. Um

2:09:52uh

2:09:54I

2:09:55mean, I I can tell you anecdotally um

2:09:58uh

2:10:00it seems like um it's it's a little bit

2:10:03of a draw. Um during the nighttime, most

2:10:05of those are really due to weather.

2:10:08Uh during the daytime,

2:10:10um

2:10:11uh other crews are out there um other

2:10:14non-city crews, and that's what causes

2:10:16some outages. We had an outage today uh

2:10:19at Councilman Kelly's house uh once

2:10:21again, and then and that was due to a

2:10:23contractor digging. Um typically, uh

2:10:26those third-party contractors are not

2:10:28working at night, so the night outages

2:10:30are really really focused um on weather,

2:10:33whereas the daytime are usually focused

2:10:35on utility hits.

2:10:38>> Okay. So,

2:10:39thank you. That's helpful. I think what

2:10:41I'm trying to understand is if this new

2:10:43controller is primarily for downtime. I

2:10:46mean, is

2:10:47every evening are we experiencing

2:10:48downtime somewhere in the system or is

2:10:50this just somebody who's going to be on

2:10:52call

2:10:53for the times it happens to go on at

2:10:54night so we have double protection?

2:10:58>> Uh

2:10:59you know, um I don't know if you have

2:11:01the answer to that, Mr. Mayor. I do not.

2:11:03>> They're they're going to be also

2:11:04responsible for ancillary duties as

2:11:06well. They can do peer checks to prep

2:11:09for the morning switching so that

2:11:12there's uh so that we're more efficient

2:11:14in getting the crews and contractors on

2:11:16our system versus

2:11:19We do require a peer check and and this

2:11:21will help.

2:11:23>> Okay.

2:11:24>> Switching routine peer check.

2:11:27>> Sure. Thanks. That's helpful. So, I I

2:11:29guess my concern with this position is,

2:11:32you know, we did

2:11:33City Manager Krieger mentioned that this

2:11:34doesn't come from property taxes. It's

2:11:36in the utility.

2:11:37But, the utility is still paid for by

2:11:39the residents and what they pay for

2:11:40their utility rates.

2:11:42So, if this

2:11:43position is

2:11:46creating efficiencies that can save

2:11:48money at the electric utility, I I

2:11:49absolutely understand customer

2:11:51experience and decreasing

2:11:53our downtime. Um

2:11:56And I I I know I I believe we've talked

2:11:58before, uh

2:12:00City Manager Krieger, about, you know,

2:12:03website interfaces that people can go to

2:12:05to check the downtimes and things like

2:12:07that. Um

2:12:08And if that might go further

2:12:12to improve the customer experience and

2:12:13if there are any

2:12:15savings or efficiencies that would lead

2:12:17to savings with this position um because

2:12:20you said, well, it's not property tax,

2:12:22it's still paid for by the residents.

2:12:26>> Yeah, and and I mean, I didn't I didn't

2:12:28I certainly didn't mean to um minimize

2:12:30the financial impact on it. Um

2:12:33uh there will be some savings we haven't

2:12:34quantified uh uh

2:12:37and that would come through um

2:12:39uh an overtime reduction. But, we have

2:12:42not we have not calculated that of fact,

2:12:44into the 2027 budget. Um

2:12:47it it certainly isn't going to make it

2:12:48cost neutral.

2:12:50Um

2:12:51I will tell you that um you know, net it

2:12:53is going to result in an increased cost.

2:12:56Uh but we believe that uh increased

2:12:59reliability and

2:13:01reduced downtime

2:13:02um is worth that additional cost.

2:13:07>> Sorry, one more. And I I don't know if

2:13:09if I actually asked the question or

2:13:11um but do we have a sense are there

2:13:14nightly outages

2:13:15across the city or is it you know, every

2:13:17couple days we have an

2:13:19>> Uh

2:13:20boy, um

2:13:23I would

2:13:24Yeah, uh Mr. May can answer. I I mean,

2:13:27my guess would be like two to three per

2:13:30week.

2:13:32>> Yes, if if I were to average it, I'd

2:13:34probably say throughout the year where

2:13:36about a third of our outages would be on

2:13:38the night shift. And this position is

2:13:41going to be a hybrid between the

2:13:42afternoon shift and night shift. So,

2:13:45actually it will cover outages for for

2:13:47both time segments.

2:13:51>> Okay, thank you. That's helpful.

2:13:58>> Mr. Krieger?

2:14:02>> You know what? I I think we'll go back

2:14:03to um

2:14:05uh you know, the back to the overall

2:14:07question about the inclusion. Um we

2:14:09could either do this as a group uh or we

2:14:12could do it um kind of one by one uh

2:14:15with a show of hands um from this slide

2:14:18uh would be council's choice.

2:14:20>> Well, I'm I'm going to suggest we we do

2:14:22it one by one simply because I I

2:14:25my my personal feeling is the the uh

2:14:27$200,000 for forestry, I'd rather put

2:14:30towards the tree trimming. So, uh

2:14:33let's call senior traffic engineer um

2:14:36hands in the air in support of the

2:14:38senior traffic engineer position.

2:14:44>> Uh we we got it.

2:14:45>> Code enforcement officer, hands in the

2:14:47air in support of code enforcement.

2:14:50All right, we got it. Development review

2:14:53team project manager hands in the air

2:14:55for support.

2:14:58All right, nine we have it.

2:15:00Forestry field supervisor hands in the

2:15:02air for support.

2:15:03>> Mayor, could I ask a quick question

2:15:05to the mayor?

2:15:06>> Um a follow-up question for Director

2:15:08Randall to the mayor's question. I was

2:15:10curious for maybe a little more detail

2:15:12about you know, the question was if we

2:15:13put the 200,000 instead towards

2:15:15additional trimming would it reduce the

2:15:167-year cycle and you said yes, but

2:15:20Um I'm going to play the Krieger game. I

2:15:22want to know is it

2:15:24less by a week or is it a year and a

2:15:26half?

2:15:27Right, if it's 200,000 and it goes to 6

2:15:30years and 50 weeks, not worth it. If it

2:15:34cuts it by 2 year if goes to 5 years

2:15:36instead of 7, maybe that's a good idea.

2:15:38So, where where in the range are we

2:15:40talking about a reduction how much?

2:15:42>> Uh

2:15:44it sounds like a compound interest

2:15:46question.

2:15:46>> or blackjack.

2:15:48>> Um so,

2:15:50we put in we've requested $550,000 for

2:15:53next year's budget. We're going to have

2:15:55a new contractor, that bid is out on the

2:15:57street right now. We don't know what the

2:15:58actual cost is going to be. That's our

2:16:00estimate for how much we're going to

2:16:01need for a 7-year cycle in 2027. So,

2:16:05adding $200,000

2:16:07is

2:16:08almost an additional third of that. So,

2:16:12and it

2:16:13it would improve it by

2:16:16it would help us get caught up at least

2:16:191 year faster, maybe 2 years faster.

2:16:23>> Okay, so I'm doing the math right.

2:16:25>> So, I'll say that's attractive if it's 1

2:16:27to 2 years off.

2:16:29Um my follow-up question would be can

2:16:31you do that without this position or do

2:16:33you need this position to realize that

2:16:35full additional year or 2 years savings

2:16:38on the trimming or

2:16:39>> a

2:16:40>> Is it an either or or do you need both?

2:16:41>> we can certainly do it without this

2:16:43position.

2:16:44But, what what we'd be doing then is

2:16:46adding more administrative burden to the

2:16:48existing

2:16:50supervisor and manager in the forestry

2:16:54division.

2:16:55So, what that's going to do is that's

2:16:57going to decrease our responsiveness to

2:16:59resident requests and decrease our

2:17:02ability to manage emergencies.

2:17:06Because they're going to be managing

2:17:08regular trimming.

2:17:10So, they're going to have more work to

2:17:11do

2:17:13and we haven't increased our management

2:17:15capacity.

2:17:16But, again, by a a relatively small

2:17:19margin.

2:17:20>> Right. So, so what I might suggest,

2:17:21Mayor, is just for sake of argument, um

2:17:23I don't know

2:17:25if that's a tonight question or not, but

2:17:27I think

2:17:28if it's a recommendation from the

2:17:30department and it got through CMO, I'm

2:17:31probably supportive of the position, but

2:17:33I might also be interested in maybe

2:17:35adding another

2:17:36give or take 200,000 to the budget. I

2:17:38know we're usually looking to take away

2:17:39as opposed to add, but if it really

2:17:42would be one up to two years reduction,

2:17:44I might be for the position plus an

2:17:46extra 200 on the tree trimming to get

2:17:48caught up in in faster service just as

2:17:50an idea.

2:17:51>> Councilman McBroom.

2:17:53>> Thank you, Mayor. So,

2:17:54the discussion we're having is

2:17:56um

2:17:57just

2:17:58send the $200,000 to um

2:18:02public works

2:18:03or

2:18:04this new FTE.

2:18:06That's what

2:18:08>> The um

2:18:09uh

2:18:10>> Just to be clear on what

2:18:11>> The this discussion is really for that

2:18:13individual

2:18:15um as well as to equip that equip them

2:18:17with a truck.

2:18:21>> My my suggestion was rather than the

2:18:23$200,000 towards towards the the new

2:18:25position,

2:18:26we would take the 200, put it towards

2:18:28tree trimming,

2:18:29and reduce the seven-year cycle, which

2:18:31would potentially reduce

2:18:34the complaints that we're getting, which

2:18:36this person would be potentially

2:18:38navigating. Does that make sense?

2:18:40>> Instead of hiring the FTE.

2:18:42>> Correct.

2:18:43>> Could we take the $200,000 out of

2:18:45capital?

2:18:48If it we're talking about a one-time

2:18:49thing anyway, right? We're not talking

2:18:50about $200,000 a year to to catch up.

2:18:53Cuz this would be a permanent position

2:18:55or a one-time 200,000 or am I not

2:18:57understanding?

2:18:57>> I would be

2:18:58looking at it as as

2:19:00>> As a continual we just up the budget.

2:19:05>> Okay.

2:19:05>> Right. I mean,

2:19:07if we get out and and and and start

2:19:09reducing this this tree trim schedule,

2:19:12the the complaints are going to come

2:19:13down. I mean, that's that's one of the

2:19:15challenges we have is people are getting

2:19:17oh, it's going to be 7 years before we

2:19:18can get to your tree.

2:19:20So, they make complaints and they keep

2:19:22making the complaints. So, I I think if

2:19:24we get out in front of this, then the

2:19:26complaints are likely going to come

2:19:27down.

2:19:29But,

2:19:29>> You you would prefer the FTE,

2:19:32but you're not going to be upset with

2:19:33either option, right?

2:19:35>> I'll certainly take the additional

2:19:37200,000 on top of the 200,000, but

2:19:43But, the the main issue that's reaching

2:19:44my desk is that the city is not

2:19:46responsive to to residents and to

2:19:49managing

2:19:51uh discrete situations.

2:19:54My belief is that a 7-year trim cycle,

2:19:59if we take a slow and steady approach,

2:20:02we will accomplish our ultimate goal to

2:20:04having an urban forest that's, you know,

2:20:06we've we've removed all the deadwood and

2:20:09uh the crisscrossing branches and we've

2:20:11reduced our exposure to storm damage.

2:20:14Catching up is certainly an alternative

2:20:17and I've discussed this before with at

2:20:19least one

2:20:21council person.

2:20:23One of the issues that we have is is our

2:20:25contractor availability. Um are the

2:20:28contractors

2:20:30is there going to be favorable pricing

2:20:31if all of the sudden we're adding a

2:20:33large volume of work, like a big lot of

2:20:36work, and they're going to have to be

2:20:37paying their staff overtime in order to

2:20:39complete it.

2:20:40So,

2:20:42one thing maybe I could propose is since

2:20:44we have a bid that's currently on the

2:20:46street, if we receive favorable pricing,

2:20:48and we were to approach the low bidder,

2:20:52well, with a possibility of increasing

2:20:55the scope, would they hold their pricing

2:20:57and then we can bring a

2:20:59uh

2:21:01in essence a change order or whatever

2:21:02that is uh

2:21:04at that time to council for

2:21:07for your review.

2:21:13>> Councilwoman Kelly, you were queued, but

2:21:14Councilwoman Gibson is also in the queue

2:21:16here. Councilwoman Gibson.

2:21:17>> Hi.

2:21:18Thanks. I'll just go really quick cuz I

2:21:20um Director Randolph touched on what I

2:21:22was going to ask is, you know, we're

2:21:23kind of at the mercy of contractors'

2:21:25prices for this and we're in competition

2:21:28with surrounding communities. So, when

2:21:30we go to bid for these tree trimming

2:21:32services

2:21:34are there enough contractors to have a

2:21:36competitive um pricing structure?

2:21:41>> Yes, we've been receiving more than one

2:21:44bid. Es- essentially, as long as you get

2:21:45multiple bids, you can have um

2:21:47some comparison. And then we can always

2:21:49communicate with our neighboring

2:21:50communities to see what their unit

2:21:52prices are.

2:21:53But But

2:21:54c- contractors do want to work in town.

2:21:56>> Okay. Thank you.

2:21:59>> Councilwoman Kelly.

2:22:00>> Thank you, Mayor. Just kind of want to

2:22:01put a pin on it. A question to staff is

2:22:04from city manager's perspective, is this

2:22:06something we could do both, hire the

2:22:08position and add 200,000 to the budget

2:22:10for tree trimming or is it an either or?

2:22:14If it were both uh scenario, what would

2:22:16that look like process-wise from your

2:22:18perspective?

2:22:19>> Y- You know, um

2:22:21all of those options would be on the

2:22:23table. Um

2:22:24uh

2:22:25and and and also independent uh of each

2:22:28other. Um

2:22:29position's hired, we can work with that.

2:22:31Position's not hired, we can get by with

2:22:33that. Um we we um use contract, we up

2:22:37the

2:22:38uh outside contractor.

2:22:40Um we can work with that or if the

2:22:43contractor stays at the at the same bid

2:22:45amount, we can do that. So,

2:22:47um

2:22:48none of the choices uh exclude any

2:22:51other. Um

2:22:52if there i- if it would help and if this

2:22:55is kind of an area that's bogged down,

2:22:56we we could also um dig up some

2:22:58additional information, provide that to

2:23:00council, and then bring this question

2:23:02back for the third workshop as well.

2:23:05>> Yeah, that that might be helpful from my

2:23:07perspective. It seems like a pain point

2:23:09for our residents, so if it's, you know,

2:23:11in the grand scheme of things, an extra

2:23:12200,000 that really could go a long way

2:23:15towards solving the issue. It seems like

2:23:16it would be worth it, but maybe some

2:23:18more information and a decision

2:23:20workshop three might make sense.

2:23:23>> Council, can I get just get a nod of

2:23:25heads if you're in agreement with

2:23:26deferring the question on the forestry

2:23:28field supervisor until we get that

2:23:30additional information at the next

2:23:32meeting?

2:23:34Okay.

2:23:35Um

2:23:36on to assistant city attorney

2:23:39Boyer.

2:23:40Hands in the air if you're in support.

2:23:46>> We have nine.

2:23:49>> Full-time communication specialist fire

2:23:51communications.

2:23:53Hands in the air in support.

2:23:59>> Eight.

2:23:59>> System controller electric.

2:24:02Hands in the air for support.

2:24:06>> We have eight.

2:24:08>> Wastewater treatment operators two.

2:24:12Water utility.

2:24:14>> Uh we have nine.

2:24:16>> Utility supervisor three water utility.

2:24:21>> We have nine.

2:24:24>> That completes this straw poll.

2:24:28>> All right. Um so, based on that, uh we

2:24:31will be bringing the uh forestry

2:24:33supervisor back for the third meeting,

2:24:35and um

2:24:36now I am going to turn things uh back

2:24:39over to uh Tracy.

2:24:42>> Thanks, Doug.

2:24:44Uh the next section is miscellaneous

2:24:46services.

2:24:48The first miscellaneous service we will

2:24:49review

2:24:53um

2:24:55Pause for dramatic effect.

2:25:02Is um here we go. Is the Downtown

2:25:04Naperville Alliance or DNA.

2:25:06DNA promotes downtown through various

2:25:08marketing efforts focused on promoting

2:25:10downtown businesses. Historically, the

2:25:12city has provided funding to DNA for

2:25:14their advertising and marketing efforts.

2:25:17The marketing dollars provided to DNA

2:25:19from the city on an annual basis are

2:25:20fully funded by downtown property tax

2:25:23owners through their contributions to

2:25:24special service area 36.

2:25:27Advertising and marketing for DNA in 20

2:25:2927 totals just over $520,000,

2:25:33which represents an increase of 2%.

2:25:36In 2027, DNA requested an additional

2:25:38$100,000 for increased marketing efforts

2:25:41for the businesses located along

2:25:42Jefferson Avenue and Main Street.

2:25:45A letter that outlines this request was

2:25:47included in the preliminary budget book

2:25:48that was published on October 9th.

2:25:51This additional $100,000 request is for

2:25:53marketing efforts for those businesses

2:25:55who are directly impacted by the next

2:25:57phase of streetscape construction.

2:26:00DNA plans to use the funding for

2:26:02construction communications, wayfinding

2:26:04and signage, business engagement, and

2:26:06paid media to market downtown

2:26:08businesses.

2:26:10It's important to note that the $100,000

2:26:12is budgeted as a general fund expense.

2:26:14And as a result, it's funded differently

2:26:16than the traditional marketing dollars

2:26:17provided to DNA.

2:26:20There is past precedent for increased

2:26:21funding being provided to DNA as a

2:26:23result of streetscape construction.

2:26:26$50,000 was provided in 2022 and an

2:26:29additional $100,000 was provided in

2:26:312024.

2:26:34And with that supplemental supplemental

2:26:36funding provided in 2022 and 2024, uh

2:26:39the 2027 request um

2:26:43was not included in the streetscapes and

2:26:45the streetscape project's initial

2:26:47budget. Um and it will also be funded

2:26:50through the general fund just like in

2:26:512024 and 2022.

2:26:56Moving on to the Naperville Development

2:26:58Partnership, NDP's request for 2027

2:27:01totals $1.4 million, which is $45,000 or

2:27:05about 3.3% higher than 2026.

2:27:08This request supports the economic

2:27:10development work NDP does throughout the

2:27:12city.

2:27:13NDP's $550,000 economic development

2:27:16grant request reflects a jointly

2:27:18proposed increase with private funding

2:27:21in a public-private partnership for

2:27:232027.

2:27:25This requested increase,

2:27:27um, which equates to $25,000, will allow

2:27:29NDP to maintain a high level of economic

2:27:32development work while accounting for

2:27:34increased operating costs.

2:27:36Continued grant funding to NDP helps

2:27:38maintain momentum and see their progress

2:27:40in their efforts to com- to compete on a

2:27:43national level,

2:27:44both relationships build relationships

2:27:47with site selection consultants and

2:27:49position the community to capitalize on

2:27:51future redevelopment and business

2:27:52attraction opportunities.

2:27:55The seek a funded marketing grant

2:27:56request for 2027 stays flat at $185,000

2:28:00and goes towards the continued marketing

2:28:02of Naperville based restaurants.

2:28:06And next we have NCTV. NCTV's funding

2:28:09request for 2027 is $918,000,

2:28:13representing an increase of 3,000 from

2:28:15its 2026 request.

2:28:17As seen here, PEG revenue is declining

2:28:20as people continue to cut the cord on

2:28:22traditional cable TV.

2:28:24NCTV receives all of the city's PEG

2:28:26fees, and as that revenue has declined,

2:28:28it has been offset by an increase in

2:28:30other general fund support for NCTV.

2:28:34The additional $3,000 requested is

2:28:35intended for operating support so that

2:28:37the entity can continue providing

2:28:39services to the community for the

2:28:41foreseeable future.

2:28:45And we'll pause to answer questions on

2:28:46this section.

2:28:50>> No questions.

2:28:52>> Okay. So, next up we have Naper

2:28:54Settlement, and I believe Reyna Tamayo

2:28:55Calabrese will present Naper

2:28:57Settlement's 2027 budget.

2:29:09>> Okay.

2:29:24>> No, that's fine. You go right ahead.

2:29:28Well, good evening, Mayor and members of

2:29:30council. I am

2:29:33I'll do it this way.

2:29:36>> [laughter]

2:29:37>> Good evening, Mayor and council members.

2:29:39I'm Reina Tamayo Calabrese. Thank you so

2:29:41much for the opportunity to share with

2:29:43you some updates on Naper Settlement and

2:29:45the work that is supported by the

2:29:47Naperville Heritage Society.

2:29:49I'll begin with a major milestone for

2:29:52us. In 2026, Naper Settlement finalized

2:29:55phase two of the Never Settle campaign

2:29:57with the Inventing Agriculture exhibit,

2:29:59permanent exhibit, for which the

2:30:01Heritage Society raised $1.5 million.

2:30:04And And through

2:30:06hands-on experiences, visitors now can

2:30:08explore agriculture as a field of

2:30:10science, business, innovation, and also

2:30:12see its relationship to our own history.

2:30:15The early response has been very

2:30:18encouraging.

2:30:19One executive praised the exhibit design

2:30:22and calling it brilliant. And another

2:30:24said described it as a stunning exhibit.

2:30:29So, hopefully, we will see you there on

2:30:30November 5th when we have the actual

2:30:32opening

2:30:33to welcome you to the new exhibit at the

2:30:36Mary and Richard Bank Agricultural

2:30:38Center.

2:30:39Also, in

2:30:41February of 2026, we launched the

2:30:43year-long exhibit market marking the

2:30:45250th anniversary of the Declaration of

2:30:48Independence with programs and events

2:30:50connecting America's founding to the

2:30:52Naperville history. And since February,

2:30:55almost 8,000 general admission guests

2:30:58have seen that exhibit, and an

2:31:00additional 1,300 participants have taken

2:31:03part in related programming including

2:31:05the STEM nights, camps, homeschool days,

2:31:07escape rooms, and the September 11th

2:31:10commemoration.

2:31:11Camp Naper has also had its most

2:31:14successful year this year, reaching 110%

2:31:17capacity across 28 camps, and generating

2:31:20approximately $190,000

2:31:22in revenue.

2:31:24On the grant funding side, with a

2:31:26$500,000 grant, we are managing the

2:31:29Naperville Heritage Society has helped

2:31:31us expand learning opportunities across

2:31:34generations. And through that, Golden

2:31:36Days, we have offered 27 programs in

2:31:392026, serving almost 1,000 older adults.

2:31:4398% of those participants were satisfied

2:31:46or very satisfied with the program that

2:31:50we've had. We also hosted 124 attendees

2:31:53through the Teacher Institute program.

2:31:56Topics included elevating indigenous

2:31:58voices in education, indigenous

2:32:00foodways, and everyday STEM with science

2:32:03presenter Stephen Spangler. And all

2:32:05participants reported being very

2:32:08satisfied overall.

2:32:10For children experiencing homelessness,

2:32:12we offered another summer camp that met

2:32:15for 5 weeks, and the campers, as well as

2:32:17PADS, reported being very satisfied with

2:32:19that experience, as well. And finally,

2:32:22we provided a free or reduced-cost field

2:32:24trips for almost 4,600 students from

2:32:27lower-income households, along with 700

2:32:30teachers and chaperones from

2:32:3365 schools. 81% rated the overall

2:32:36experience as excellent.

2:32:39Alongside our programming, we are also

2:32:42strengthening the technology that

2:32:43supports exhibits and education and

2:32:45daily operations and visitor experience.

2:32:48The exhibit project include Out of the

2:32:52Vault, which will be coming to you in

2:32:532027, and additional technology upgrades

2:32:56to Building Naperville exhibit.

2:32:59Operational work, of course, also

2:33:01includes

2:33:02some state-of-the-art meeting room

2:33:04technology that we are putting that we

2:33:06have already put together in the Birk

2:33:08Family Innovation Gateway, as well.

2:33:12Um, on the staff capacity, our focus is

2:33:16not only on what we produce, but part of

2:33:18it is um, the staff that is at very core

2:33:21of what we do. The Naperville Heritage

2:33:23Society received a federal grant for

2:33:26approximately 267,000

2:33:28for staff capacity building, and this

2:33:30funding will support our continued

2:33:32development as a more user-focused

2:33:34museum.

2:33:36And on the operating revenue side, um,

2:33:38through September of 2026, Naper

2:33:41Settlement was 11% above year-to-date

2:33:43projections and had reached 95% of its

2:33:47annual operating goal. That revenue

2:33:49includes field trips, tours, public

2:33:51programs, gate admissions, weddings, and

2:33:53small and large-scale rentals as well.

2:33:56Um, in terms of school services, that is

2:33:59ahead on the year-to-date budget, while

2:34:02the programming and uh, other rentals

2:34:04have already surpassed their full-year

2:34:06uh, budget for 2026.

2:34:11I think.

2:34:14On the revenue end, um, Naper Settlement

2:34:16is uh, presenting a balanced operating

2:34:18budget for 2027. We are projecting a

2:34:2113.5 increase in earned operating

2:34:24revenue and expanding our 2027 camp

2:34:26offerings with 13 new camps and 342

2:34:30additional spaces. Currently, we are

2:34:33also projecting an increase in school

2:34:34services revenue, wedding revenue, and

2:34:37other rentals um, as well.

2:34:40With respect to the tax levy, Naper

2:34:42Settlement is requesting a modest 2.5

2:34:44year uh, year-over-year increase to the

2:34:472026 property tax. The 2027 property tax

2:34:52levy is 4,094,549.

2:34:58And um, as we look at uh, the

2:35:01public-private partnership uh, between

2:35:03the Naperville Heritage Society and the

2:35:06city, we see that it's uh, certainly

2:35:08very strong. In addition to the 267,000,

2:35:12the 500,000 that we are now working with

2:35:14and there's another 50,000 in in terms

2:35:18of state and foundation grants and we

2:35:20are preparing several other grants to go

2:35:22out

2:35:23to the feds to some other donor

2:35:25applications as well in the month of

2:35:29November.

2:35:31And I think here we go.

2:35:34On expenses, the overall 2.9% increase

2:35:39in operating expenses is driven by an

2:35:41increase in personnel expenses. There

2:35:44are no new personnel requests for 2027.

2:35:46The salaries and benefit budgets

2:35:49are in line with the city.

2:35:51And in addition the tax levy request,

2:35:53the increased two salaries are also

2:35:55being offset by decrease in operating

2:35:57expenses.

2:35:59That decrease in the non-salary and

2:36:01benefit related operating expenses for

2:36:042027

2:36:05is primarily driven by a decrease in the

2:36:07buildings and grounds maintenance and a

2:36:09decrease in the city chargebacks.

2:36:12And finally,

2:36:13we are looking for 145,000 from the

2:36:17capital improvement request for building

2:36:19assessment

2:36:21for building assessment study

2:36:23and because we know that there were some

2:36:25questions the last time around our chair

2:36:28the chair of the Naperville Heritage

2:36:29Society is here to speak on that.

2:36:45>> Good evening Mayor and Council.

2:36:47I'm Eric Long. I'm the board chair of

2:36:49the Naperville Heritage Society.

2:36:52We are asking you to support the CIP

2:36:55request

2:36:57because we know the condition of the

2:36:58historic buildings the city owns.

2:37:01We need to know the condition of the

2:37:03historic buildings the city owns before

2:37:06we make bigger decisions about their

2:37:08future.

2:37:10This request funds a facility condition

2:37:12assessment and feasibility study for

2:37:15more than 30 historic buildings and

2:37:17structures on the museum's campus.

2:37:20It's really about protecting our public

2:37:22assets and giving you reliable

2:37:24information to make responsible

2:37:26decisions.

2:37:27The city itself is undergoing a similar

2:37:30assessment for its assets and those

2:37:32range between 20 to 50 years old.

2:37:35Why now?

2:37:37All but the mansion and carriage house

2:37:39are wood structures.

2:37:41Some of those buildings are more than

2:37:43150 years old. A couple are nearly 200

2:37:46years old.

2:37:48All were moved to the site more than 50

2:37:50years ago and yet we have never had a

2:37:52comprehensive assessment of their

2:37:54condition.

2:37:56We recently finished crawling back from

2:37:58a nearly $2 million deferred maintenance

2:38:00issue that spanned decades.

2:38:03We need to move from responding when

2:38:05problems become unavoidable

2:38:07to understanding what needs attention

2:38:10and prioritizing the work before

2:38:11deterioration deterioration makes our

2:38:14choices harder and more expensive.

2:38:17And I want to be clear, supporting this

2:38:19study is not approving any relocation or

2:38:23committing to a future capital plan.

2:38:26Any relocation, if it were to happen,

2:38:28would require city approval.

2:38:31Whether buildings ever move or not, we

2:38:34still need to know what we own, what

2:38:36condition it's in,

2:38:38and what it will take to care for those

2:38:40structures.

2:38:42What you're going to receive for this

2:38:43investment is a professional assessment

2:38:46of the structural integrity, materials,

2:38:49preservation needs, and utility

2:38:52infrastructure,

2:38:53along with grading, access, site

2:38:56configuration,

2:38:58and existing constraints.

2:39:00It will also examine how the buildings

2:39:02relate to one another in telling our

2:39:04Naperville story.

2:39:07That will give council a factual basis

2:39:09for maintenance, safety, preservation,

2:39:13and future investment, not guesswork.

2:39:17There are practical reasons to act now,

2:39:19too.

2:39:20Our national re-accreditation as a

2:39:22museum is now underway, and we need to

2:39:25demonstrate evidence-based care of the

2:39:27buildings entrusted to us.

2:39:30The city's recent master plan did not

2:39:32include the museum.

2:39:34And ours is more than 20 years old.

2:39:37Naperville Heritage Society is prepared

2:39:39to fund the master plan portion.

2:39:42But that planning needs reliable

2:39:45baseline information first.

2:39:48That information will also help us tell

2:39:50a more complete story, not just the

2:39:52settlement era snapshot, but how these

2:39:54buildings remain part of Naperville's

2:39:56neighborhoods, businesses, and civic

2:39:58life

2:40:00into the 20th century and the 21st

2:40:02century.

2:40:04So, our request is straightforward.

2:40:06Support getting the facts now so we can

2:40:08make informed choices,

2:40:10prioritize public dollars, and protect

2:40:13buildings that are irreplaceable parts

2:40:15of Naperville's history.

2:40:17We're not asking you to decide every

2:40:19future project today.

2:40:21We're asking for the information we need

2:40:23to care responsibly for what the city

2:40:25already owns.

2:40:27And I will just end with the point that

2:40:29um

2:40:30our full board approved this along with

2:40:32our independent finance committee.

2:40:35And as it was presented to the

2:40:36Naperville Settlement Museum board,

2:40:39our request passed with a vote of five

2:40:41to one.

2:40:42Thank you.

2:40:45>> Thank you, Councilman Lozar.

2:40:47>> Thank you, Mayor. Actually, I had a

2:40:48question for Eric if it's all right.

2:40:52Um so, by the way, good to see you.

2:40:55>> Yeah.

2:40:55>> Um and thanks for that detailed

2:40:57explanation. Um

2:40:59one shout out to the settlement and

2:41:02and the board. I really appreciate the

2:41:04hard work that and research work that

2:41:07you all did in helping come up with um

2:41:09sort of a diverse set of um names of

2:41:11people to name streets after in April.

2:41:14Um

2:41:15and that's just a great example of all

2:41:16the hard work you do and how it

2:41:17contributes to our community. Um one

2:41:20thing I I notice is um

2:41:22you used the term um move buildings a

2:41:25handful of times in your presentation.

2:41:27Is is it contemplated that the

2:41:29settlement could be moving buildings

2:41:30around?

2:41:33>> Well, I don't think we want to leave any

2:41:34stone unturned, but again, there's no

2:41:37plan to move a specific building today.

2:41:39What we're asking for is really the

2:41:41assessment to know what the capabilities

2:41:44are.

2:41:45But any plan to move a building would be

2:41:47presented to council and would require

2:41:49council approval, obviously.

2:41:51>> Is is that one of the things that's

2:41:53being contemplated in the plan?

2:41:56>> Well, we don't have a a plan in place

2:41:58yet, right, to present.

2:42:00So, uh I can't you know,

2:42:02there is no plan to present that

2:42:04suggests moving a building today.

2:42:07Yeah, go ahead.

2:42:10>> Part of the um if I may, part of the the

2:42:14the reason that this is sort of come

2:42:15about in one way or another is because

2:42:18when we were when we were asking the

2:42:20community, um we had

2:42:23we had probably five or six different

2:42:26experts that we gathered together. Some

2:42:29of them were preservation experts, some

2:42:31of them are landscaping experts, some of

2:42:33them are architects, some are

2:42:34storytellers, some are historians, etc.

2:42:37And in that conversation, the question

2:42:40was, well, what do you have?

2:42:43And we talked about the buildings and

2:42:45how they arrived. Well, what can you do

2:42:47with the buildings? Um

2:42:49are how long can those buildings last

2:42:52since they are wooden structures? How

2:42:53long do can they last? Do you know what

2:42:57has happened underneath there? Um and if

2:43:00the and and and in that uh sort of very

2:43:05conceptual conversation about where are

2:43:07we, what do you have, how do you care

2:43:11for them?

2:43:13Was the question of can they be moved?

2:43:15Because over time, there have been

2:43:18occasions when small buildings have been

2:43:22moved moved or have been added. And so

2:43:25it was part of a very

2:43:27um

2:43:29top-of-mind

2:43:31brainstorming type conversation. There

2:43:34was never a plan

2:43:36um because we don't we don't have one.

2:43:40Uh but can we answer that question to

2:43:42them? Can they be moved? The the the

2:43:44answer is no, we can't answer that

2:43:46question. So, can we look at anything

2:43:47that is feasible within 13 acres? Um

2:43:51we can look at what we have. Uh but not

2:43:54even

2:43:55not not not even in a real way because

2:43:59until we know what there is, we don't

2:44:02know how to care for them.

2:44:05But that's where the conversation of

2:44:07where are we moving the buildings? The

2:44:08answer is nobody has a plan to move the

2:44:10buildings. And I want to make that very

2:44:12clear. There is no plan to move any

2:44:14building. It was part of a very

2:44:16brainstorming, conceptual conversation.

2:44:19Period.

2:44:21>> Okay. And yeah, I mean, just just to

2:44:23throw it out there, I I think

2:44:25one of the concerns that I have is um

2:44:29Yes, everything that was said there was

2:44:30factual. There is no plan to move

2:44:32buildings. However, this is a plan that

2:44:33could absolutely suggest moving moving

2:44:36buildings. And that I think would be

2:44:38potentially a um

2:44:41you know, a major expenditure. Um I

2:44:43don't know. I I think it

2:44:46it might help to have a little bit of

2:44:48clarity in advance if just on a general

2:44:50direction cuz I think it's hard to it's

2:44:52kind of hard to say like, "Hey, let's

2:44:54just leave it up to the consultants."

2:44:55And maybe they'll say, "Let's move

2:44:57buildings around." Maybe they won't. Um

2:45:01you know, I I I don't know. I mean, is

2:45:02it Is it possible to at least outline

2:45:06"Hey, we're we're still looking at

2:45:08keeping the general feel and character

2:45:09of the settlement." You know, the the

2:45:11goal isn't to rearrange the whole thing.

2:45:13I mean, I I don't know. Can you maybe

2:45:15help provide some comfort there?

2:45:20>> So, uh what it becomes is a little bit

2:45:23of a chicken-and-the-egg kind of thing

2:45:25to be perfectly honest. They need that

2:45:28information, which is baseline

2:45:29information, um to to begin developing

2:45:33any kind of

2:45:35real plan.

2:45:37Um

2:45:38and to be perfectly honest, when you

2:45:40look at the Papaw House, um Joseph

2:45:42Neiper came in 1831. The Papaw House was

2:45:45built in 1833.

2:45:48There has never been an assessment done

2:45:51of that building or any other building.

2:45:54So, whether we

2:45:55have a new master plan or whether we do

2:45:58not have a new master plan, whether

2:46:00everything stays the same, the fact of

2:46:03the matter is that it is

2:46:05um it is responsible of us as the

2:46:09caretakers of these historic buildings

2:46:12to do that assessment, irrespective of

2:46:15any master plan. It has never been done.

2:46:18They have been moved more than 50 years

2:46:20ago. And since those 50 years, we have

2:46:23put everything from water bolts below,

2:46:26um to additional electrical things that

2:46:29the city has done, uh and we have never

2:46:32really looked at where those buildings

2:46:35sit from an assessment position. It is

2:46:38It is time the rare I can tell you

2:46:40there's probably another four buildings

2:46:42I can name that were built in the eight

2:46:44between the 1830s and the 1840s, and

2:46:47they are wooden structures. And it is my

2:46:50responsibility to ensure that they are

2:46:52there for the next generations. And in

2:46:54order to do that, I need to know what we

2:46:57have so we can develop some kind of a

2:46:59plan that we can then bring to you.

2:47:01>> Yeah, and and just to be clear, I'm I'm

2:47:03not um I'm actually sort of agnostic on

2:47:06the idea of whether um the campus is

2:47:08rearranged or not physically. Like I'm

2:47:10I'm not really opposed to that. Um but

2:47:12it's just

2:47:14you know, as I Correct me if I'm wrong,

2:47:15but as I understand this the the study

2:47:17process is probably going to be about 2

2:47:18years. It'll be in two budget cycles.

2:47:20And if that's the first step in what

2:47:23ends up being, you know, a major

2:47:25physical reorganization of the campus,

2:47:28I think it would just be kind of kind of

2:47:29be nice to know that up up front so

2:47:32council kind of knows what to expect two

2:47:33or three years from now. It's just just

2:47:35my my comments on that. Thank you,

2:47:36Mayor.

2:47:38>> Councilwoman Jane.

2:47:40>> Thank you, Mayor. Um

2:47:42just I I had more questions about the

2:47:45one the initial building assessment

2:47:47study. From my recollection and previous

2:47:50discussions, this would only be part one

2:47:52of the assessment. Is that Is that

2:47:54correct?

2:47:56>> There There may be other pieces of the

2:47:58assessment. I think part of it is going

2:48:00to be what does the assessment tell us

2:48:03once it's done. So, um

2:48:06I I'm not sure how to answer other than

2:48:09to say that there This is a building

2:48:11block um

2:48:12uh

2:48:13need that we have essentially. But does

2:48:16it really Does it bring step two? I

2:48:20guess the answer is yes. Do I know what

2:48:23step two is? Um the answer's not yet.

2:48:27Some of it, you know, perhaps can be

2:48:29funded through grants, but in order for

2:48:30me to do that, in order for for us to be

2:48:33able to write to a grant like that, we

2:48:35need to know what we have as a baseline.

2:48:37>> Yeah. No, I I appreciate that cuz I was

2:48:40I was on the 204 school board when we

2:48:42addressed a facility assessment for

2:48:4430-plus buildings.

2:48:46And I If I recall

2:48:49correctly, the initial assessment just

2:48:52to understand the scope of the work

2:48:55was quite a bit lower than 145. And And

2:48:58I I understand these are different

2:49:00buildings, but I just want to try to

2:49:02appreciate what what exactly is going to

2:49:05be done with 145

2:49:07thousand.

2:49:08>> Um

2:49:09So, I think

2:49:11Let me go back.

2:49:24I can um

2:49:28Let's see.

2:49:29Is it here? There we go.

2:49:31Um what you were going to be assessing,

2:49:35and remember these are 30-some

2:49:36buildings. Uh we are going to be looking

2:49:39at the structural integrity, the

2:49:40materials, the preservation needs,

2:49:42utility infrastructure, along with the

2:49:45grading, the access, the site

2:49:46configurations, and any constraints that

2:49:49they might have.

2:49:51So, that is what that 145 is for, and I

2:49:55can tell you that um in the preservation

2:49:58world the costs are quite different.

2:50:02>> Yeah.

2:50:03>> And I wish that were different, but that

2:50:05is

2:50:07>> Okay, and by

2:50:09existing constraints, I I've

2:50:12um Eric had mentioned existing

2:50:15constraints and how they how the

2:50:17buildings relate to one another.

2:50:20Can Can you elaborate on what that

2:50:21means?

2:50:22>> Well, constraints may um may be a

2:50:24variety of things. Constraints may be in

2:50:27how we tell the story of that particular

2:50:29building, as much as in how many people

2:50:32can be in there because uh the structure

2:50:35won't take more than I don't know, say

2:50:3730 people. Um currently, I can tell you,

2:50:40for example, in the Paw Paw House, uh

2:50:43there was a time when the school groups

2:50:45and the public could go upstairs to the

2:50:47second floor. We no longer allow it

2:50:49because we are not certain that

2:50:52um

2:50:53the entirety of the structure can take

2:50:55all those kids bouncing up and down and

2:50:58running up and, you know, running down.

2:51:00So, um we have taken some measures to

2:51:02make sure that uh safety first, as you

2:51:05might understand,

2:51:06uh but the constraints are things that

2:51:08we really

2:51:09don't know. I can tell you, for example,

2:51:11we do know of one constraint in those

2:51:13buildings, um and that is

2:51:16uh the ability to have exhibits or to

2:51:19have

2:51:20uh artifacts in the in many of the

2:51:22buildings.

2:51:24About 8 years ago, we got a grant to do

2:51:27an environmental study of the buildings

2:51:29at Naper Settlement. And what that study

2:51:32told us essentially is that the

2:51:35buildings do not have the environmental

2:51:38conditions to be able to place artifacts

2:51:40in them.

2:51:41Um, we still use that um the findings

2:51:45from that particular study. So, that

2:51:47might be a constraint in in that way.

2:51:51So,

2:51:53I can't tell you that I can list five

2:51:54constraints, but that's the sort of

2:51:56thing that we're looking for.

2:51:58>> Um, no, I appreciate that. Like, you

2:52:01know, absolutely safety and

2:52:02understanding the the structure um is

2:52:06very important.

2:52:07I'm just wondering if

2:52:09if there are added

2:52:12added elements in this 145 that might

2:52:15make

2:52:18that might assure us to do an assessment

2:52:21and ensure some of the safety

2:52:24um

2:52:25but would be a lower cost. If that has

2:52:28been explored and if so, what might that

2:52:30look like?

2:52:32>> Well, we certainly wouldn't spend more

2:52:33than you know, than whatever that budget

2:52:36is. And if um if you know us well, we

2:52:38can stretch a dollar better than anybody

2:52:40else I know.

2:52:41Um, so if the cost ends up not being a

2:52:44145, then certainly the city would not

2:52:47um would not pay the

2:52:49145. It would pay whatever that cost is.

2:52:52But, we are looking essentially for what

2:52:55we believe is to be a reasonable cost,

2:52:58but the actual cost is essentially what

2:53:00would be um presented to the city for

2:53:03payment.

2:53:04>> Okay. Thank you.

2:53:06>> Councilman Gibson.

2:53:07>> Uh thank you, Mayor, and thank you um

2:53:09both for coming tonight. Thanks for your

2:53:11work on this. I absolutely agree we have

2:53:15an obligation to pass Napervilleians,

2:53:17our current population, and the future

2:53:20of Naperville to maintain these

2:53:21buildings

2:53:22um in the settlement for generations to

2:53:25come.

2:53:26And I think site assessment and due

2:53:28diligence to protect the buildings we

2:53:30have is essential.

2:53:32I um

2:53:33I have some concerns. I I sit on the

2:53:35museum board as as all as you know um

2:53:39for the rest of

2:53:40the room.

2:53:41Um

2:53:42so the CIP packet that we looked over at

2:53:44the museum board

2:53:46has this project, but it does have

2:53:48subsections of breakout the 145 and list

2:53:5250,000 as a site assessment and due

2:53:54diligence.

2:53:55And 95,000 is to develop concept and

2:53:58feasibility studies to evaluate

2:54:00potential relocation

2:54:02scenarios, site configurations, and

2:54:04adjacencies align with the long-range

2:54:06plan.

2:54:07I I think that's

2:54:09great for the future of the settlement

2:54:12and for our city. I'm not sure the time

2:54:14is right

2:54:16now for that assessment because one of

2:54:18my big questions that I've been asking

2:54:20is how long that assessment is good for.

2:54:23If that's an assessment we can do

2:54:26and we're not ready to move forward with

2:54:27design studies, is that assessment still

2:54:30good

2:54:3110 years from now, 15 years now

2:54:35just to throw out a number, and then

2:54:36also is this part one of the assessment

2:54:39the 145,000?

2:54:42If next year in the budget we don't

2:54:43approve the requested 223,000 for the

2:54:46second part of the feasibility study,

2:54:48is this first part still useful and

2:54:51would the shelf life be the same?

2:54:53>> Yeah.

2:54:53>> Yeah. So the answer to both questions is

2:54:56yes. Um I think the proof is in the

2:54:58pudding. The environmental study that we

2:55:00did 8 years ago,

2:55:01um that assessment is something that we

2:55:03continue to use, that we use today, and

2:55:05it it is certainly valuable. The

2:55:08assessment um

2:55:10in say 5 years isn't necessarily going

2:55:13to change because we're looking at some

2:55:14of the stuff that is underneath as much

2:55:17as the materials and things like that

2:55:19that are pieces that are not going to

2:55:22change whether it is today or in later

2:55:25years. Um I think that is the number one

2:55:29and and it and as and as I said, it is a

2:55:32stepped sort of process.

2:55:34Um I can't tell you and I think the the

2:55:36the city will tell you as well that if

2:55:39we can find the funding somewhere else,

2:55:42that is the other piece that we do, but

2:55:45one of the best ways to get a grant is

2:55:48to say we've done the baseline. We have

2:55:51looked at what we need and we have

2:55:55already invested ourselves as a city and

2:55:58now we're asking for

2:56:00for the rest. And so in many ways and

2:56:03and frankly in terms

2:56:05you know, not to get too technical, but

2:56:06in terms of the grant applications there

2:56:08are some years where

2:56:11the grant applications are more focused

2:56:13on the programming because that's where

2:56:15the money is and there are times when

2:56:17the money when when the money is flowing

2:56:19for things like infrastructure or

2:56:21buildings or

2:56:24what I term kind of the more boring work

2:56:28and so we need to be prepared so that

2:56:31when that is when that is there that we

2:56:34have the opportunity to jump on it

2:56:36because we don't necessarily know from

2:56:38one year to another where the priorities

2:56:40will lie in terms of some of that grant

2:56:42funding.

2:56:43>> Absolutely. I agree and the you know,

2:56:45the value of shovel-ready projects. I

2:56:47think Eagle Street Gateway on the

2:56:48Riverwalk is a great example of you

2:56:50know, being ready to move with a project

2:56:52when funds become available.

2:56:54Um

2:56:56I I was the no vote on the museum board

2:56:59and I I'll say again I I think the

2:57:01master plan is exciting. I'm not sure at

2:57:05this point

2:57:07in a time when our community is so

2:57:08focused on affordability and prices that

2:57:11um

2:57:13at this point ready to move down the

2:57:15path. I'd rather

2:57:17do whatever part of the assessment is

2:57:19necessary to make sure as you said we're

2:57:22maintaining

2:57:23um

2:57:25the properties we have. I I see in this

2:57:27document from our museum board meeting

2:57:29that that was about 50,000 not the full

2:57:31145,000.

2:57:33I would support a site assessment and

2:57:35due diligence, but I wouldn't support

2:57:38the full 145,000 feasibility study

2:57:42at this time. I

2:57:43I think it's the right time to move down

2:57:45that path. I'd rather

2:57:47>> I

2:57:47If I may, part of that the rest of the

2:57:50money is going to be looking at other

2:57:52things

2:57:53as such as constraints, for example. If

2:57:57we do the 50,000,

2:57:59um we have

2:58:02basically half a product that is not

2:58:06that is frankly not usable in the same

2:58:08way or for the same purposes. Um it Are

2:58:12there things that maybe we can do later

2:58:14from the 145, perhaps, but to split it

2:58:17in that way? For the one Like I said,

2:58:19one of the most important things that I

2:58:21need to know is what are the constraints

2:58:23that we have in terms of those

2:58:25buildings. Um and that is part of that

2:58:28feasibility study. Um

2:58:31uh the the assessment might tell you

2:58:33some things, but it may not tell you

2:58:35necessarily uh how the material reacts,

2:58:39that is, what happens to the wood, let's

2:58:41say, in 100 years, in 150 years.

2:58:44Um because that allows us to understand,

2:58:48for example, how we maintain, how even

2:58:51how we paint the building.

2:58:53Um so there are is That's why I said it

2:58:56it isn't necessarily for a master plan.

2:58:59If you do not do a master plan ever.

2:59:04As I I go back to a very simple

2:59:07simple statement. You have had these

2:59:09buildings for almost 200 years.

2:59:13They were set there 50 years ago.

2:59:16And for some longer. And then assessment

2:59:19of no kind.

2:59:22An evaluation of what materials are

2:59:24there

2:59:25has never been done.

2:59:28And what I can tell you is that my guess

2:59:32is that whether it's next year or in 5

2:59:35years, if this isn't done so that we can

2:59:38find proactive ways to move forward with

2:59:41the buildings,

2:59:43we will be back either telling you that

2:59:45we have to raise a building or that, you

2:59:48know,

2:59:49that that the cost is going to be much

2:59:51higher for one.

2:59:52Um I am a planner and part of that

2:59:56five-to-seven-year plan would require us

2:59:59understanding what we have so that we

3:00:03can plan over five over the three, five,

3:00:06and seven years that we do.

3:00:08And again,

3:00:09if it isn't 145 and it's 120, then, you

3:00:13know, that's what you will that that's

3:00:15what you will get. Um but there are

3:00:18other things other than the assessment

3:00:20that are also important irrespective of

3:00:23master plan.

3:00:30>> I I think I would just like to see I'm

3:00:32still struggling to understand the

3:00:34difference between the assessment of the

3:00:35buildings and the constraint um because

3:00:38I think the natural is the constraint to

3:00:40do what with the buildings. Um and if

3:00:43if we need to better understand how to

3:00:45maintain the buildings

3:00:47as they are right now, I think that's

3:00:48something we should absolutely do.

3:00:51Um but is that next step of

3:00:53what

3:00:55step is potentially being constrained

3:00:58and um

3:01:00I'm I'm willing to put a

3:01:01pin in it and hear more back about the

3:01:03difference between those two, but

3:01:05>> Um I think that sort of leaves us once

3:01:07again with a sort of chicken and the egg

3:01:09kind of

3:01:10um kind of consideration.

3:01:13So, um

3:01:15certainly you are the decision makers uh

3:01:18and I have a great responsibility with

3:01:2032 structures uh and it is my

3:01:23responsibility to bring them before you

3:01:25and to put together the very best plan

3:01:28that I can and I can assure you that

3:01:30this is one that we have thought about

3:01:32um a lot and um and and I think

3:01:37certainly from um my position that it is

3:01:41the most responsible way to move forward

3:01:43with the buildings.

3:01:47>> Councilman Sayed

3:01:48>> Thank you Mayor.

3:01:49>> [clears throat]

3:01:50>> Rena and Eric, thank you so much for the

3:01:52presentation.

3:01:53Thank you so much for preserving our

3:01:55history for 200 years and definitely you

3:01:59want to preserve this thing for the next

3:02:00200 500 years.

3:02:02I've been to the bus settlement. I've

3:02:05seen the exhibits.

3:02:07I've seen how you people have maintained

3:02:09the things.

3:02:10So, just let me know what is the

3:02:12timeline of this assessment you're

3:02:14looking for like.

3:02:15>> Um I believe the assessment would be

3:02:17done essentially over oh like a whenever

3:02:22we begin a 1-year to 18-month period. A

3:02:26lot of it depends frankly on the

3:02:28preservation side. If we can find the

3:02:31right preservation expert to have the

3:02:34calendar um

3:02:36availability to come and devote time for

3:02:40the many buildings that we have. Um it

3:02:42is uh

3:02:44these are not necessarily professions

3:02:45where you will find you know hundreds of

3:02:47people that are available. So, a lot of

3:02:49it may depend on that. But the hope is

3:02:52to do it within um a one budget

3:02:55a one-year process.

3:02:56>> Okay. A one-year to 18 months and same

3:03:00question like uh you know Councilman

3:03:02Gibson has asked is how for how many

3:03:06years that is valued?

3:03:07>> How many what?

3:03:08>> How many years will that be valid like

3:03:11uh for next within 5 years we need to do

3:03:13some

3:03:15uh

3:03:16work on that or 10 years? How can be

3:03:20>> You know once again it's one of these

3:03:22things where um I think the viability of

3:03:24the study is very long-term.

3:03:27Um because again when you deal with

3:03:30preservation, you're looking at

3:03:32conditions that are

3:03:33that are that that

3:03:36for example, if wood petrifies, you're

3:03:38looking at petrified wood which acts

3:03:40differently than normal wood. Not that

3:03:42we have that, but

3:03:44it's I think a

3:03:46an example.

3:03:47Um but in terms of what we do, we have

3:03:51started our new strategic plan. We are

3:03:54This is our first year of the new

3:03:55strategic plan that goes over 5 years.

3:03:58And in order for me to be able to plan

3:04:01for those next 5 years, um this is one

3:04:04of those important baselines that I need

3:04:06to know and understand to see how much

3:04:08of a priority a a time a plan um we need

3:04:12to put together for that. So, in in what

3:04:15we look to do,

3:04:17uh we work on 5-year plans. We evaluate

3:04:20every year. We uh do some reevaluations

3:04:24every 3 years. We do the strategic plans

3:04:26every 5 years. We work towards a goal of

3:04:3010 to 12 years, and the far out plan is

3:04:33about 15 years. So, somewhere in that

3:04:38um

3:04:39this assessment as a baseline basically

3:04:42helps to

3:04:45it sort of insert itself into that

3:04:48process, which is something we haven't

3:04:50done yet.

3:04:51>> Okay.

3:04:52Are there any other cities who are doing

3:04:54this something like this?

3:04:57>> Um

3:04:58that I know So, it in the field, it is

3:05:00common to do these types of assessments.

3:05:03Do I know of a specific city that is

3:05:05doing it at this at this time? Um

3:05:08frankly, I do not. But what I can tell

3:05:10you is that the city of Naperville is

3:05:13um by and far at the cutting edge of

3:05:16what is done in terms of the museum

3:05:19public private partnership. So, um there

3:05:22there may be some,

3:05:24uh but I would have to I and I'm happy

3:05:26to look I'm happy to look at that. But I

3:05:28do not know one way or the other.

3:05:31>> Okay, thank you. Councilwoman James,

3:05:33second round.

3:05:34>> Thank you, Mayor. Sorry I didn't ask

3:05:36this before. This is actually for uh Mr.

3:05:39Krieger or any other staff member.

3:05:42Um

3:05:43just for point of comparison, and I

3:05:45understand that the buildings that we're

3:05:47talking about with Naper Settlement are

3:05:49far different than other city buildings,

3:05:52but what is generally the cycle of

3:05:55facility assessments, or is there

3:05:57anything that we could compare

3:06:00um what this facility assessment ask

3:06:02might be to anything else?

3:06:05>> You are correct. Um thank you. Uh I will

3:06:08tell you that um

3:06:10uh the city has been delinquent in uh

3:06:12assessments. Uh however, um in public

3:06:15works, and I believe that's in for 2027,

3:06:18uh we have a comprehensive building uh

3:06:21assessment uh within the 2027 budget,

3:06:24and um Mr. Randolph uh can probably

3:06:27share some thoughts on that.

3:06:31>> Director?

3:06:33>> Yes, so I believe your question is what

3:06:34what sort of cycle would you do an

3:06:36assessment on? And I think that really

3:06:37depends on what the facilities are. Um

3:06:40the

3:06:42the assets that I'm responsible for are

3:06:44significantly different than what

3:06:45Neighbor Settlement is responsible for.

3:06:48Um

3:06:48you know, we we have a whole different

3:06:50system of HVAC you know, units, and the

3:06:52buildings are much more modern. Uh I

3:06:54would like to see ours done roughly a

3:06:567-year cycle,

3:06:58but I can't speak to what historic

3:07:00buildings would be.

3:07:02>> Um have we had any kind of um

3:07:06comprehensive facility assessment for

3:07:10public public buildings or city

3:07:12buildings?

3:07:13>> So,

3:07:15in the last

3:07:175 to 10 years, the buildings have been

3:07:19evaluated by asset. So, meaning we

3:07:21brought in specialists to review roofs,

3:07:24windows,

3:07:25uh HVAC systems, etc. But, there has not

3:07:28been a comprehensive

3:07:30condition assessment of all of our

3:07:31facilities. So, the one that's in the

3:07:33proposed budget

3:07:35is the first time in

3:07:37recent memory.

3:07:39>> And so, when we do an assessment, is

3:07:41that triggered by a need, or is that in

3:07:44a standard some sort of cycle? Or is

3:07:47that what you were trying to say, that

3:07:48we hope to be on a cycle, but we haven't

3:07:50quite gotten there?

3:07:52>> Yeah, I think there does need to be a

3:07:54need, right? So,

3:07:55>> Yeah.

3:07:57>> And the need could be because the

3:07:59facilities are so large in scope that

3:08:02they're outside of one person's

3:08:05just

3:08:06comprehension and ability to manage.

3:08:09Um or they're of a significant age or

3:08:11complexity.

3:08:12>> Yeah. Thank you, Frank. I'm I'm simply

3:08:14just trying to understand as this is

3:08:16part of our city buildings and how would

3:08:19we approach assessment and um facility

3:08:23uh just understanding our facility. So,

3:08:25that that was helpful for me to just

3:08:27understand that. But, thank you.

3:08:30>> Okay. Council has requested a 5-minute

3:08:33break. We'll be back at 9:06.

3:08:35>> Thank you.

3:12:04>> Hey.

3:14:01>> Yeah.

3:14:05Okay, it's 10:06. We're going to go

3:14:06ahead and get restarted if everybody

3:14:07could take their seats, please.

3:14:30Okay, Director Della Terza, we're ready

3:14:32when you are.

3:14:37>> Good evening, mayors and members of City

3:14:39Council.

3:14:41Uh thank you for your time tonight. My

3:14:42name is Dave Della Terza. I'm the

3:14:44executive director of Naperville Public

3:14:46Library and I'm proud to present our

3:14:48year in review for 2026 and our

3:14:50strategic outlook for our budget for

3:14:512027.

3:14:56Before looking ahead, I want to

3:14:57highlight how hard our team worked this

3:14:59past year to deliver top-tier service

3:15:01while also increasing efficiency and

3:15:03making improvements.

3:15:04In 2026, we had two opportunities to

3:15:07utilize survey results to gauge

3:15:08satisfaction with our services, our own

3:15:11library community survey as well as the

3:15:13City of Naperville's community survey.

3:15:15On the library on the city survey, 97%

3:15:18of respondents rated the library as

3:15:19excellent or good and on the library

3:15:21survey, we saw the same exact response.

3:15:23When asked to rate the library on a

3:15:25scale from zero to 10, 97% of

3:15:27respondents gave us a six or above and

3:15:29the most common score was a 10, which

3:15:31was given by 70% of the respondents.

3:15:34It's rare to find something that 97% of

3:15:36people can agree on, but Naperville

3:15:37Public Library being a great library is

3:15:39one of those things and I'm so proud of

3:15:41how hard our staff have worked to

3:15:42achieve those results.

3:15:44In addition, our community survey

3:15:45provided really great feedback about how

3:15:47we can be even better and we're going to

3:15:49use that feedback to inform our goals

3:15:50for the coming year.

3:15:54We also improved our popular materials

3:15:56collections to meet high demand. This

3:15:58included adding a lucky day collection

3:16:00to highlight additional copies of the

3:16:02most popular titles and making our

3:16:04popular picks collections renewable to

3:16:06enhance convenience.

3:16:07We increased our investment in

3:16:08electronic collections like ebooks and

3:16:10audiobooks, and we continue to see

3:16:12growth in those collections.

3:16:14We also saw increased circulation of

3:16:16children's print books due to our work

3:16:18in making those titles easily accessible

3:16:20and purchasing additional copies of the

3:16:21highest demand titles.

3:16:24We also successfully launched our

3:16:25grab-and-go carts at eight senior living

3:16:26communities in Naperville. Previously,

3:16:28we served a handful of residents at each

3:16:30of the communities with individual home

3:16:32delivery service. Now, we provide a cart

3:16:34of 60 to 70 popular titles per month

3:16:37that everyone living in the community

3:16:38can utilize, while still uh delivering

3:16:41specific titles requested by any of the

3:16:43residents as well. This has helped us

3:16:45broaden our reach and serve a much

3:16:46larger number of people who may not be

3:16:48able to visit the library.

3:16:50We also updated our summer and winter

3:16:52reading challenges into a cohesive

3:16:53format so that families can all complete

3:16:55the same program. We received positive

3:16:57feedback from the community about the

3:16:59changes and how it helps the whole

3:17:00family work together to make reading a

3:17:03daily habit.

3:17:04We're also excited to launch our

3:17:06imagination stations next week.

3:17:08These are re-envisioned children's play

3:17:09spaces filled with different themed toys

3:17:11and activities that encourage little

3:17:13minds to go on big adventures. Children

3:17:15will be able to participate in play

3:17:16based around themes that rotate each

3:17:18season and are different in each

3:17:20building, from pretending to run a

3:17:21bakery to delivering mail at the post

3:17:23office.

3:17:24Our imagination stations are designed to

3:17:25help children explore, create, and learn

3:17:27through play.

3:17:29As we look to 2027, our goals are

3:17:31directly tied to continuous improvement

3:17:33and embracing community feedback.

3:17:35Most came directly from our community

3:17:37survey and additional feedback we've

3:17:38gotten from library users.

3:17:40First, we plan to update our Sunday

3:17:42hours to a consistent 11:00 a.m. to 7:00

3:17:44p.m. across all three libraries

3:17:46year-round starting January 1st.

3:17:49Currently on Sundays in the summer,

3:17:50we're open 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at all

3:17:52buildings, and on Sundays during the

3:17:54school year, we're open 1:00 p.m. to

3:17:569:00 p.m. at Nichols and Naper Blvd

3:17:58Library, and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at

3:17:59Naper Blvd.

3:18:01This change to 11:00 to 7:00 on Sundays

3:18:03at all three buildings

3:18:06uh year-round will allow the community

3:18:07to access library services earlier in

3:18:09the day, which was a request on our

3:18:11community survey, and will greatly

3:18:12expand summer hours and hours in April

3:18:14above our library. This change will add

3:18:16an additional 300 open hours across all

3:18:18three buildings next year.

3:18:20We're also introducing our own

3:18:21internship program for adults with with

3:18:23developmental and intellectual

3:18:25disabilities.

3:18:26To begin, we hosted three successful

3:18:28pilot internships this year in our

3:18:30facilities department with the help of

3:18:32Turning Point Autism Foundation and

3:18:33Little Friends.

3:18:35This pilot program helped us learn how

3:18:36to successfully launch a larger program

3:18:38next year that will include internships

3:18:40in our facilities and our customer

3:18:42services departments.

3:18:43We received amazing feedback from the

3:18:45interns and staff on how meaningful this

3:18:47program has been so far, and we're

3:18:49excited to provide these work

3:18:50experiences in a collaborative

3:18:51environment.

3:18:53We're also expanding and streamlining

3:18:54our teen volunteer opportunities.

3:18:56We get many requests from teens who want

3:18:58to volunteer at the library, and we have

3:19:00many programs, especially for kids, that

3:19:02can use extra assistance or a helping

3:19:04hand.

3:19:05The expansion of volunteer opportunities

3:19:06will allow us to better leverage

3:19:07community help, provide experiences

3:19:09teens will enjoy, and provide volunteer

3:19:12opportunities during a larger variety of

3:19:13days and times.

3:19:15We're also enhancing our public

3:19:16programming across all three libraries,

3:19:18and this means looking at the types of

3:19:20programs we offer and seeing how we can

3:19:21replicate and expand success.

3:19:24For example, our monthly trivia night at

3:19:2595th Street Library has been a huge hit,

3:19:28so we've expanded the program to include

3:19:29a second session at Nichols Library.

3:19:31We're also assessing programs available

3:19:33to kids and families on evenings and

3:19:35weekends to figure out if we want to

3:19:37make any changes to ensure that our

3:19:38programs available to the community at a

3:19:40variety of times.

3:19:42And then finally, we also have

3:19:43substantial capital projects to complete

3:19:44in 2027, the largest of which is the

3:19:46HVAC replacement at 95th Street Library.

3:19:54Public libraries in Illinois are mainly

3:19:55funded through property taxes, and we

3:19:57are no exception as property taxes

3:19:58account for 96% of our budget. And we do

3:20:01an outstanding job keeping our property

3:20:03tax rate noticeably lower than most area

3:20:05libraries. This year we're asking for an

3:20:078% increase to the property tax levy to

3:20:09account for rising costs in all areas of

3:20:11our budget, from the cost of books to

3:20:13personnel to service contracts.

3:20:15The city of Naperville has done an

3:20:16exceptional job maintaining discipline,

3:20:18responsible financial growth across our

3:20:20community.

3:20:21Mirroring that commitment, the library

3:20:23intentionally keeps our year-to-year

3:20:25budget changes reasonable to ensure we

3:20:26remain a great value. Historically, our

3:20:28budget has increased at a rate much

3:20:30lower than inflation, with an increase

3:20:31of only 13% over the last 4 years.

3:20:35This year's budget represents a measured

3:20:37one-time alignment that allows us to

3:20:38catch up on critical needs while

3:20:40preserving our position as an

3:20:41extraordinary value for taxpayers.

3:20:44In addition to rising costs for 2027, we

3:20:46allocated most of the increase to our

3:20:48budget in 2026 to the dramatic change in

3:20:51health insurance costs.

3:20:52So, this budget presented for 2027 gets

3:20:55us back on track to provide excellent

3:20:56service in all areas while accounting

3:20:58for those rising costs.

3:21:01Our property tax rate has decreased for

3:21:0212 straight years and remains

3:21:04significantly lower than comparable

3:21:05libraries, all while we provide

3:21:07top-notch service at three full-service

3:21:09library locations. When you look at

3:21:11other local communities, our value

3:21:13becomes even more apparent. A resident

3:21:15of Schaumburg pays almost twice as much

3:21:17as a resident of Naperville for library

3:21:19service, and a resident of Bolingbrook

3:21:21pays almost three times as much as a

3:21:23resident of Naperville for library

3:21:24service. These aren't outliers. Our

3:21:26property tax rate is significantly lower

3:21:28than most comparable area libraries. And

3:21:31Naperville services aren't just

3:21:32comparable, they're consistently

3:21:34award-winning, responsive to the

3:21:35community, and improving every year.

3:21:38I'm very proud of what we can provide

3:21:39and still be an amazing value for the

3:21:41community.

3:21:42With our proposed 2027 budget, our

3:21:44property tax rate would still remain

3:21:46significantly lower than most area

3:21:48libraries.

3:21:49As mentioned earlier in the

3:21:50presentation, as part of the 2027 city

3:21:52budget, the city's overall property tax

3:21:54rate is forecasted to continue to

3:21:55decrease as well.

3:21:57We are also seeing positive changes in

3:21:59our non-property tax revenues, and this

3:22:01includes a 26.5% increase to the state's

3:22:03personal property replacement tax, and a

3:22:067.3% overall increase in library

3:22:08operations income, which includes things

3:22:10like room rentals, printing, and

3:22:12non-resident fee cards.

3:22:14On the capital side, because we have a

3:22:15number of projects to complete, we work

3:22:17with state representative Janet Yang

3:22:19Rohr to secure $550,000

3:22:21in Illinois Department of Commerce and

3:22:23Economic Opportunity funds toward

3:22:25capital projects lessening our ask from

3:22:26the city's capital program.

3:22:31Looking at our expenses, our budget

3:22:33reflects an 8.1% increase, and as I

3:22:35previously mentioned, the library

3:22:36continues to represent an exceptional

3:22:38value for the Naperville community. For

3:22:40every dollar invested in the library,

3:22:42our community receives much more.

3:22:44Last year alone, we saved the community

3:22:45over $28 million from items like books

3:22:48and movies checked out, which already

3:22:50far exceeds our budget. That number

3:22:51doesn't take into account free programs

3:22:53for all ages, technology, Wi-Fi access,

3:22:57meeting space, business services, and

3:22:59more.

3:23:00We celebrate the fact that this year,

3:23:0281% of Naperville households have a

3:23:04library card, which is an all-time high

3:23:06for our organization. So, our services

3:23:08are well used and incredibly relevant.

3:23:10For the 2027 budget, we work hard to use

3:23:12a zero-based budgeting process like we

3:23:14always do,

3:23:15and our strong history of financial of

3:23:17fiscal responsibility shows that we are

3:23:19only asking for what we really need.

3:23:21In our 2026 budget, most of our increase

3:23:23went to rising health insurance costs,

3:23:25so we delayed some projects. For

3:23:26instance, projects to improve our

3:23:28facilities or IT infrastructure. In our

3:23:302027 budget, these costs return to

3:23:33similar amounts from what we had in our

3:23:342025 budget.

3:23:37Our salaries and benefits lines take

3:23:38into account rising health and dental

3:23:39insurance costs, the internship program

3:23:42for adults with developmental and

3:23:43intellectual disabilities, a salary

3:23:45structure update that follows a market

3:23:47study we conducted in 2026, and our

3:23:49increased hours of operation on Sundays.

3:23:52Other areas of focus in our budget

3:23:53include increases to our collection and

3:23:55programs. For example, libraries pay

3:23:57much more for e-books and digital

3:23:59audiobooks than general consumers, and

3:24:01demand for these collections is growing

3:24:02very quickly.

3:24:04Currently, 35% of our circulation is

3:24:06digital.

3:24:07Digital materials increase accessibility

3:24:09by being available 24/7 and don't

3:24:11require a trip to the library.

3:24:13They also come with a host of

3:24:14accessibility features, I the option to

3:24:16make uh text larger or dyslexic

3:24:18friendly.

3:24:19We also increased the number of popular

3:24:21physical books for children that we

3:24:22provided in 2026, and we plan to

3:24:24increase them further in 2027. By making

3:24:27popular books easier to access, we're

3:24:29building a love for uh a love for

3:24:31reading in kids at an early age.

3:24:33We are also looking at further investing

3:24:34in our programming to ensure we have

3:24:36programs in a variety of days and times

3:24:37that work for our community.

3:24:40For capital improvements, we have some

3:24:41necessary work to continue to keep our

3:24:42buildings running smoothly. As our three

3:24:44buildings are heavily used by 1.2

3:24:46million visitors each year, or about

3:24:483,500 people a day.

3:24:50We completed a long-range plan in 2025

3:24:52that helped us determine needs over the

3:24:54next 5 to 10 years to ensure we're

3:24:56staying uh on top of proactive

3:24:57management of some of our largest

3:24:58investments, our facilities.

3:25:00The largest project for 2027 is the HVAC

3:25:03replacement for the 95th Street Library.

3:25:05The HVAC system is original to the

3:25:07building and is now beyond its useful

3:25:08life.

3:25:0960% of this project is budgeted to come

3:25:11from the City of Naperville's capital

3:25:13fund, while 40% will be funded with the

3:25:15state's DCEO budget, thanks to

3:25:17Representative Yang Rohr.

3:25:19We're also planning for replacement of

3:25:21the Nichols server room HVAC system to

3:25:23keep our servers running smoothly.

3:25:25We're planning to refurbish and replace

3:25:27some of our public furniture that was

3:25:28acquired between 2015 and 2017. While

3:25:31most of the furniture is holding up very

3:25:32well, some pieces have been more heavily

3:25:34used than others and either need

3:25:35replacement or refurbishing.

3:25:37Before replacing furniture though, we

3:25:39always analyze everything. For example,

3:25:41we were able to renegotiate the warranty

3:25:43for the study table chairs at 95th

3:25:45Street Library this year and received

3:25:46free replacements for the chair backs

3:25:48and new 10-year warranties, which saved

3:25:50us about $200,000.

3:25:52Our budget also includes masonry repairs

3:25:54to stone retaining walls that are

3:25:55showing significant signs of wear and

3:25:57deterioration from exposure to the

3:25:59elements, and painting and repairing of

3:26:02medical metal surfaces around our

3:26:04buildings like metal bike racks and

3:26:06metal doors.

3:26:07As previously mentioned, 40% of the HVAC

3:26:09replacement project at 95th Street

3:26:11Library is being funded by a state

3:26:13grant, and we're also talking with

3:26:14Representative Yang Rohr about a project

3:26:16to improve outdoor spaces, which would

3:26:18also be funded through state funds.

3:26:20In summary, the budget presented here

3:26:22will allow us to continue to provide

3:26:24invaluable community services along with

3:26:26requested improvements. Thank you for

3:26:28your continued support, and I'm happy to

3:26:29answer any questions.

3:26:31>> Councilman McBroom.

3:26:33>> Thank you.

3:26:34>> Thank you, David.

3:26:34>> Uh

3:26:35>> Great presentation. Um you know,

3:26:37whenever we see the uh library uh levy

3:26:39request, it always looks like it's huge

3:26:41number, and you know,

3:26:43the April Sun will do an article about

3:26:45it, and

3:26:46we'll have to explain, and you know, um

3:26:49I I I I think you you run a

3:26:51pretty efficient operation there, and uh

3:26:53you know, our previous director uh Munch

3:26:56uh you know, confirmed that for me that

3:26:58you run a pretty lean and uh

3:27:01tight budget there, and uh

3:27:03so but, you know, the eight 8.1 is a is

3:27:05a big increase, and you're um

3:27:09attributing that to uh delayed projects

3:27:11that uh you had We all had the big

3:27:13health insurance spikes last year. Um

3:27:17uh I'm just curious uh

3:27:19you know, are these

3:27:22Is that a part Some of these projects

3:27:24that's part of this 8.1% um levy

3:27:26request? And And are they Okay, so but

3:27:29are these um ongoing expenses? Is this

3:27:32Are these things that you could we could

3:27:33say should be capital expenses and not

3:27:36included in a

3:27:38in a property tax levy? And And can we

3:27:40even do that?

3:27:42>> So, some of the expenses are more like

3:27:45large capital expenses, and those are

3:27:46coming from the city's capital fund, but

3:27:48some of the things are like, for

3:27:49instance, uh purchasing uh uh computers

3:27:52on our computer replacement cycle. So, I

3:27:54mean, you might consider them capital,

3:27:55but they come usually come out of our

3:27:56operating fund. Um so, things like that,

3:27:58or or doing uh

3:28:00uh

3:28:00repairs to parts of our building, and

3:28:02things like that. And generally, those

3:28:04usually aren't huge dollar amounts, and

3:28:06they tend to come out of our operating

3:28:07fund.

3:28:08>> Okay. I would ask staff to just take a

3:28:10look if there's anything that could be

3:28:12shifted off that property tax levy.

3:28:15You know,

3:28:16small dol- dollars, I don't whatever it

3:28:18is. If if something that's not uh

3:28:20permanent, things that could be delayed.

3:28:22Look,

3:28:23they made a decision to delay things. Um

3:28:26if if there's a place in in capital for

3:28:28it instead.

3:28:29So, but

3:28:30other than that, great presentation.

3:28:31Thanks.

3:28:32>> Thanks. Councilman Sayed.

3:28:34Thank you, Matt.

3:28:35Dave, great presentation as always.

3:28:38And I just wanted to give a shout-out to

3:28:40Naperville Library

3:28:42team, board members, and executive

3:28:45director. They have been doing fantastic

3:28:47job for Naperville and Naperville city.

3:28:50This is because I always take feedback

3:28:53from the community. Whenever I go at

3:28:55attend different events, I talk about

3:28:57Naperville Library. Immediately they say

3:28:59they are amazing, fantastic.

3:29:02They are doing a very meaningful job for

3:29:04the community, for Naperville, for all

3:29:07the ages. So, I always get very positive

3:29:10feedback. Thank you so much for

3:29:13doing those things, you know, what you

3:29:14have been doing for many, many years.

3:29:16So, I've got some couple of question No,

3:29:1810 questions. You are okay?

3:29:2110 questions I have got for you.

3:29:23Now, okay. So,

3:29:25So, what is the

3:29:27uh

3:29:28uh digital

3:29:29uh

3:29:30what I can say is, you know,

3:29:32how are we using digital

3:29:35readers or our customers? Are we

3:29:37increasing in the number of uh

3:29:39uh readers on on on online or in person?

3:29:44Because you said around 1.5 million

3:29:46people who walks into the library.

3:29:47>> Yeah, about 1.2 million.

3:29:48>> every year. So, how are we moving those

3:29:51people to digital reading?

3:29:53>> I think they sort of already sort of

3:29:55already are because our number goes down

3:29:57a little bit every year of how many

3:29:58people are coming into the buildings.

3:30:00It's still really high, but a lot of

3:30:02people are finding those digital

3:30:03collections, and we really don't even

3:30:04have to push people to it. They're just

3:30:06finding it on their own. Because you

3:30:07have to think like we're open a lot, but

3:30:10we're not open all the time. So, if it's

3:30:1210:00 at night and you're looking for a

3:30:13book, you might check online to see if

3:30:15we have it first. Or if there's a copy

3:30:17of a book that you can get quicker in an

3:30:19electronic version than in a physical

3:30:21version, you might grab that one first.

3:30:23So, uh

3:30:24we haven't I

3:30:26we are advertising it to people, but at

3:30:28the same time people are just telling us

3:30:30they want it. And one of the things that

3:30:31I think we do exceptionally well is we

3:30:33invest a lot into our digital

3:30:35collections. A lot of libraries

3:30:37aren't spending as much money on the

3:30:38digital collections because they are

3:30:40expensive. But what we're doing is

3:30:41finding efficiencies and finding ways to

3:30:43put more money into the digital

3:30:44collections because in other communities

3:30:46you are in really, really long wait

3:30:48lists to get a lot of that digital

3:30:49stuff. And while you may have to wait in

3:30:51Naperville, it's a lot shorter than what

3:30:53you wait in other communities. And we

3:30:54hear that from people that move to

3:30:55Naperville and have been using other

3:30:57libraries and say, "I can get stuff so

3:30:59much faster from you guys." So, I think

3:31:02the fact that we make the stuff so

3:31:04available

3:31:05is kind of making people want that

3:31:07direction anyway. But it's also really

3:31:09helpful because like I I had mentioned

3:31:10the grab and go carts that we're doing

3:31:12at eight local senior communities. Those

3:31:15are great, too, but also you have access

3:31:16to all of our digital stuff all the

3:31:18time. So, we go to those communities as

3:31:20well and say, "Let's teach you how to

3:31:21use your e-readers or your tablet so

3:31:23that way you can also get this stuff all

3:31:25the time and you don't have to wait for

3:31:27it and there's no need for us to have to

3:31:28also deliver it. We can do both, but you

3:31:31don't have to wait for us if you can

3:31:32also use the online collection."

3:31:33>> Perfect. Thank you so much. So, do we

3:31:36still continue the parking problem at

3:31:39you know, Naperville downtown library

3:31:41because I was the board of trustee and

3:31:43board president for 6 years.

3:31:45It was very challenging for most of the

3:31:48board members

3:31:49to park at Naperville library in

3:31:51downtown, especially in the evening

3:31:53hours. Do we still continue or we are

3:31:55all good?

3:31:56>> So, we're still it's still the number

3:31:57one complaint that we get. I've been at

3:31:59the library for 20 years now and the

3:32:01number one complaint is we can't find

3:32:02parking at Nichols Library. It was the

3:32:04number one complaint when I started 20

3:32:05years ago, still the number one

3:32:06complaint. We just did a community

3:32:09survey and it was the top when we had a

3:32:11open-ended question and said, you know,

3:32:12"Please let us know what we can do

3:32:13better." The top answer was improve

3:32:15parking at Nichols Library. So, it's

3:32:17just continually what we see and then

3:32:19just from working at Nichols Library, I

3:32:21just see people getting into fights in

3:32:23the parking lot. I see people like, you

3:32:25know, swerving around each other

3:32:27unsafely to get spots.

3:32:29And it's happening all the time. So, I

3:32:30mean, I know people are constantly

3:32:32coming in and telling us, "We wish you

3:32:33could do something about the parking."

3:32:35And, you know, we we explain that we

3:32:37have the limitations that we have right

3:32:38now.

3:32:38>> Okay. Yesterday I was at the 95th Street

3:32:41Library evening 6:30 7:00.

3:32:44It was very easy for me to park and get

3:32:46into the library. So, that is one. And

3:32:48what are the top three challenges

3:32:51you face at Naperville Library where you

3:32:53need to call to police chief and all

3:32:55those things because we have seen all

3:32:57those things.

3:32:58>> What are the top challenges?

3:33:00I would say remaining competitive with

3:33:03you know, everything like I said, this

3:33:05year everything just costs a lot. I

3:33:07mean, it's not just books, it's

3:33:09staffing, it's our contracts, it's our

3:33:12it's like literally everything has just

3:33:13gotten very expensive. So, just trying

3:33:15to make sure we're allocating the money

3:33:17wisely.

3:33:18But I think

3:33:21I think overall like

3:33:24just making sure we stay relevant to and

3:33:26making sure that we because we can't

3:33:28provide everything for everyone, making

3:33:29sure that we are providing the best

3:33:30value for the most people

3:33:33because we could do like for instance

3:33:35some libraries have these really fancy

3:33:36maker spaces. When we do surveys and

3:33:38say, "Would you like this?" Most people

3:33:40say, "No, we really want you to focus on

3:33:42books and spaces and other things." So,

3:33:44we have some technology that people can

3:33:46use, but we don't go all out and invest

3:33:47in like a giant fancy space like that

3:33:49because people are telling us that's not

3:33:51what we want. We want this. So,

3:33:52sometimes it's competing demands and

3:33:54priorities and people saying, "There's

3:33:55this shiny object at this other

3:33:57library." And we say, "Well, we have to

3:33:59you know, justify do we spend the money

3:34:01on this or that?" And we can't do

3:34:02everything. So, I'd say that's probably

3:34:04something that we're definitely always

3:34:06looking at is what should we be

3:34:07investing in and where should we

3:34:09prioritize spending our budget.

3:34:11>> Okay. Thank you so much, Dave. Thank

3:34:13you.

3:34:13>> Councilman Wilson.

3:34:14>> Thank you, Mayor.

3:34:16I'll be brief here.

3:34:18No, thank thanks Dave for the

3:34:19presentation. We had talked about this

3:34:21I'm on the I'm the liaison to the board.

3:34:24But you know,

3:34:25just what Councilman McBroom had brought

3:34:27up, we had this long discussion last

3:34:30year about the health care health

3:34:32premiums being increased quite a bit

3:34:36like like the cities as well.

3:34:38So delaying a lot of these a lot of

3:34:40these projects and

3:34:42you know, I

3:34:44I was at the

3:34:46meeting when the guys were going to do

3:34:48the HVAC job presented and talked about

3:34:50it and you know, just confirming for

3:34:54anyone who doubts that I guess that it's

3:34:56it is on its last legs here. So

3:34:59I guess that's how the staff said that

3:35:02they were happy to get by with it being

3:35:04cool this summer, but it needs to be

3:35:06replaced.

3:35:07But no, just just wanted to say thanks

3:35:09again for you know, keeping the the

3:35:11budget

3:35:13you know, as lean as you know, I suppose

3:35:15it can possibly possibly be. Just in

3:35:18case people missed it, do you mind going

3:35:19over again what the change in hours

3:35:21precipitate why what precipitated the

3:35:23change in hours for the current

3:35:25locations?

3:35:25>> Yes, so the change in hours is to our

3:35:27Sunday hours. Right now, we're open 1:00

3:35:29to 9:00 during the school year at

3:35:33Nichols and 95th Street and 1:00 to 5:00

3:35:35at Naper Boulevard and then over the

3:35:37summer it's 1:00 to 5:00

3:35:38at all the buildings

3:35:40on Sundays. And what we want to change

3:35:42to is 11:00 to 7:00. So it would be 8

3:35:44hours on Sundays at all the buildings.

3:35:46So Naper Boulevard is going from 4:00 to

3:35:478:00 hours every single day

3:35:50every single Sunday. And then over the

3:35:51summer right now all the buildings are

3:35:53open 4 hours. So they'd all be open at

3:35:5411:00 to 7:00 the entire summer as well.

3:35:57>> Thanks.

3:35:59>> Okay, that's all we got. Mr. Krieger.

3:36:03>> All right, thanks thanks mayor.

3:36:05The the last section of the workshop is

3:36:08going to be reviewing follow up items

3:36:09from the first budget workshop related

3:36:11to downtown parking.

3:36:13So

3:36:15this slide provides a comparison of the

3:36:17three potential options to sequencing

3:36:19our remaining downtown streetscape

3:36:21projects and expanding downtown parking

3:36:24infrastructure. We have funding

3:36:26restricted for the purpose of

3:36:27construction of additional parking and

3:36:28maintenance. And these funds cannot be

3:36:31used for other purposes.

3:36:33Uh while all three options address

3:36:35downtown infrastructure needs, they

3:36:38differ in terms of project priorities,

3:36:40financial investment, staff involvement,

3:36:43and of course, project timing.

3:36:45Uh option A um is the approach initially

3:36:48presented during budget workshop one.

3:36:51Uh under this option, city would

3:36:53prioritize completing the remaining

3:36:54downtown streetscape before beginning

3:36:57construction of the Nichols parking

3:36:58deck. Uh option B was requested during

3:37:01budget workshop one to evaluate the

3:37:03impact of advancing the Nichols parking

3:37:05deck ahead of the remaining streetscape

3:37:07improvements. And option C was developed

3:37:10at the request of a council member

3:37:11following budget workshop one to explore

3:37:14an alternative that would eliminate

3:37:15construction of the Nichols parking deck

3:37:18and instead provide a surface parking

3:37:19lot adjacent to the library.

3:37:24Because option C is new, wanted to give

3:37:26you a uh visual of the location of the

3:37:28proposed surface parking lot. Uh it's

3:37:30the grassy area uh to the west of the

3:37:32library.

3:37:33The space would create uh approximately

3:37:3630 additional parking spaces,

3:37:38uh would require about $50,000 worth of

3:37:40engineering, and um

3:37:43uh construction would be completed in

3:37:452028 uh at a cost estimate of $500,000.

3:37:50Um project would require significant

3:37:51excavation and a structural retaining

3:37:54wall um so that uh the book drop does

3:37:57not cave in.

3:38:01Uh

3:38:02now uh I'd like to review each option

3:38:04and how funding would be allocated. Uh

3:38:06under option A, city would prioritize

3:38:08completing the remaining downtown

3:38:10streetscape before beginning

3:38:12construction of Nichols.

3:38:14Uh streetscape's completed in 2031, and

3:38:17the Nichols deck would be completed in

3:38:182032.

3:38:20Uh total cost for option A here is 62.4

3:38:23million.

3:38:26Moving on to option B, uh the red

3:38:28markups uh illustrate the differences

3:38:30between the prior option and this

3:38:32option. Uh as you can see, the

3:38:34streetscape projects are being pushed

3:38:36out 2 years to 2033 instead of 2031.

3:38:41And the Nickels Deck uh gets moved up to

3:38:43be completed by 2030 instead of 2032 uh

3:38:48by removing the 2 years of concept

3:38:49design. Um, by removing the concept

3:38:53design, uh total estimated investment is

3:38:5562.2 million for this option.

3:38:59Uh, this approach would rely on prior

3:39:00concept planning rather than completing

3:39:03the new concept design. Uh, and uh this

3:39:06option would accelerate completion of

3:39:07the parking deck by 2 years compared

3:39:10with option A.

3:39:14And finally, option C, uh similar to

3:39:16option A, but the parking deck is

3:39:18replaced with a proposed surface lot.

3:39:20Uh, like under option A, streetscape

3:39:22projects completed by 2031

3:39:25while the Nickels surface lot would be

3:39:27completed in 2028. Um, as previously

3:39:30mentioned, surface lot uh would create

3:39:32uh

3:39:33about 30 additional spaces while the

3:39:35parking deck creates uh approximately

3:39:37500 additional spaces. Um, by

3:39:40constructing the surface lot instead of

3:39:41the parking deck, um obviously the total

3:39:44cost uh decreases uh and it would

3:39:47decrease to

3:39:48uh 25.3 million.

3:39:51Um, now uh we have a kind of a two-part

3:39:53question here. The first is um does

3:39:57council support including dollars for

3:39:59future expansion of parking at Nickels

3:40:01uh in the 2027 to 2031 CIP?

3:40:05Um, and then uh the second, if yes, um

3:40:10which staff recommenda- staff's

3:40:12recommendation to question one would be

3:40:14yes, um which of the three options um

3:40:18should uh we pursue?

3:40:21>> All right, so let's draw poll question

3:40:22number one.

3:40:25Those who would be supportive of

3:40:27question number one, please raise your

3:40:29hand unless we have a

3:40:31>> I ask a question before we do the straw

3:40:33poll?

3:40:33>> Oh, sure. Sure. I I didn't see any

3:40:35lights lit up until just now, so uh

3:40:37>> I was delayed in my

3:40:38>> All right, let's start with Councilwoman

3:40:40Jane.

3:40:40>> Thank you, Mayor. Um

3:40:42in in previous discussions around this,

3:40:45we talked about a a park study, a

3:40:49parking study, um that's

3:40:53that is either that's been done and

3:40:55we're receiving the data on that or that

3:40:57will be done.

3:41:00Could I get some clarification?

3:41:02>> Sure, um I think you're referring to the

3:41:04update to the continuous improvement

3:41:06model, and I think Director Laudan can

3:41:08kind of give an update on the timing of

3:41:10that.

3:41:12Director

3:41:12>> um that uh report should be available to

3:41:14you in November.

3:41:17>> Okay.

3:41:17>> I would say

3:41:19I don't think it'll be available by the

3:41:21next workshop, which I think is November

3:41:2210th, so it's going to be later in

3:41:24November.

3:41:25>> And what do you anticipate the report um

3:41:30revealing or sharing, what type of data

3:41:32regarding parking in downtown? Would it

3:41:35would it um

3:41:37what would uh

3:41:38would it reveal?

3:41:40>> So, it will include um the occupancy

3:41:42information uh that based on the data

3:41:45that was collected um during the summer.

3:41:48Um so, those were the physical counts

3:41:49that were done. It was additional survey

3:41:51information of um downtown customers um

3:41:54as well as um

3:41:56uh downtown uh business representatives,

3:41:58as well as um projections of uh possible

3:42:02parking needs based on future

3:42:03development.

3:42:04>> Yeah, thank you. Uh I will just say that

3:42:07for me personally, that that data will

3:42:09be really important um and influential

3:42:12in my decision-making of any of these

3:42:15options. And before that data, I just

3:42:17feel

3:42:18like um

3:42:20it it it will just give more substantive

3:42:22evidence to what some have been saying

3:42:25that anecdotally they've been receiving

3:42:27or as um we just heard that Nichols

3:42:30Library is struggling with parking. So,

3:42:33it would be nice to have that data. So,

3:42:35for me personally, I I would have a hard

3:42:37time voting on anything without that

3:42:40data.

3:42:41Thank you.

3:42:42>> Councilmember Kelly.

3:42:44>> Thank you, Mayor. I I'll share the exact

3:42:47same thoughts that Councilwoman Jane

3:42:48just said. I I think it would be

3:42:51I'm certainly for me, I can't speak for

3:42:53the council, but for myself, um

3:42:55very difficult, if not impossible, to

3:42:58um take a vote on options A or B, being

3:43:03a $35 million plus capital project,

3:43:06without the data that would support it

3:43:08or not support it. And we're going to

3:43:10have that data within a few weeks. It

3:43:12just seems

3:43:13completely out of order. I know we've

3:43:15got our schedule for the budget

3:43:16workshops, but I I just don't see how it

3:43:18makes any sense to to take even a straw

3:43:20poll tonight or in 10 or 11 days from

3:43:23now

3:43:25if we'd have this data three or four

3:43:26days after that. Um we still won't have

3:43:29the budget vote until early December.

3:43:32Um so, I don't know if we can discuss

3:43:34this

3:43:35at a council meeting when we're going to

3:43:37approve the budget. I know you want to

3:43:38have the budget finalized by then,

3:43:39ideally. Or if we can make this an early

3:43:43'27 decision point if we need that

3:43:45additional time. I just don't see

3:43:47forcing this to match the budget

3:43:51workshop process

3:43:53when the data's going to be in so

3:43:54shortly after. Having said that, I do

3:43:57think

3:43:58again, for myself, I would be

3:43:60supportive, set aside the deck question,

3:44:02I would be supportive, I think, of the

3:44:04surface lot.

3:44:06Um

3:44:08it's not that many spots, granted, for

3:44:10the business community. It is a pretty

3:44:12minor expense in the grand scheme of

3:44:13things that I do think would meet the

3:44:16very specific need we've heard from the

3:44:18library. What I always hear is library

3:44:20patrons want those surface level lots.

3:44:23They don't want to have to circle a

3:44:24deck. I'll say anecdotally, after our

3:44:26last workshop, I I walked downtown

3:44:29nearly every day and and just took a

3:44:31peek at what the deck counts were like.

3:44:35And I did that in the middle of the day

3:44:37and in the evenings, week day week days,

3:44:39weekends. And there was always, I will

3:44:41say, pretty much always about 100 spots

3:44:44or more open in both the Water Street

3:44:47deck and in the Van Buren deck that are

3:44:50both within a block and a half of of

3:44:52here. Um but the surface lot I will

3:44:54grant was generally full. Usually not

3:44:57100% full, but much more full than the

3:44:59decks.

3:45:00Um which indicates to me what I've heard

3:45:01for years, which is people love the

3:45:03surface spots. They will circle around

3:45:05looking for a surface level spot. If we

3:45:08can provide more of what people are

3:45:09really looking for for a very minimal

3:45:12cost compared to the deck certainly,

3:45:14that seems like a a good value

3:45:16proposition and substantively helping

3:45:18the most immediate problems. So,

3:45:20I I almost even hesitate to push that

3:45:23forward without the data, but I'd be

3:45:25more inclined to to move that direction.

3:45:28Um but ideally we'd wait to do any until

3:45:30we have that data.

3:45:32>> Councilman um could I just clarify

3:45:35are you

3:45:37okay with um

3:45:39us questioning or taking a straw poll on

3:45:41question number one, just the general

3:45:43question, and not getting into specific

3:45:46two, and I'm going to ask you

3:45:47Councilwoman Jayne as well. I'm just

3:45:49trying to provide decision point

3:45:51process. Anything that we can process

3:45:53tonight is helpful to to the the staff.

3:45:56So,

3:45:58>> I would say I would be very cautious

3:45:59about that just because the

3:46:02the way the questions are written, my

3:46:04concern is that to the community if

3:46:06there is a majority of council through a

3:46:08straw poll process tonight that said yes

3:46:10to the question one,

3:46:12even though there is a question two that

3:46:14says if yes, what then,

3:46:16I just have a real concern that the

3:46:19message to the community would be we're

3:46:21moving forward with a deck.

3:46:23>> Okay.

3:46:23>> And I don't want any confusion on that

3:46:25point. So,

3:46:26>> Fair enough.

3:46:26>> I would probably prefer that.

3:46:28>> Councilwoman Jayne, you're nodding. So,

3:46:30you

3:46:30>> I would agree. Yes.

3:46:31>> Okay. Councilman Kelly or Howzar.

3:46:33>> Thank you, Mayor. Um Mr. Krieger, uh

3:46:36would you mind going back to the slide

3:46:37that shows the um allocation or

3:46:41Um

3:46:41keep going.

3:46:45Yep, perfect.

3:46:46Okay.

3:46:48Actually, I'm sorry.

3:46:49Um

3:46:52I am going to have you go back to

3:46:55um

3:46:56option B.

3:46:59Okay.

3:47:00Um I see that if the Nichols deck were

3:47:03to be completed in 29 and 30, um the

3:47:06construction budget would be

3:47:09uh mostly in 29 and then a substantial

3:47:11part in 2030. Can you explain how

3:47:14you know, why that is?

3:47:16>> Um are you talking about the difference

3:47:18between in like total cost with

3:47:20>> Not not really why it's different, just

3:47:22just why is 20 million being spent in 29

3:47:24and 16 million in 2030? Like is it a

3:47:262-year construction project? What's the

3:47:28>> It It would be. That is, we would

3:47:30anticipate it would take more than 1

3:47:31year for completion.

3:47:32>> this is actually a fairly serious

3:47:35concern to me, right? So, I'm I'm the

3:47:37DNA rep. Um and by the way, I'm

3:47:39supportive, have been supportive of more

3:47:41parking

3:47:42in in the downtown area. I do think that

3:47:45there's a real shortage in that lot.

3:47:47But gosh, for the for the small

3:47:49businesses in our community, I mean, I I

3:47:51think if you're like Apple, you can

3:47:53absorb this.

3:47:54But if a restaurant is losing 130 spots

3:47:59of

3:48:00a lot, which we already say is not big

3:48:02enough, for 2 years, like

3:48:05a lot of them just can't survive that, I

3:48:06don't think.

3:48:08Um

3:48:09so I see I see that as like a really

3:48:11serious issue with options A and B.

3:48:15And like

3:48:18you know, where where do those 130 By

3:48:21the way, it's it's 130 people in the I'm

3:48:23sorry, 130 cars in the existing lot, if

3:48:25that wasn't already clear, right?

3:48:27But like, where do they go? And if

3:48:29there's already enough space in the

3:48:31existing garages to hold those,

3:48:34then why is an additional garage needed

3:48:36in in addition to those?

3:48:38Um so like, that's something I'm really

3:48:41struggling with. And and I'm I've

3:48:44generally been supportive of this idea.

3:48:46Um but when I learned, if you could flip

3:48:48over to option C,

3:48:50when I learned that this was an option,

3:48:53and I mean I you know,

3:48:55I know 30 spots may not sound like a

3:48:57lot, but that's like a 25% increase in

3:48:59the current surface lot parking

3:49:02at the library

3:49:04at a cost of I'm just running this, you

3:49:06know,

3:49:08yeah, 550,000,

3:49:10right? Divided by

3:49:1330 spots,

3:49:15that's like $18,000 a spot compared to

3:49:17$100,000 plus per spot that we're

3:49:19talking about for the garage options and

3:49:21depriving the community of 130 slots for

3:49:232 years.

3:49:25Um, I'm just I'm having a hard time

3:49:28seeing why I wouldn't do option C.

3:49:31Um, and then you add kind of on top of

3:49:33that,

3:49:34I mean this is this is a like that's

3:49:36like

3:49:38houses is expensive or expensive in

3:49:39April with this like the cost of one

3:49:41medium home in Naperville, right? To add

3:49:4330 spots.

3:49:45If 5 or 10 years from now we were to

3:49:47decide, "Hey, this was not quite

3:49:49enough." Like nothing about this

3:49:50prevents the

3:49:52the creation of garage later. So So, I

3:49:55don't know, Mr. Krieger, do you have

3:49:55some thoughts there?

3:49:57>> Um, yeah, yeah, that would be correct.

3:49:59Um, what what we want to avoid uh would

3:50:02be the construction of the surface lot

3:50:05and then only getting 2 years use out of

3:50:07it before construction of the deck

3:50:09looked at it. But, um, yeah, for um,

3:50:12construction of the surface lot

3:50:13certainly would not would not preclude

3:50:15um, eventually building the Nichols

3:50:17deck.

3:50:18>> So, in uh Mayor, I was wondering if I

3:50:20could still hear from someone from DNA

3:50:22to kind of present the other side of

3:50:23this because I know I know how much

3:50:26thought has gone into this plan

3:50:28and maybe there's something I'm missing

3:50:29on the, you know, or a plan for how to

3:50:31deal with the the 2-year gap that you'd

3:50:33have of losing those library spaces.

3:50:36Um, but just looking at the crowd, Dawn,

3:50:39I don't know if anyone from DNA wanted

3:50:40to come up and talk about this.

3:50:43Dawn Kady.

3:50:46>> Do one of you want to respond if

3:50:57>> Um

3:50:58specific question about timing and

3:51:04>> Maybe yeah, like if we can hone in on um

3:51:06the loss of 130 spaces over 2 years. Um

3:51:10Like that that is a hard

3:51:13>> It that would be very difficult to

3:51:14observe. I agree with you. Um we were

3:51:16always told more a year. So 2 years is

3:51:20is a new thing. I don't doubt that that

3:51:22would be the timing and Dave and I have

3:51:23traded some messages

3:51:25just even while we're here of how would

3:51:27we do that.

3:51:28Like anything, like streetscape, we'd

3:51:30have to have a plan.

3:51:32I would imagine there might be an idea

3:51:34where we devote some of the street

3:51:36spaces on Jackson and those just for

3:51:39library patrons potentially to help

3:51:41absorb that.

3:51:43We have some private lots around that

3:51:45area. Maybe we can make some

3:51:47arrangements during this period of time

3:51:49for library patrons, excuse me.

3:51:51We have other lots, like maybe the park

3:51:53district lot as an example at the

3:51:55community center. Maybe there's some

3:51:57empty spaces we could utilize. So I'd

3:51:59say, although I don't have the answers

3:52:01right now, we'd have to be creative

3:52:02about how we'd handle that. Um also

3:52:05using, I mean, I know a lot of the

3:52:06library employees very dutifully use the

3:52:09municipal center parking deck for their

3:52:12parking. So perhaps and with the

3:52:15I know that you have that on the list to

3:52:17still rehab the municipal center deck.

3:52:20There'd be some use of that a little bit

3:52:22more that and Water Street.

3:52:24So, do you have any

3:52:27>> Okay, that's that's helpful. Thank Thank

3:52:29you. I appreciate it.

3:52:33>> Councilman Gibson.

3:52:34>> Hi.

3:52:35>> Mayor, I think Mr. Kreger wanted to say

3:52:37something.

3:52:37>> Um yeah, just one point of

3:52:39clarification. Um

3:52:41the 2 years does is not it doesn't mean,

3:52:44"Hey, it's a January through December of

3:52:47the following year." And um I don't know

3:52:49if Ms. Lowden has like a better estimate

3:52:51of actual kind of construction when

3:52:54um

3:52:55uh the surface lot would be out.

3:52:59>> I do not. We would need to get into the

3:53:00design and the construction staging. Um

3:53:03I will note that um years ago when we

3:53:05were building the expansion of the Van

3:53:07Buren uh parking facility, we did get

3:53:09very creative and we had a lot of plans

3:53:11in place to

3:53:13um try to free up spaces for downtown

3:53:14patrons during that time. I think, you

3:53:16know, there's a lot of things that we

3:53:17would work closely with DNA on uh at the

3:53:19staff level to to mitigate the loss of

3:53:21the parking during that time. So, we

3:53:23we've got some playbooks for that from

3:53:25from past projects.

3:53:30>> Councilwoman Gibson.

3:53:31>> Thank you, Mayor. Um I just had a

3:53:33follow-up request from staff if we're

3:53:35holding off for more information

3:53:38um in regards to the survey and, you

3:53:40know, the study that you've been doing.

3:53:42I know City Manager Krieger and I, we

3:53:44talked about the counters on the

3:53:46existing garages and how they keep track

3:53:48of every time a car goes in and out and

3:53:50that we have

3:53:52access to that historical data.

3:53:54>> We do.

3:53:54>> Um I think personally, I'd find that

3:53:56really helpful cuz we actually have the

3:53:58hard data of usage for our current

3:54:02garages. So, if Council can get that

3:54:03data, that would be helpful.

3:54:05>> And uh

3:54:06you know, uh Mr. Mayor, if you don't

3:54:08mind, um you know, one of the things we

3:54:10could do, I I agree that the continuous

3:54:12improvement model is going to be um uh a

3:54:15very important point um to consider.

3:54:19Uh and this is certainly not a small

3:54:21decision, but you know, one of the

3:54:23options um

3:54:25that we could proceed along with

3:54:27uh would be um to enter a placeholder in

3:54:31the budget, um uh discuss the continuous

3:54:34improvement model when it was ready,

3:54:37and um

3:54:38based on that discussion afterwards, um

3:54:41we could uh make a decision on the

3:54:45sequencing and timing and extent of the

3:54:47construction, and then amend the budget.

3:54:50Um you know, we can't uh we can't go up,

3:54:53but we but it's very simple for us to go

3:54:56down and you know if that takes place

3:54:59in December or if that takes place in

3:55:01January that would be fine. I wouldn't

3:55:03want to

3:55:05extend

3:55:06the discuss I would like to have a

3:55:09decision kind of in January so that we

3:55:11can

3:55:12really kind of factor our construction

3:55:14in once spring construction hits though.

3:55:19>> Councilman White

3:55:21>> Yeah, a question for thank you mayor

3:55:23from Ms. Wood.

3:55:28>> [laughter]

3:55:29>> You you touched on this a little bit

3:55:31when you were speaking earlier but can

3:55:33you provide um

3:55:37some potential or I guess it's kind of

3:55:40predictable kind of data as far as what

3:55:44the economic impact

3:55:47we would have or potentially could lose

3:55:50if we don't have the deck you talked

3:55:51about. I want to say it was a 7.5

3:55:54million

3:55:56visitors to the downtown.

3:55:58And

3:56:00what

3:56:01advantage economic advantage would we

3:56:02have if we have this parking deck

3:56:06assuming that many of those patrons

3:56:08aren't stopping in because of the lack

3:56:11of parking which you know you described

3:56:13as well.

3:56:14I think that's just that's a a data

3:56:16point that should be considered as well.

3:56:18>> Thank you for that question and it's

3:56:20tough to know sort of the lost potential

3:56:22that we don't have. It's 9.5 million

3:56:25visits a year that we're currently

3:56:26having and so who isn't coming? Who

3:56:29isn't coming because they perceive we

3:56:32have parking insufficiency. All I could

3:56:34say is that's all we hear.

3:56:36We just did some sort of back of the

3:56:39napkin math if you will

3:56:41late in the night here

3:56:43and and I think I also sent this to you

3:56:45in a letter with um

3:56:48an incremental 400 spaces versus the

3:56:51incremental 30 spaces that you're

3:56:53speaking of.

3:56:54If you you could do do math and say okay

3:56:58if those spaces even turn four times a

3:57:00day conservatively,

3:57:02and if people are spending an average of

3:57:03$100 each, that math I don't have it in

3:57:06front of me. I don't have anything off

3:57:08the top of my head. It was something

3:57:09about $50 million.

3:57:11That those spaces would be used to turn

3:57:13multiple times a day for shoppers and

3:57:15diners.

3:57:16And so that's the lost potential

3:57:19uh without that parking. Where do they

3:57:21go? Do they choose somewhere else? Don't

3:57:22they come?

3:57:23So what we included in that letter was

3:57:26just an estimate on how often they'd

3:57:28turn, how much people would spend,

3:57:32not saying that's every day of the year.

3:57:33We deducted out the days of the year

3:57:35that it might not be full. But for the

3:57:37most part, we're a a vibrant downtown

3:57:40from, you know, morning to night. And

3:57:43that would be the income we predicted

3:57:45that we could realize with those extra

3:57:48spaces.

3:57:49>> Okay.

3:57:49>> Does that help?

3:57:50>> Yeah, thank you for that explanation. I

3:57:52think that's something that should be

3:57:53definitely included

3:57:54>> Thank you.

3:57:55>> as part of what we're looking for. I

3:57:56think uh it's fair what

3:57:59um other council members are saying as

3:58:00far as getting some data. I'm fine with

3:58:02that as well, but

3:58:05bottom line, let's get let's collect all

3:58:06the data that we can and um that way we

3:58:09can make the most informed decision.

3:58:11Thank you.

3:58:11>> I appreciate that. Thank you.

3:58:15>> So I I don't think we're going to have

3:58:17any

3:58:18responses to the two questions on the

3:58:20parking garage tonight. Um

3:58:22one observation is of all the things

3:58:24that we reviewed tonight, the parking

3:58:26garage is the one project

3:58:28that actually has had a funding source

3:58:31for it since it was allocated since

3:58:332008, since the uh

3:58:35the tax was put in place. That tax

3:58:37sunsets in 2033.

3:58:39And it will have collected

3:58:42its 2/3

3:58:44funding, which was part of the deal for

3:58:45the purpose of establishing parking. So

3:58:47of all the things we talked about

3:58:49tonight, this one actually has a funding

3:58:50source

3:58:51for it in place. And

3:58:54if we don't build parking,

3:58:56um we have still have a problem with

3:58:59what's going to be north of $20 million

3:59:01um in 2033? What are we going to do with

3:59:03it?

3:59:04It's going to only be used for that. So.

3:59:07Mr. Krieger, you want to wrap it up?

3:59:11>> Uh would love to, Mayor. Um we will be

3:59:14bringing that back probably the you know

3:59:16the next point.

3:59:17It sounds like there's consensus that um

3:59:20City Council would like to get the

3:59:22continuous improvement model report uh

3:59:24prior to making a decision on it. And um

3:59:27we can make that happen um for you. Um

3:59:31you know the

3:59:32the last piece is really um

3:59:35you know taking a quick look at next

3:59:36steps in the process. Um next workshop

3:59:39November 10th. And it's going to provide

3:59:41big picture overview of budget and

3:59:43numbers associated with major funds.

3:59:46Uh from there uh we'll review the

3:59:47estimated property tax levy and schedule

3:59:49public hearing on the 2027 budget.

3:59:52Uh and budget will come back to you at

3:59:54December 1st meeting for public hearing

3:59:56and vote. Uh and at the last meeting in

3:59:58December you'll be asked to approve the

4:00:00property tax levy. Uh after that

4:00:02approval staff will provide this

4:00:04information to DuPage and Will Counties

4:00:06before the year-end deadline. Um before

4:00:08we close out uh

4:00:10um we will be bringing back for as as a

4:00:14follow-up item for workshop three uh

4:00:17more information on the 4th Street

4:00:18request. I just wanted to give Council

4:00:21um

4:00:22uh uh another chance to say hey is there

4:00:24anything else that you would like us to

4:00:26bring back um for further discussion at

4:00:29the third workshop.

4:00:33>> Councilwoman Gibson was queued.

4:00:34>> Thank you.

4:00:35>> Prior to you asking that question by the

4:00:37way, so.

4:00:38>> Thank you. [laughter]

4:00:39Thank you. Um

4:00:40I was wondering if we could ask staff to

4:00:42bring back the feasibility study from

4:00:44Naper Settlement. Um in particular um

4:00:48I'm hearing

4:00:50um concerns about the building

4:00:52assessment. I know we have in our full

4:00:54budget I pulled it up the facility

4:00:56condition assessment.

4:00:58Um for all all of our buildings. It'll

4:01:00cover 100 million square feet of city

4:01:02facilities for 330,000.

4:01:05Um I don't know if staff can look into

4:01:06whether including the 33 settlement

4:01:09buildings in that larger study makes

4:01:11sense if but maybe just some more

4:01:13information about

4:01:15last time the settlement buildings were

4:01:17assessed and they need to be done if it

4:01:19makes sense to roll them into that or if

4:01:21there's other options.

4:01:23>> Yeah, we we can certainly bring that

4:01:24back for the third workshop.

4:01:27>> Okay, thank you.

4:01:31>> Okay, no other questions?

4:01:34All right, we'd like to thank Council

4:01:37for your time

4:01:39and your questions and look forward to

4:01:43our next workshop on the 10th.

4:01:46>> Thank you everyone. Good night.

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