A marathon session of the Enfield Village Board took place Tuesday night, which decided what to do about delinquent water bill customers. Scott Mareing was there for the more than two and half hour meeting and has this report…
During the point on the agenda where the approval of bills and water adjustments came up for a vote, it was brought up that the village has been losing money on water, gas and sewer for some time now. The main problem seems to be those residents that are always behind on their water bills. The board members decided to bring the topic up for discussion later in the meeting.
Mayor Maurie Black brought up that Enfield has the opportunity to pass a local ordinance instituting a one percent grocery sales tax to replace the one that has been eliminated by the state of Illinois. All the board members agreed that there are not enough businesses that would be affected by the tax to make it worth doing and residents have been taxed enough, so it was turned down.
In old business, the finishing up of the street lighting is again going on after a brief break. The estimates for Community Center repairs and the Park Grant are still an ongoing issue. The parcel of land on Miller Street is still open for bids. They’re looking at various prices on burnishers. And the board approved the purchase of a new bed for the truck from Dylan Bond for $15,000.
Several residents complimented the city workers on the good job they did clearing snow from the streets.
Residents were asked to watch out for the antennas on their meters when mowing. They cost the village $52 to replace.
In new business, they received a letter from Southern Illinois Critter Fixers asking for a donation to their group, which spays and neuters cats, but the request was turned down. The NCOE FFA Alumni wrote the village a letter thanking them for the use of the Community Center for their meeting. The company insuring this year’s Fourth of July fireworks display is asking them to pay an extra $500 in insurance, Enfield itself is not putting on the display, a private citizen is, so the village is ignoring the request. A meeting will be held with Kurt Hales to discuss putting up three surveillance cameras: at the park, the school, and the lobby of the village building.
The board then went into a one hour and 20 minute Executive Session. When it was over, they agreed to require delinquent water bill customers that after being delinquent paying their bill for one month and the new billing cycle has begun, they must pay the entire month and pay a disconnect fee before being turned back on. The fee is $225 for the first time they are disconnected, $450 for the second time, and $5,000 for the third time. If the resident has not paid their bill for six months or more, they will be taken to small claims court and have a lien put on their driver’s license.
The board adjourned at 9:38 PM.