We can use it together.

Yeah.

If everyone would take your seats, please, we're going to get started with our meeting.

Please take your seats.

A wet sticker?

I love it.

Oh, here.

Yeah.

Hello.

Good.

How are you?

Yeah, it was on my notebook.

Oh, okay.

Good evening, everyone.

Excuse me, good evening.

It is six o'clock p.m.

on Tuesday, October 14th, 2025.

I'd like to call the meeting of the Peoria City Council to order.

I'd also like to welcome everyone who's present in our historic city council chambers, as well as our listening audience watching on Cable Channel 22 and on YouTube, the City of Peoria YouTube channel.

Madam Clerk, the council mics are open.

Please call the roll.

Mayor O'Lee.

Present.

Councilmember Allen.

Present.

Councilmember Carmona.

Here.

Councilmember Sear.

Here.

Councilmember Gordon Young.

Present.

Councilmember Jackson.

Here.

Councilmember Kelly.

Councilmember Euler.

Here.

Councilmember Riggenbach?

Here.

Councilmember Valpula.

And Councilmember Vespa.

Here.

We have a quorum present, Madam Mayor.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Everyone, please join me and stand for a moment of silent prayer or silent reflection, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

I play a bunch of legions to my United States of America.

And to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Madam Clerk.

We are at proclamations.

The first one recognizes clergy appreciation month.

And we have Pastor Martin Johnson as well as uh the lead chaplain of Peoria Police Department Chaplain Program, Pastor Linda Butler.

Would you please come forward?

And the proclamation reads, whereas the City of Peoria is committed to the mission of the Faith and Blue Initiative, which is to facilitate safer, stronger, more just and unified communities by directly enabling local partnerships among law enforcement professionals, residents, businesses, and community groups through the connections of local faith-based organizations.

And whereas in recent years, the Peoria Police Department's revitalized chaplain program has played a vital role in building and maintaining healthy relationships between the police and the community.

And whereas the Peoria Police Department's chaplains provide spiritual and emotional support to police officers, the entire staff of the department, and the community.

Whereas the Peoria Police Department's chaplains recorded 858 volunteer hours with the department in 2024, including 294 hours of police right-alongs.

And whereas the success of the Peoria Police Department's chaplain program led to the Peoria Fire Department and Peoria County Coroner's Office launching similar faith-based community programs that embedded chaplains within their organizations.

And whereas on October 14th, 2025, the Peoria Police Department celebrated its partnerships with local clergy members by honoring them at a luncheon showing its appreciations for the guidance, support, and spiritual care that they provide within the community.

Now, therefore, I, Rita Lee, mayor of the city of Peoria, do hereby acknowledge October 10th through October 13th as National Faith and Blue Weekend and recognize October as clergy appreciation month in Peoria, Illinois.

Thank you, Mayor Ali.

It is definitely an honor to be recognized tonight for what the clergy in Peoria have been able to contribute to the safety of our community.

And with saying that, I'm going to ask that all clergy that's present tonight, be it with the Peoria Police Department, the Peoria Fire Department, the Coroner's Office as well, if they would please stand while Mary Peterson gives words as well to express what this moment is all about.

Wonderful.

I think the proclamation talked about everything as it relates to Faith in Blue as well as clergy appreciation month.

We just want to really thank our clergy, those who are here and those who are not here for what you do and for being the glue in our community.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

And we have Mary Beth Kreg, she's respiratory therapist program director at Illinois Central College, and Sandra Schaefer, Director of Clinical Education Respiratory Therapist Program at Illinois Central College.

Welcome, ladies.

Whereas the health of all Americans depends on educated minds and trained hands, the practice of modern medicine at the high standards that we now enjoy would not be possible without the daily work in respiratory care.

And whereas, according to local hospitals, there are approximately 175 respiratory therapists in the Peoria area and at least 120 more in the Tri-County area, along with 39 respiratory therapist program students.

All are dedicated to their calling and helping our community breathe better every day.

Whereas these multi-skilled professionals create a professional and comforting atmosphere for patients by offering guidance and support.

And whereas through their dedication, respiratory therapists have made vital contributions to the quality of health care in the United States.

Now, therefore, I, Reed Ali, Mayor of Peoria, do hereby recognize the week of October 19th through 25th, 2025 as respiratory care week in Peoria, Illinois.

Once again, thank you so much, Madam Mayor and Council members.

This means so much to all the practicing respiratory therapists out there.

The work that they do is uh tireless and endless, but it is all for the betterment of our community.

So we thank you for that.

Um we brought a couple students with us this evening.

We thought she just might want to hear that from them.

So I'm gonna introduce um Derek Derrickson.

He is actually our class president.

Wonderful.

Hello, Madam Mayor and Council members.

Um I wanted to thank you, Madam Mayor and Council members for our beautiful and our beautiful city for recognizing respiratory care week.

I am thankful for Illinois Central College for opening this door for our community for programs like respiratory therapy.

We're beginning, we're being trained to serve our neighbors, hospitals and clinical settings and beyond.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

So great occupation.

Thank you.

Our next proclamation recognizes the America's Gold Star Families Incorporated.

And we have my friends Darren Funk, Executive Director, designate of America's Gold Star Families Incorporated, and Mrs.

Francis Maddox, board president of America's Gold Star Families Incorporated.

Whereas the Blue Star Flag was designed and patented in 1917 by Army Captain Robert Quiser of the Fifth Ohio Infantry.

And it inspired, excuse me, it was inspired by his two sons who were serving on the front lines in World War One.

And whereas the flag single blue star represents one family member actively serving in the U.S.

Armed Forces, and additional stars are added for each additional family member serving, creating a powerful symbol of a family's personal investment in the defense of our nation.

And whereas when a blue star on a flag is replaced with a gold star, it signifies that the family's loved one has died in the line of duty, forever memorializing their profound sacrifice for the cause of freedom and peace.

And whereas the term Gold Star Family was officially recognized in 1936 when President Franklin D.

Roosevelt signed a proclamation declaring the last Sunday of September as Gold Star Mother's Day, a day to honor mothers who have lost a son or daughter in the service of the United States.

And whereas America's Gold Star Families Incorporated is a local and national nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor America's fallen heroes who served in the U.S.

Armed Forces and assist their survivors through programs and services at no cost to them, providing honor, hope, and healing to those grieving military losses.

And whereas the Murray Baker Bridge was lit in gold on Monday, September 29th, and Tuesday, September 30th, to honor the profound and enduring sacrifice of Gold Star families.

Now therefore I, Rita Lee, mayor of the City of Peoria, to hereby acknowledge September 28th as Gold Star Mothers and Families Day, and the week of September 29th, 2025 as Gold Star Families Week, and recognize the impact of America's Gold Star Families Incorporated in Peoria, Illinois.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Appreciate the console.

We appreciate all the gold star families are here with us tonight and appreciate the city acknowledging this proclamation for our families.

At this time, I'm going to have the president of our board of directors, Frances Madoch, she's going to come up, and she's also a gold star mother, and she's going to introduce who we have with us tonight.

It's such a great honor to be here today, and we're just very grateful, Honorable Mayor Rita Ali and our City Council members.

Grateful that you recognize Gold Star families in such a beautiful and wonderful way.

Remembrance and honor is something that's very important for us to keep our family members lives remembered and their name remembered always.

And so through this symbolism is something that we can share with our gold star families, and they will truly be honored.

Thank you for the remembrance.

Thank you for these heroes that have served in our military and made that ultimate sacrifice as well.

With us today, we do have several board members as well as gold star family members.

Next to me, I have Miss Kenka Keeteen, who is a gold star daughter, along with her mother, where is Cassandra.

So we've got Alexis and Cassandra McCullough, and Alexis lost her father in service.

She too is a gold star mother, and she lives right here in the Peoria area.

And then myself and my husband were gold star parents.

We're from Bloomington, Illinois, but my I grew up here and was born in Peoria.

So this is home.

And behind me, I've got two of our board members that are attending.

And so like to introduce both Matt McCullough and Matt McCullough.

Matt Coach, excuse me, too many names to remember.

And then also Billy Halsted as well.

So thank you very much for the honor and the remembrance as well as the recognition.

Thank you.

Thank you, Francis.

Thank you.

Thank you again.

Thank you very much.

Our final proclamation recognizes the Civic Leadership Academy and its new graduates.

We have representing uh Tim Shelley, Peoria County Communications Coordinator, but let's bring all of them up.

Whereas the City of Peoria is committed to working with other local units of government to best serve our community and has renewed its partnership with Peoria County to offer a combined civic leadership academy.

And whereas Civic Leadership Academy is a community education course that raises awareness of the responsibilities of local government and the services that it offers.

Whereas Civic Leadership Academy allows participants an opportunity to experience local government in a unique hands-on environment through a series of two-hour sessions.

And whereas many elected and appointed officials and staff members have given their time to present sessions to interested and involved community members.

And whereas participants had an in-depth look at local government facilities, including the Peoria Fire Department, Peoria Police Department, Emergency Communications Center, Peoria Public Works, Peoria City Hall, Peoria County Health and Human Services, Peoria County Jail, Peoria County Coroner's Office, and Peoria County Animal Protection Services, PCAPS.

And whereas the City Civic Leadership Academy participants are deservedly graduating tonight.

Now therefore, I read Ali, Mayor of the City of Peoria to hereby recognize and congratulate the graduates of Civic Leadership Academy in Peoria.

Okay, well, thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you, Council.

I'm Tim Shelley, the Peoria County Communications Coordinator.

And uh this program in some form or another has been going on since 2005 now, and the city has been a partner uh with this program for a very long time.

And uh on behalf of the county, I'd just like to thank the city for participating in this program and really kind of taking a role in uh helping educate people, uh, residents of our community about how local government works and kind of giving them a little bit of a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, uh, to see maybe some of the you know the inner workings of some of the departments.

Um we've got some we got a shy class tonight, so I'm the spokesman on their behalf, but I'll just I'll just say on their behalf that this is a great group of leaders in our community, and um I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of them around.

So thank you very much.

You're welcome.

Thank you.

Congratulations, madam clerk, we are at the approval of the minutes.

Councilman Riggenbach.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I move to approve the minutes of the city council meeting held September 23rd, 2025, and the minutes of the special joint city council and town board meeting held on September 30th, 2025, as printed.

Okay, seconded by Councilmember Euler.

Any questions or comments?

Please cash your ballots.

Madam Clerk.

We have one town item.

25-280 is a request from the town officials to approve the October 2025 actual expenditures and to approve the November 2025 anticipated expenditures for the town of the city of Peoria.

Councilmember Gordon Young.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I move to approve item 25-280.

Seconded by Trustee Allen.

Any questions or comments?

Please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Madam Clerk.

We're at the city portion of the agenda.

We're at the consent agenda.

25-281 is a communication from the city manager and director of human resources with a request to approve and authorize the payment of a workers' compensation settlement in the amount of 119,072 and 39 cents to a firefighter who filed claims on August 21st, 2021 and May 18, 2022.

25-282 is a communication with request to approve an intergovernmental agreement between the City of Peoria and Greater Peoria Sanitary District for cleaning and inspection of a selected city sewer segments in the low bid amount of $90,640, with an additional authorization of $9,064 for contingencies for a total amount of $99,704.

25-283 is a communication with a request for the following.

A approve an agreement with Illinois Department of Transportation for the City's participation in the intersection improvements for U.S.

150 War Memorial Drive and Willow Knolls Drive Big Hollow Road in Peoria County.

And B approve a funding resolution for the city's cost participation in the intersection improvements for U.S.

150 War Memorial Drive and Willow Knolls Drive Big Hollow Road in the amount of $8,25 plus contingencies.

25-284 is a communication with request to accept a dedication deed from Dean Custom Builders Inc.

for the Grey Oak Subdivision for a portion of a proposed new subdivision road off Grand Ridge Drive.

25-285 is a communication with a request to adopt an ordinance amending Chapter 3, Article 2, Section 3-52 of the Code of the City of Peoria to revise the Class K to catering liquor license requirements.

25-286 is an appointment by Mayor Ali to the Mayor's Advisory Committee for Citizens with Disabilities with a request to concur of Audrey Felder.

25-287 is an appointment by Mayor Ali to the Peoria Urban Forestry Advisory Board with a request to concur of John Paul McGreal.

25-288 is an appointment by Mayor Ali to the advisory committee on police community relations with a request concur of Andrew Edwards.

And that concludes our consent agenda.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Are there any items to remove from consent?

Councilmember Sear.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Move to approve consent agenda.

Seconded by Council Member Allen.

Please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Madam Clark.

We are at first readings.

25-289 is a communication from the city manager and director of public works with a request to receive and file a first reading of an ordinance amending section 28-62, reducing the number of members on the Transportation Commission.

Mr.

Manager.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I'd like to turn the floor over to our public works director, Rick Powers, to walk through this agenda item and uh talk about it.

This is just the first reading that we have.

Sure.

Thank you, Mr.

Manager.

Madam Mayor, Counselors.

This request actually came to us from the Transportation Commission and is pretty straightforward.

They're doing it to try to garner better attendance and get a quorum.

It's uh been a challenge for them with 11 members to get a quorum, frankly, and they believe that reducing it to nine members will give them a better opportunity to conduct the business they need before them.

Uh there's not a whole lot more to it other than they've been struggling with that since I've been here.

And this came from them and staff supports the recommendation.

Again, it's 11 to 9, so there's still a significant number of members on the commission.

And again, any questions?

Councilmember Kelly.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I move to approve.

Is there a second?

Councilman, uh Councilmember Jackson, second.

Any other questions?

Councilmember Allen.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Corporation of Council Hayes, are city commissions prohibited from participating via Zoom since the COVID-19 procedures have now changed.

So the each of our boards and commissions can adopt rules that would mock the city council's rule as far as remote participation for the limited purposes for which the for which the council can attend as well.

So they could they could adopt that rule at the commission or committee level.

And we have a number of our commissions and committees that do have those rules.

I don't have for you that exact list, but they could adopt a similar rule and operate in a similar fashion to the council.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

You're very welcome.

Okay, please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Thank you.

Thank you, Director Powers.

Madam Clerk.

We are at regular business.

25-290 is a communication from the city manager in chief of police with a request for the following.

A accept the organized retail crime grant from the Office of the Attorney General in the amount of $50,000.

And B, adopt an ordinance amending the City of Peoria 2025 revised budget relating to the general fund to recognize the receipt of grant funding from the Office of the Attorney General in the amount of $50,000.

And item B requires two-thirds vote of council members voting, no less than six votes, and we'll need separate votes on each, please.

Mr.

Manager.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

This is pretty straightforward.

This is the organized retail crime grant from the Attorney General.

This is a budget amendment, and it requires a supermajority vote.

That's the reason why this is on the regular agenda this evening.

Any questions or can I get a motion?

Uh Councilmember Sear.

Move to approve, Madam Mayor.

Seconded by Council Member Allen.

Any questions or discussion?

Please cast your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Madam Clerk.

We need to vote on item B, please.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Um, item B, Councilmember Sear, seconded by Councilmember Allen.

Uh please cast your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Having fun out there.

Madam Clerk.

25-291 is a communication from the mayor and the corporation council with a request to adopt an ordinance amending chapter 20, Article 4, Offenses Against Public Peace in order of the Code of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Peoria to prohibit nuisance gatherings.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Um I'll just start and then defer to you.

Corporation Council Hayes.

All of you know what occurred on Sunday, the early morning hours of Sunday, September 28th, when there was a large crowd on Main Street.

And it was what I would consider a nuisance, a nuisance crowd, because people were saying committing illegal activities.

What I have introduced is an ordinance that's very similar to an ordinance that was adopted in normal Illinois last year.

It was researched by Corporation Council and normal Illinois implemented, adopted, and approved their ordinance for crowds.

And I talked to Mayor Chris Coos.

The mayor of normal.

And he feels very good about the ordinance being a tool to help their police officers to address unruly nuisance crowds like this.

So I I feel there's there's very few tweaks that we have made to this ordinance.

It's very similar to what they adopted.

We don't believe that there are legal real legal challenges, and you can speak to this, but it has not been an issue in normal Illinois, but it will help, it will give some another tool with some teeth for police to address these large nuisance crowds.

So I'm gonna at that point, I'm gonna just ask Corporation Council Hayes to provide more detail.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

First, I want to indicate that our law enforcement officers do a very good job with a task force that was assembled a few years ago to deal with uh crowds that gather late in the evening, early in the morning on a regular basis.

Um so uh they have developed a set of strategies uh but also have guided us with a set of offenses that they felt give indication that a nuisance gathering is there and where they want a tool that would be uh that would authorize them to require those crowds to disperse before they have to take any other enforcement action.

And they find often that that's adequate to resolve the situation.

And so this tool will most likely be predominantly used without any citations being issued because it gives law enforcement the authority to require the crowds that are gathered with illegal conduct present to disperse.

And so this ordinance was modeled after one that was adopted in uh normal.

There was also an adoption of a similar ordinance in Springfield, Illinois.

And we have a common set of problems in our jurisdictions in Central Illinois where this is a common practice.

And we've even received complaints uh a couple years ago when we put our task force in place from Springfield that the folks who were causing trouble in Peoria wound up down there.

Uh and so it's become a late-night um set of circumstances.

Our law enforcement officers, if you've ever been out there with them late at night, early in the morning, you see that they deal with these issues quite regularly.

Um we have a use of force board that meets every month and looks at use of force issues.

Often those circumstances arise within these crowds.

Um the uh videotapes from the 28th, the issue on the 28th, uh, have been posted on our website, and you can view those.

This was a set of conduct that went beyond what our normal experience has been with our officers where numerous individuals were actually disrupting the officers' uh ability to render first aid to that gunshot victim.

You know, our officers are really good as a first line of first aid.

They apply uh pressure bandages to bleeding wounds and they're um very well trained.

Uh but an officer who is trying to treat the victim of this shooting that was down in the street was interrupted three or four different times by people uh actually physically contacting the officer while he was attempting to render aid.

And so um this ordinance would deal with those situations, give the officers a tool to order the crowd to disperse and make apprehensions and charges if people don't follow those directions.

Um I want to express uh gratitude to Councilman Vespa, who raised an issue with me just a few minutes before the meeting to allow me to gather my thoughts about his concerns that this may violate the First Amendment.

So these ordinances are challenged from time to time on the basis that the First Amendment uh gives the right to people to peacefully assemble.

And so these types of ordinances can be utilized and are constitutional if they are content neutral, uh if they are narrowly tailored, and if they're aimed at specific unlawful conduct.

And so our ordinance lists the actual unlawful acts that are a predicate to being able to use this dispersal requirement.

Um the issue becomes one of degree and application.

We will not be applying this ordinance in a circumstance where there's a protest going on and some people get overhood heated.

Right.

Our law enforcement officers won't be using those tools in my view in those circumstances.

Um the um Councilman Despa raised a specific concern about protests.

I think we've seen our law enforcement community respond very favorably to both organized and permitted protests as well as organic and spur the moment protests, and they understand from their training and experience that First Amendment expression is to be protected by them, not to be interdicted.

And so uh I can't tell Councilman Vespa that a creative attorney won't sue us over this ordinance.

I can tell you that it has been crafted to be constitutional because it requires specific unlawful conduct by at least two of the participants in a crowd of 10 or more in order for the for the um law enforcement officers to give the order of dispersal, and then only after all of that are law enforcement officers able to use the mechanism to actually charge a violation and take those actions.

And so, in my view, this is constructed to address the concerns of constitutionality that Councilman Vespa raised.

Um, although I may not have satisfied all of his inquiry, um, I appreciate uh the exchange and the opportunity to do so.

Your Honor, we're trying to put a tool in law enforcement's hands um that deal with the circumstances that they see on the streets and that give them an opportunity to warn our citizens that they need to disperse before uh they take action.

Thank you, Your Honor, for allowing me to explain and give some context for this ordinance.

Thank you, Council, and and thank you for raising that concern, Councilman Vespa, because you know, I'm the last one or one of the last ones that want to violate anybody's right to the First Amendment or the right to peacefully protest.

And and this ordinance is not to take that right away.

Uh it will not be abused in that way.

We will make sure it's not abused in that way.

I have confidence it will not be exercised, and you see the sheep chief shaking his head, and I want to thank you, Chief, for your leadership for your officers who really exercised a lot of control that night on September 28th, and and put up with a lot of just unbelievable conduct, uh embarrassing in my opinion, conduct, unruly conduct.

But this is designed really uh to address a large crowd that is a nuisance, and that means they're they're committing these violations.

They're um they're breaking the law, and they're or pretty much organized, and what Mayor Coos indicated that their ordinance has really been a deterrent, uh, especially for the organizers of nuisance crowds, because they know that there's a big fine associated with it, or could be a big fine, and they just haven't exercised uh those activities so much since the ordinance was put in place.

So I hope that that's what happens here.

He indicated that their police have monitored social media activity, that uh when crowds are assembled, they have contacted the organizers and warned them that they could be fined, and uh it has really changed some of that behavior.

So hopefully that's what will happen here.

I know there's questions and additional uh comments.

Councilman Vespa.

Thank you, Madam Mayor, and uh thank you, Corporation Council.

Um, I think that was a good summary um of uh of the ordinances drafted.

Um and I I do want to thank our police department for dealing with an unruly crowd, and it was terrible situation, somebody bleeding out um and obstructing getting to that person for first aid, that's just terrible.

Um, and I don't defend any of that.

Um my concern is purely a First Amendment concern, um, and the freedom to assemble.

And I I understand that you know this is very well-meaning, well-intentioned, um, but the way it's drafted, you need 10 people, um, you know, a group of 10 people, in which two violations out of 11 um happen.

Um, and it can be underage drinking, illegal parking, um public indecency.

So I'm my concern is that you know, we're gonna have these Sonia Massey protests coming up.

We're gonna have a free speech zone, we're gonna have places for people to protest or counter-protest.

Uh, and you know, it's not just this.

I mean, you know, they're pro-life protests, and people should be allowed to do that.

Um, counter-protest for that too.

But you know, if that's going on, and you have protesters, if you're a counter-protester and you want to create a nuisance gathering, all you really need to do is illegally park and bring a beer.

And you could be the whole group could be declared a nuisance gathering, and anybody who doesn't disperse upon order of the police would then be in violation.

And I can see a pretty emotionally charged situation where people might not actually disperse.

Um we you know, if we violate anybody's civil rights, uh section 1983, you know, allows them to sue us for for money and collect attorney's fees.

Um so I I mean, this is something as written, I'm not sure it's narrowly tailored enough to prevent um uh overuse or um unconstitutional um reach by an officer, but I I do have faith in our in our police department.

I think they handled it very well that situation.

I I suppose my concern boils down to this.

We are leaving it at the discretion of people to make that call, and it looks like it has to be called into a commanding officer before that call is made.

Um, and that that call now has to be correct.

You know, everyone has to make the right call.

You can't have a protest where people are exercising their free speech rights, and then you know, have because of the actions of one or two uh no good nicks, uh just the whole group said, Oh, you gotta disperse when they're there for something that they really really care about, and it's political speech and it's protected on the First Amendment.

That is that is dangerous territory.

So I mean, I I'm not saying that we can't pass this, um, but if we do, it becomes very important not to uh use it such that you're impeding on people's free speech rights.

So I I do I do have one question um count uh corporation council.

Uh you said that normal and Springfield have adopted this.

Has it ever been challenged on First Amendment grounds in federal court?

I'm not aware of any pending challenges to those ordinances.

The normal ordinance, if memory serves, was adopted in December of 2024.

Okay.

Um and the uh Springfield ordinance, I think was adopted sometime after that, uh, more recently, even than that.

And so I'm not aware of any challenges to those ordinances or for that matter, any enforcement episodes under those ordinances since they were adopted.

Okay.

And I mean it's it's true that just the threat of using it might be enough to disperse a crowd, but you know, if people don't uh disperse, then you know you might have to arrest them, and then if you arrest them and violate their civil liberties, you can be sued.

So um I I think I'll vote for it.

I'll I'll vote for it, but um just everyone needs to know that I I believe that this really puts the onus on on our officers to make the right call every time.

And you know, if it's a situation like uh like the mayor described, then yes, that that would be a good situation.

But if it's if it's a one or two unruly people in a Sonya Massey or a pro-life protest, then you can't do that.

Um or we could be in a lot of trouble.

So uh thank you, Mayor.

You're welcome.

I appreciate that.

Uh Councilmember Kelly.

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

And uh before I begin my diatribe, um I'd like to uh uh commend uh councilman Vespa.

I did wonder some of these same things, some of these triggers are not on their face.

Um evidence of mob action.

And uh so and we are um relying on the discretion of the police department uh and the training, et cetera, of the police department in order to uh exercise the spirit of this ordinance uh without jeopardizing uh people's first amendment rights.

Not just First Amendment rights, I think, but just kind of talking too loud, you know.

I mean I I um so nevertheless I'm also gonna vote for it.

I I will say I I viewed uh the videos and I was uh very impressed with the um with the actions of our police department quite a few times in those videos.

I knew how to answer that person.

And the police didn't answer it my way.

They answered it in the proper way.

I I would have probably said something quite different.

And uh so I appreciate the training that our police department has had.

I would like to know, however, uh from the chief or or perhaps from our corporation council.

What is the difference between this ordinance and the ordinance that we have on the books right now?

What what are the what are the major differences?

Um I'm not sure of that.

And and it's just for information.

I it doesn't mean I'm opposed.

May I?

Yes, thank you, Honor.

So the primary tool, this ordinance that differs from the specific ordinances enumerated that are uh the underlying offenses is the order of dispersal.

Um and so uh we don't uh have that prevalent in other ordinances, but it is uh mechanism that law enforcement can engage.

Uh and that's really the additional tool is that if there's a level of criminality in a group, uh then the officers can require the group to disperse.

And that that's really uh the difference.

Then if that those predicate events are present and the order dispersal is given and people don't comply, then they can be charged for not obeying the order of dispersal.

So those are the issues that are more codification that some people may say are all encompassed in the obstructing a peace officer, but this gives our law enforcement officers the stages and steps to take in these dynamic situations and some comfort that you know the the ordinance will apply.

So it gives clarity uh and direction and a mechanism to achieve the outcome, which is to reduce the criminality that's occurring on the streets.

So that's the difference.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Corporation Counsel.

That's quite clear.

Um you know, the the videos were uh they uh they were scary.

You know, they were things were really out of hand, and and the police department uh did their best and finally got things calmed down.

And um and were always I guess uh from a law enforcement perspective, uh respectful or or polite or or police courteous courteous or something of that nature.

I thought um uh I thought they did a very, very good job.

I uh and I and I I would like to uh move for approval of this new ordinance.

Sir a second seconded by councilmember Carmona continued discussion, Councilmember Riggenbach.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

And thank you for bringing this forward.

I think um reviewing the events of that particular incident and just some of the things since then that just um makes the urgency for this obvious.

And Chief Echeveria, um thank you um for running the department that does show that respect and we appreciate uh the way the officers responded it, particularly that night and and many times in between.

I'm not a lawyer and I don't um try to be one, but I I to me as a layman, I think the qualifying offenses are something that would to the average citizen be common sense.

Um if you're under the age of 21 and you're consuming alcohol in the public right away that that's a game breaker, you know.

And and I I I think at this not from a lawyer's perspective, but that this really has a lot of common sense that I think people are crying out for today.

So um I'm definitely supportive of this.

Um looking at the experience in our um pure cities, I think is helpful.

And I would just say that I don't think this is the end of the story.

I mean, we're gonna continue to monitor it and um see how this additional tool helps our police department and if things need to be adjusted, I think this council would be more than willing to consider that.

So I agree.

Thank you again for the leadership on this mayor, and I will be supporting the councilman.

Councilmember Gordon Young.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um, you know, it it's really sad, very sad that we even have to have um this ordinance.

Um it speaks to the moral fabric of our society, not just Peoria.

Um we have to have something in place.

Florida has the halo effect or halo law, where you know, you have to stay 25 feet away from an individual, and to even have to say um to anyone who is around someone who needs aid to get back is sad.

And we're talking about you know, folks' livelihood.

Um I do have some questions um just in terms of normal process.

Do you guys know maybe this is for you, Corporation Council, the in the 10 months that this has been in effect, what that reduction looks like in terms of the gatherings?

Like, do they have a percentage or they're I'm not aware of the uh anything regarding the efficacy of the ordinances adopted in normal or Springfield.

Okay.

Um, because I know they're they've been tweaking it.

I saw where they took out the noise, the noise ordinance.

I think for me, the the key piece is um having the supervisor make that call.

Um, so that it's not you know just one or to a couple people's opinion.

So I think that makes a difference, and then also let's be clear.

When's the last time we had a protest that was violent?

You know, that's just not something that really happens here, not saying it never will.

We're talking about people who are intoxicated, people who are out of order.

They're just out of order and disrespecting not only themselves, but their fellow man.

So um I definitely um am for reducing violence and making sure that our first responders are protected in their quest to protect the citizens of Peoria.

I will be supporting this ordinance.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you.

Councilmember Jackson.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um I um I am reminded of the incident.

I think it was two years ago.

Um we were put in a similar situation, and um 47 shots, if I remember chief, wasn't it, uh fired uh on a Saturday night.

Uh no one was injured.

Um but um as a city uh that put us in a a really precarious situation, and uh you know uh I'm not surprised that we are at this point again.

Um, but I think uh we have learned from uh that episode that you know it's it's never an easy situation uh when you've got lives involved, but when you're talking about this particular incident where someone was hurt, uh then I think we as a city have to uh this this is the second time.

This time someone was shot the last time 47 bullets and no one was hit.

This time someone was was hit.

And so I I think it says to me, uh Madam Mayor that we as a city have to uh find a way to uh provide safety.

Uh I think this ordinance, as you said, is is just a tool uh that will give the police uh some uh direction in terms of what they need to do to make sure uh that people are safe.

Um we want to we we have pride in uh people being able to go downtown, but you know, when you're talking about alcohol and all those other things, then uh it's situations like that that can get out of control, and I think this is just a tool that we can use, and you said we can come back and review it.

Uh so it's not iron iron and stone, and it gives us some flexibility.

Uh so um I'm just grateful for your leadership and uh I will be supporting this.

Thank you.

And uh we did receive input from the chief.

I mean, we couldn't do this without getting his his feedback, and there were some adjustments made based upon uh the chief's input.

Council Councilmember Gordon Young.

I just have one more question.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um, how will we, if we will um notify people?

Like will there be a sign up?

Um I know we have a lot of ordinances and we don't every time there's an ordinance we don't disseminate information about that.

Um but how is there a way well people will know that there are certain behaviors that won't be tolerated?

That's a great question.

Um Council Hayes, did you have any ideas along that line?

Well, we don't uh give notices for all the underlying criminal offenses.

Um we'd run out of space for all that signage because not just what's in the ordinance but otherwise obviously um if there's criminality present, the law enforcement officers are gonna be addressing those issues of criminality directly and addressing those individuals directly, and then making a judgment call if the level of criminality is such that they need to give an order of dispersal, they'll give that, and they'll give that verbally.

Uh and as they as you may have seen them do on the videos that we posted for the event on the 28th.

They moved back, disperse.

Our law enforcement officers uh were warning some of that crowd during one of the officers' uh video cameras exhibited their training and how they're required to give verbal warnings before they disperse uh the chemical irritants uh through the uh the ball gun that disperses the capstone capson uh uh pellets.

And so they were giving that warning, and the crowd responded to those warnings and did disperse.

Um so unfortunately we have to use those mechanisms sometimes when these crowds gather, uh, and that's the method by which the warnings for dispersal would be given.

There wouldn't be signage.

I can tell you that these events we know from our experiences, they tend to grow here and there and move around.

And so it'd be rather difficult to figure out where to put any signs if we were gonna warn by signage, so that won't be the premise.

I also wanted to indicate that you know, our our law enforcement officers, I mentioned the training and experience they have about First Amendment protections.

That's also articulated in the last whereas clause in this ordinance that the council is articulating in this ordinance the way it was drafted by your staff that the city recognizes the Constitution protects freedom of association, and that nothing in the ordinance is intended to apply or otherwise limit any gathering at which illegal activities are absent.

And so we're recognizing in the ordinance that council is adopting this right to assemble, this right to engage in First Amendment activity.

Um and it's really we're only trying to interdict when those activities foster and uh develop criminality.

So we're trying to uh make certain that in articulating what why this is being adopted, we are recognizing those First Amendment rights.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I I think we could also, I mean, the City of Peoria has its own social media page.

The police department has its own social media page.

I just wonder if we might highlight on those pages this ordinance.

People pay attention to those pages.

I know they do.

But I just wonder, Chief, if we might highlight that a new ordinance has been passed, and these are these are kind of the key points to that ordinance.

I think that'd be great.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

You're welcome.

Thank you.

Councilmember Sear?

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh Chief, I could ask you just a couple questions.

It would be great.

And uh and uh so if you want to get there, the mic would be fantastic.

Thank you very much, sir.

Mr.

Hayes, while he's doing this, I got a couple questions.

Incident took place at what time?

Uh I think it was 4 40 a.m.

or thereabouts.

It was well after the 4 a.m.

bars had closed.

We haven't been able to associate this activity with any of the bars that were immediately in that area.

Um and so, you know, but it was well after they had they had closed.

Uh so 440, I think was when it started.

Okay.

So uh tell me about normal.

I heard normal and I heard Springfield.

What kind of uh liquor license they have in those two cities?

I don't know the whether they have these late-night liquor licenses in those jurisdictions.

I'm not aware of whether they have the 4 a.m.

closings like we do here.

So I'm sorry I can't answer that direct quick.

So, Chief, thank you very much, sir.

Thank you for all the work you do.

Um I've talked, so it's for me, this is very complex situation.

Got a lot of questions, and when I have problems with making decisions, I make a lot of phone calls.

So I've talked to a lot of people.

I talked to police officers that are retired.

I talk to police current police officers, and I've talked to bar owners.

So I got a few questions for you.

Um, because they're pretty much feels the same way.

So let's talk about if the goal is to protect our police officers and have orderly downtown Peoria.

Uh would you be, do you think having a liquor license at 2 o'clock, 2 a.m.

versus 4 o'clock would be of some help?

What I'll say is this specific incident didn't revolve around those liquor establishments.

There's three liquor establishments down there.

They were all closed.

This they weren't standing nowhere near the establishment, well, I shouldn't say nowhere near, they were standing across from the uh the detention center there.

Uh and that's where they were standing at.

So this is well past the time that the liquor establishments would be closed.

So I can't really tell you that it would affect that because these aren't find a place to hang out and park and drink and smoke drugs and play loud music.

So let's talk about that for a second.

Two words we just use.

Right now, right now, are people allowed to drink downtown Peoria on the street?

No.

And they're allowed to smoke canvas.

No.

So I mean, we do have laws on the books right now, correct?

So I explain to me a little bit why this specific rule here would help us out where why don't we apply the current laws that we have on the books right now?

I mean, we're not making any new laws, correct?

Then Mr.

Hayes, are we making any new laws tonight with this?

As I mentioned, the element of this ordinance that isn't present in the direct criminal violations that underpin some of these activities is the ability law enforcement to order the dispersal and to require people to disperse.

That's the tool that's new in this ordinance.

All of these listed offenses just are predicate offenses that give the authority to the officer to go ahead and issue that if the supervisor approves it.

And so that is the new, the different thing here that gives us the ability to tell people if you don't move along, you'll be charged and fined.

Um Madam Mayor, just an idea if I'm talking to something.

And I hate, I personally, I mean, we're looking at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 individuals, right?

And and to me it's like we're always trying to cross the sometime we cross the line, we would penalize.

Let's say we'd go from a four o'clock license to a two o'clock license just for a conference conversation's sake.

I mean, we're always seem to be penalizing the good people sometimes.

So I I I want to be careful that I'm even thinking that I'd love to have a conversation that having a two o'clock license versus versus four o'clock license.

So we downtown would be safer.

Maybe you have cameras.

I know these these bars have cameras.

A lot of these bars or cameras don't work.

I mean it'd be great.

And I don't know if that no, if no, I'm not an attorney, so I don't know if it's legal or not.

But to request bars downtown to have a liquor license to have if you have a liquor license, you should have maybe cameras outside, and they have to be working and they have to have access police officers would have to have access to that.

And I so I don't know if that's legal or not.

But again, those are conversations from police officers I talk to and from bar owners I talk to, where if we work together, maybe we can we can uh do a better job or not a better job, but not have less of these incidents in in the future.

Everybody knows that there's cameras everywhere, maybe that would that would help out.

But I'm just concerned, like I said, I'm not an attorney.

I'm sure not a judge.

And uh I mean I I'm okay if if the majority seems to be supporting this.

I mean, I I have questions, but uh I I just want to make sure that moving forward, now we just we we can't make rules and just pe penalize the people that are able to be out, have a good time and not break any laws until 4 a.m.

So anyway, and obviously I'm pro-blue, so we need to protect our police officers 100%.

So I will vote for it, but I just uh I just from talking to your you know your colleagues, people that work for you and people that are retired.

I mean, uh I I think they tell they all tell me we had some of these rules before some of these laws, and and like Mr.

Vespa said, something that we've been challenged before, so I don't know if we'll get the challenge in the future, but uh it's for it makes for me makes a a good conversation.

Thank you for your time, uh Chief.

You're doing an excellent job, Mr.

Hayes, Madam Mayor, thank you.

You're welcome.

Councilmember Wiganbach.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Leave it to Councilman Sear to always um challenge us a little bit and not not take things too far.

And I think I think many of us have that same concern that we don't want to just be passing another law that's gonna end up punishing the people that are out innocently.

But if you look at the qualifying offenses, this is what really spoke to me as I mentioned earlier in the section five section one, um paragraph five, there's 11 violations that are currently against the law that combined, two of them combined would allow this order to disperse to take place.

So I think there's been a lot of discussion on the streets about the broken window theory, you know, why aren't we enforcing certain things now?

So this just codifies, I think, to our officers and to our chief and the command staff that this is the will of the council that there's there's we have 11 examples just in this ordinance of current current umenses that that are against the law, and we expect those to be acted upon.

And again, you know, I'm not saying this won't be tweaked in the future, but I think this is a very constructive first step to sending a message to the 95% of the people that are out there innocently that we're here for you.

We got your back, and this is how it's gonna be.

So thank you for the conversation, councilman.

Always always good to be challenged and to look at things from a little different angle.

So, but I agree I'm still supporting this as well.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Welcome.

Councilmember Carmona.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um well, I'm typically I'm really not for creating any new ordinance or rules at all, but I do see that we have to take some sort of action to uh protect our uh citizens and our businesses that are especially in the downtown area because seems like either district one or district two is where a lot of this is happening.

Um I do also uh I want to say, Councilman Vespa, I'm really appreciative of your concern about First Amendment rights or constitutional rights in general.

Um that is something I'm very concerned with as well.

Uh I do hope that, and and I do have a lot of confidence in our police department uh led by chief, thank you very much, uh, that they will implement this in a just way, and it will be directed solely for the purpose that we're uh what we're trying to avoid, basically, is have this happen again.

Uh that they will implement this in a just way, and it will be directed solely for the purpose that we're um what we're trying to avoid, basically, is have this happen again.

Uh additionally, I just want to quickly say uh that um if we do have a conversation in the future about liquor licenses and four o'clock, two o'clock, any of that stuff, the um that that at that point we are gonna really be punishing people who aren't doing anything wrong.

So if there is a bar owner who hasn't gotten the proper permits, has a business license, his liquor license, all this different stuff, investing in a downtown.

I don't want them to have to pay for it because there are people gathered in front of his or her establishment.

And so I would rather use a tool like this to make sure we maintain law and order in our city for all of our citizens.

So I will be supporting this, Madam Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Allen.

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

All great comments from my colleagues this evening on this um ordinance as before us.

I believe this ordinance is uh another illustration of how this council has attempted to operate over the last several years since I've been a part of it, and that is providing uh both accountability and support uh when I think about the amount of money that we've invested in violence reduction for our American rescue plan funds uh to try to combat violence in our community uh and now having uh accountability tool that can address these these nuisance pop-ups.

Um the situation that occurred in normal was at a pop-up party during homecoming where an individual was shot at a gathering at a gas station.

Right.

Um the incident that Ms.

Jackson brought up several years ago happened in downtown Peoria.

So these instances they occur not necessarily at established businesses, but they pop up in these random rendezvous in our community, and that's what we're trying to combat with this ordinance.

So um I think Councilman uh Vespa, our resident lawyer, appreciate the what you brought forth because we definitely want people to be able to peacefully protest and uh articulate their first amendment rights, especially in today's day and age.

Um but I believe that we have to have some tools in place again, not only to provide the support that we have been doing in investing in violence reduction, but also having some accountability tools to ensure that what occurred a couple weeks ago never happens again.

Thank you, madam mayor.

Welcome.

Councilmember Euler.

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and thank you for the attention that you're putting on downtown.

It's an incredibly vital economic engine for our community.

And I think it's become relatively commonplace in public to just accept that this is an acceptable way of life downtown, and it's not and as important as anything.

I think this sends a message that this will not be tolerated downtown.

And we will not just let the deterioration of downtown due to issues like this continue.

That we are committed to downtown, we're committed to our residents of downtown, our business owners downtown, and that we will strengthen those things, not allow the mischief to continue that is disrupting those things.

I do agree with Councilman Carmona we have to be careful in what we attack in addressing the problem and that we can't negatively impact something because we're trying to fix the wrong problem and that the issues that we're going after are actually the issues that need to be fixed.

But I think everything is on the table from the standpoint of trying to fix the issue, but we need to be cautious and do just judicious in making sure that we're actually attacking the right problem, but this is a good start to sending the message that we are going to fix downtown.

We are not going to tolerate the activities that have been going on downtown.

And those that are doing this aren't going in our local downtown establishments, they're going downtown and finding darker places to cause problems.

And that's what we have to get after here, and this is uh start to sending that message.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Seeing no more comments.

Madam Mayor.

Yes.

If I could just clarify um one thing that uh reference to 11 qualifying expense uh offenses should say 14.

Because we added a few and we'll make note of that.

I apologize to you that that was one of the edits that didn't carry through on the on the accept changes.

So I want to apologize.

It's actually 14 because we added three when we consulted with the chief to reflect our actual experiences.

So thank you, uh Councilman Rickenbach for pointing out my error about 11.

It's actually 14 in the ordinance that's adopted will reflect that.

Okay.

So the motion is with that adjustment, uh, Councilman Kelly and seconded by Councilmember Carmona.

Uh Madam Clerk, you have that adjustment.

I need some clarification, actually.

Is that already written in the motion or written in the ordinance itself, or does the ordinance actually need amended?

So um so if we could actually say the additional three, that would be great for the record.

Yep.

It's just a typo, I think.

Yeah, it should be actually 15.

So in section A1, 24-65A1 definitions as used in this section, should we nuisance gathering means gathering of 10 or more persons where at least two of the 15 qualifying offenses occur.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Uh saying no more comments, please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Madam Clerk.

25-292 is a communication from the city manager and finance director comptroller with a request to receive and file the month ended August 31, 2025, an audited financial report.

Mr.

Manager.

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

I'm gonna turn it over to our finance director, Kyle Craddy.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Manager.

Uh, before we get into our budget discussion, I'll touch briefly here on the month ended August 31st unaudited financial report.

Um the the highlights looking at the report.

Um we have revenues down 2.7 percent compared to budget.

Um when you look into the report, um, specifically looking at um page nine of that report.

Um the two areas where we're seeing a little bit of weakness is areas that we've discussed as part of this budget process.

Um our state sources are down compared to our anticipated budget.

Um that's really driven by timing of some of our state grants.

Um that's always a little bit of a moving target for us when we're doing uh an estimate of when we'll receive funds.

Um, and so a lot of that state sources is driven by that.

Um the other area is miscellaneous and other charges.

That is primarily where we have our interest revenue.

Um interest rates have been dropping over the last year, and so we've seen a decline in our overall interest revenue.

Um, but it's coupled with um pending um Fed rate cuts.

We have been trying to actually ladder more um long-term rates.

Um, and so some of this is also a timing of when we have some of those fixed rate maturities coming due.

Um, a lot of this was been sitting in liquid cash, um, is where we've been getting the interest.

So I anticipate we'll still end up within our budget.

Um, it's just really a timing of we have five maturities that come due before the end of the year.

Um, in terms of expenses, uh, we are down 4.2 percent compared to where we anticipated being at year end, um, or we where we could anticipate to be at this point during the year.

Um, and we're down 14 percent compared to last year.

Um that number obviously on face value sounds like a very large number, um, and it is that's primarily driven by that was really um our last year of large uh uh costs associated with the American uh with with ARPA funding.

Um and so some of what you've seen in the reduction year over year is is less of those funds for our use.

Um when you look at all of the revenue sources on a cash basis, which is also in the report, um, you will see that we continue to see strong growth and all of those revenue sources with taking personal property replacement tax out.

Um so I think for councils solace as we look at the budget in front of you, um uh kind of going back to the fact that we're anticipating uh a four million dollar surplus next year.

Um I am not concerned by where we currently sit slightly below budget.

Um we continue to see those strong sales tax numbers, which um just to remind council, we have three months of those receipts that show up after December 31st.

Um and so we have close to 15 million dollars in the general fund that comes in after the end of the fiscal year that gets counted towards that fiscal year.

So I anticipate we'll still be um where we need to be in comparison with the budget.

Um and with that, I'm available if council has any questions on the report.

No questions.

Thank you.

Oh, we need to motion to receive and file.

Councilmember Sear.

Sorry, ma'am.

It was a late push the button there.

I should have known.

Just one quick question, uh, Mr.

Craddy.

Last page of our report.

I mean, I you know that's my favorite page.

Uh it seemed to me like we're missing a month there.

This is the end, so the end of July, just for one account example, stormwater utility account, which is the bottom one, which is our largest, was our largest account.

Uh it went from 48 million dollars to 27 million dollars, and we were down 3.6, so now we have 23 million dollars.

What happened?

I mean, did I miss the month there?

We were last the end of July, we're at 48 million dollars, I believe.

And may I maybe I'm wrong, and then we started 27 million dollars.

What happened at 21 million dollars?

So you are correct that it was displayed as 48 million dollars.

Um based off the conversation with council last month, and obviously trying to make sure the numbers all tie out.

Um, that 48 million dollar number is how our fund balance is displayed in our financial reports, but this is um a um enterprise fund, and so within an enterprise fund, your physical assets are also included in your overall fund balance.

So that 48 million dollars also included some physical assets.

Um, and so in the case of really trying to make sure that we're being uniform on what is provided to the council.

Um it was we looked more at the cash basis, which on the cash basis were starting 25 at 27 million dollars, thank you, madam mayor.

You're welcome.

Uh, you want to make a motion?

Move to approve seconded by council member Gordon Young.

Oh, there's another question here.

Okay.

Um Councilmember Kelly.

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

Just to follow up on that, uh, Director Crowdy.

Uh under the under that cash basis, what was our number in July?

Or or do you know that?

Well, uh, where we would be anticipated in terms of overall cash in stormwater.

Yes.

Um, the number um I don't know July off the top of my head.

I'm more than happy to get you an answer, but um can you just can you tell us whether it's much different than 27 million?

It is not much different than 27 million.

Um we have a relatively steady flow of revenue that comes in compared to our expenses out, so we usually hover close to what we budgeted.

Thank you.

Thank you, madam mayor.

You're very welcome.

Uh we have a motion to receive and file.

Please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Madam Clerk.

We are at unfinished business 25-278.

Is a communication from the city manager and finance director comptroller with a request to hold a discussion on the 2026-2027 biannual budget.

And there is a motion on the floor that was made by council member Sear and seconded by Councilmember Euler to amend the 2026-2027 biannual budget to not accept the proposed fee increase for garbage sewer and stormwater fees for 2026 and 2027.

Okay, Mr.

Manager.

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

We have um six report backs that we'd like from a staff perspective to be able to walk through before we start to take up the motions.

We also have eight additional budget motions this evening.

Yes.

In light of the discussion that we had last week.

So while we do have the one um motion that was that the clerk just referenced, um if there's no objection from council, if we could just walk through the report backs and then we can jump right into those budget motions starting with the the motion that's on the floor.

Councilmember Councilmember Seer.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I'd like to move to remove my uh motion.

You want to approve the motion.

No, I want to remove the motion.

Oh, you want to remove the motion.

Okay.

I'm making a motion to remove the pen my pending motion with Mr.

Orler's permission.

Okay.

All right.

That's even easier.

That's yeah.

Thank you.

That's a good idea.

Okay.

Okay, thank you.

Uh we need to do we need to vote to remove the motion.

He's he's withdrawing.

Council, Council Hayes.

He's withdrawing his motion and uh council member Euler, who seconded the motion, agrees to that.

Do we now do we need to vote on that?

That's a very good question, Your Honor.

And I'm not certain of the answer.

Madam Mayor, if I may.

Okay, so once a motion is made, there's a motion and a second, and now belongs on the floor.

It belongs to the council.

So I believe it would be appropriate for a motion to withdraw in a second, and then the council to vote on that since it does belong initially to the council.

Okay, so we have a motion to withdraw and we have a second.

Any discussion?

Please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Well, that makes it clean, right?

Okay.

Um to you, Mr.

Manager.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh, I'm gonna turn it over for the report backs to our finance director to ask him to walk through those report backs, and then um after that I'll walk through the nine proposed budget motions that we have.

Okay.

Sounds good.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Manager.

We'll start with question number 11, um, which was from Councilman Sear.

Um the for the CIP by project type.

Um, so that is a nine-page report that's included in your report back.

Um, this is a document that staff uses heavily during the budget process, um, making sure that the allocations of projects are are tied as close as we can to the revenues we have on hand um and reserves to make sure that those those funds that those budgets are staying um within those parameters.

Um in terms of question 12.

Um this was a request from Councilman Sear.

Uh Councilman Sear had requested uh of me a few about a month ago to update to kind of a general taxes and uh fees report um looking at what you know the the normal types of um fees that our business community uh is subject to as well as um any of the associated tax rates just for the city component.

Um this was not looking at the tax the tax rates of other taxing bodies, this was looking directly at what the city's amounts are.

Um and so um obviously as we kind of work through the through these, I'm sure council may have some questions on those, and we can come back to those after we get through the report backs.

Um3, um councilman Allen had a question about where we landed um with all the afford uh with all of the ARPA funds, um, as well as a specific question about where we landed with the funding for violence prevention.

Um in terms of overall use of funds, the funds landed at uh 10.3 million dollars towards lost revenue, uh 15.1 million towards infrastructure, 6.4 million towards neighborhoods, 4.8 towards economic development, 3.4 million towards violence reduction, a little bit over a million for administrative costs, and then 5.8 million for technology improvements.

Um, getting us to the overall amount of a little bit over 47 million dollars was this the city's allocation.

Um below that are the specific um whether it be capital projects or programs that the staff used over those over those uh kind of a four-year period um to kind of do some of that work.

Um moving to the violence prevention funds.

Um these are if you remember correctly, we had two rounds of grant funds, and this these reports show um what was expensive and what was given to those individual agencies.

Um what I would say is what council will notice is there were some dollars that were not spent by those organizations, those went back in to that larger amount of that 47 million dollars and got reprogrammed last year at the consent of council.

Um and so if you're trying to kind of look at the comparison of those dollars and cents, that's why um those dollars got reprogrammed, and I didn't want there to think there's to be the belief that there were still dollars on the table associated with that.

Um in terms of question 14.

Uh Councilman Sear had um a question to look at the tax rates for um all of the taxing bodies in Peoria as a comparison to the city's tax rates.

Um what staff did just kind of going back to the managers uh comments from the last meeting.

Um trying to do all the individual township rates was going to make this a very long report back.

Um and so really the what we attempted to do was we use Peoria Township as the standard township for those township rates.

And so what this report found is the city of Peoria's rate has been pretty consistent as a percentage of the overall tax bill.

We've been in the neighborhood of allow around 11 and a half percent.

It has ticked up this year.

Specifically, again, and this is if you have a property in District 150.

Um, primarily because if you look up at the the chart, um district 150's rate went from 5.2 cents to 4.9 cents this year.

Um and so really our jump is more attributed to their drop because we actually also saw a tax rate decrease last year compared to the previous year.

Um if you have a home in the Dunlap School District, um the the rate has been very consistent, um, averaging between 12.6% and 12.8% of the overall rate.

Um and so, you know, um as we look at kind of where uh tax bills have gone over the last few years, um, really for the most part, most of the taxing bodies have been consistent.

What we're seeing is increased property values, which is what's really driving some of that growth in the overall uh tax extension.

Uh moving on to question 15.

Uh, councilwoman Jackson had a question on unspent capital.

Um there's some uh discussion up at the top that uh the work that the public works department is doing towards project closeout and reviewing uh what open projects we have that is a process we are doing on a on a uh quarterly basis.

Um it is a what relatively labor-intensive process to go through all of these projects to do that work.

So we're doing it on a quarterly basis and doing uh closeouts.

Um the final uh two pages is really looking at those specific projects that are still open.

Um, as you can see from the report, have work that's already being done on them.

There's a few here and there, um, especially uh potentially some uh IT projects that have not started.

Um and so uh I the other part of councilwoman Jackson's question related to what projects have been closed without any work being done.

Um staff going back and looking at this.

We've only had two to three projects that have been closed, and they were primarily small administrative projects.

Um there were not infrastructure projects or projects within districts that have been closed by staff for for the work not starting.

These were really things like fiber optic installation type things or computers that just the work didn't get started, so staff closed those, but um there has not been a closure uh without a project being closed out of district-related projects or infrastructure related projects.

Um the last question, um, question 16 from Councilman Sear was uh really to look at our aging report for our accounts accounts receivable.

Um so that colorful chart on the next page.

Um, you know, staff when we look at this, the larger buckets that those associated accounts receivable fall in are going to be our stormwater utility fees, um, and then the the largest really comes down to uh our environmental housing and housing default fees.

Um I think uh if you asked uh Director Doolin, um some of those numbers are high, and that is intentional.

Um we really look at that as a vehicle to get compliance for these housing violations.

Um, and so those are an area that we don't have uh very high collection rate on.

Um in terms of stormwater utility, um, our average collection rate on first billing is 85 percent.

Um staff has really taken a step back over the last few years, analyze those efforts, and uh and I want to thank the corporation council for his staff's efforts in this arena as well.

Um looking at ways that we can work on some of these collection rates and some of the efforts that we've made over the last few months, specifically looking at leaning commercial properties that have large stormwater balances, have led to a lot of settlements and discussions on collection of those fees.

So that will be a mechanism we continue to look at.

But that's where we stand with those reports.

And you know, obviously we we we work on collecting all of these associated fees, um, but the largest efforts really look at stormwater and some of those and those housing fees.

Um and those are the report backs, and so I'll turn it back over to council if there are specific questions on any of the reportbacks.

Before you do that, I know that councilman Allen had to step out for a minute.

It just happened to be during your report back.

Did you have any questions or do you want anything?

Repeat it.

You're good.

Okay.

I know you've read it.

Excuse me.

Councilmember Sear.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Mr.

Craddy, thank you very much for your hard work.

I know uh it takes a lot of time to put all these reports together, and I really appreciate all their work you do and try to help us make some quality decision about our budget.

Uh just want to uh take a deep dive tonight about our uh account receivable.

Just want to make sure I understand.

I apologize.

Usually I would ask you those questions over the phone, but I just have been so busy lately and had a chance to reach out to you.

So I just want to make sure current debt held by City of Pior, is that $35 million?

That is correct.

So these this money, these deficiencies, people are uh delinquent, are they late?

I mean, can you can you tell us a little bit about this $35 million?

Yeah, so they are in the case of stormwater utility, this is delinquencies of payment um billed amounts.

Um it also is inclusive of any associated late fees that we have now charged against that account.

Um what I will tell the council is somewhere between three to four million dollars of that $8.6 million is late fees.

Um because as you can imagine, if you have an individual that has not paid since the inception of the stormwater uh fee, um they have racked up a substantially large late fee, uh, many times now exceeding what their actual billing rate was.

Um and those fees are in the ordinance.

What is your definition of a late fee?

Are we talking about 30 days, 60 days, 90 days?

I mean, what's the definition?

We give individuals um 30 days before we send the first notice of delinquency.

We don't charge the additional late fee until we do um the next billing cycle.

So really because we do that quarterly, it's around a 90-day uh opportunity for the individual to come in, pay their bill before we assess late fees.

So moving forward as we collect some of these fees, where do you account for those fees?

Which where do you put them?

So they go into the associated uh area in which those revenues were intended to be generated.

So if it's stormwater, uh those fees go into the stormwater fund to help offset some of our costs for running the uh the utility.

Um, in the case of environmental housing and housing defaults, which is obviously the the other larger amount here, um, those primarily would go back into the general fund.

Um, because if you remember, that's really where our enforcement actions within the community development department occurs.

Um so if we have successful collection on some of those, that those go back into the general fund.

Do you budget any of these fees in the 26 or 27 budget?

I do not budget anticipated collections.

Mr.

Hayes, your turn.

Uh tell us a little bit.

I mean, I'm not in the business of collection, so uh who do we uh use right now to help us collect these fees?

Number one, and number two, what is a good return on our investment?

Example, I see Mr.

Our Treasurer and uh city treasurer is here again tonight.

Right.

Um what and he's asking for one more uh or an additional employee.

What would be a good invest a good return on investment as far as collection?

So uh one, yeah, I'd think that the quality of the debt is different based on the different incidents which it's incurred are uh highest quality debt, so to speak, the most likely debt that we can collect on is a stormwater utility fee.

The housing fines, which are the next largest portion of debt, are typically distressed properties and often absent or abandoning ownership, where a lot of that debt is uncollectible at the end of the day.

So we work through that debt in different ways.

On the stormwater utility fees, we are able to directly lien the property, and we've undertaken to do that.

We have leaned uh I don't have the exact amount, but we I think uh all the stormwater debt that's more than um a year old uh has been liened if the owners either from a single property or multiple properties owed the city more than $5,000.

Um the collection agency that we've been using has had very limited success in some of our more distressed debt.

And so the city legal department has undertaken filing what's called memorandums of judgment or liens, depending on the nature of the underlying fine.

We're statutorily entitled to lien properties in some instances, but for the most part, we're using what's called a memorandum of judgment, which allows us to file paperwork in the county clerk's office that would impair that individual's property if it's sold anywhere within the city or within the county.

Uh and so those memorandums of judgments are utilized for a lot of those larger fines and fees uh because the law doesn't allow us to directly lien the property.

So those are the different tools that we have.

The final thing I want to mention is the council remember in 2023, I approached you and asked you to allow us to join the local debt recovery program.

And the controller's office has yet to provide us the training required for us to do that work.

Two years.

We're two years out.

We've had monthly contact with the controller's office to get that done.

They've had a uh a long, lengthy set of problems related to their IT infrastructure and that type of thing.

So uh I would imagine the council is frustrated with that as we are, uh, but we haven't had uh positive outcome yet, although we're pursuing it.

It's my belief that if we can utilize the local debt recovery program for parking fees and things like that, we'll collect quite a bit uh from those.

Um I just handled a report today where we we have over a million dollars in various debts that we're gonna submit to the local debt recovery program once we're entitled to enter into it, representing over 3300 different separate transactions of debt.

So um, and there'll be more coming as we move forward once we get into that program.

So it's my view that our relationship with the collection agency could use a thorough overhaul and review.

It was my working set of ideas to do that after we had completed uh cycle or two of local debt recovery program utilization.

Um the city treasurer has asked for an individual to uh come on board.

It's my understanding from reading that proposal is would focus on stormwater debt, our highest quality debt.

Um my staff presently is doing lien work in that environment, and I would uh assume that that lien work may be uh uh transferred over to that individual.

I think that that would be uh high rate of return, and my staff certainly has other work we can do uh to pursue our other legal matters as well as other debts.

We stepped forward to start doing this because I felt that the collection agency activities were ineffective and that this was the best way that we had with the staff on board to do that work.

And so I think it would be helpful uh for us to have some additional focus on the lien work because it's considerable amount of repetitive, highly technical work and that uh individual focused on that would probably uh have a significant rate of return for us, particularly focusing on the stormwater utility fee debt.

I probably went on a little longer than you liked, but I wanted to give you a full response.

You're scaring me.

I want to ask the second question, but uh actually the last question is you didn't answer the second question.

What are the standards out there for collection?

What kind of rate of return should we get our investment for one person?

Would you would you know?

I don't have a good grip on what their returns going to be.

On our debt portfolio, we were getting a very low rate of collection of our debt referred.

So if we look at the carrying costs of an employee in a high recovery area like the stormwater utility, I think that we would certainly be able to, because of the amount of collections going on, and what we would attribute to that would be incidences we're already finding is we give a notice that we're gonna file a lien, we get a lot of payment over the counter on that.

And so that that persistent, you know, um activity every quarter we get a series of of items that are over this threshold.

We could over time lower that threshold and do that at lower amounts, and we would see I think a significant recovery.

So I think if we're gonna add an employee uh to a specific task, this is a particular area where you will see uh perhaps a return that eclipses their costs as an employee, and then some.

So I'm excited for the proposal and happy that the treasurer wanted to take this on.

That's where all the money goes when it's paid, and so it's it's an it's a good place for that employee to live.

We can make sure that our expertise is transferred to that individual and available, depending on what activities the treasurer wants that individual to undertake, whether we're coordinating or diverting some of our work to that individual, whatever it takes, but I think the council would see a return on that investment in that focused area.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Mr.

Manager, can we uh make it a priority to go through this training and all that so we can do a better job?

Yes, absolutely.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

You're welcome.

Uh we're still having discussion on the um report backs that were delivered by Director Craddy.

Council Councilmember Jackson.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you, Director Craddy, for your uh report back.

I just have a question.

I want to make sure on it's on page 20 that I'm understanding um the community investment CIP plan and the active uh projects.

Um the say, for example, uh there are columns with dashes and uh underspent uh Abington to Prospect Road, does that that has not started?

Is that what does that mean?

So if there's dashes, that that's the Excel putting in essence a zero.

I'm sorry.

So it's it's a zero, so there has been no money spent.

So anything that is marked like that, does it does it automatically roll over into the current budget and for how long?

So it it does.

Um traditionally we look at it is we want these projects to start within a two-year basis.

Um obviously there can be extenuating circumstances in which we will extend that window.

Um, but the minimum by policy is two years.

Two years?

Two years.

So if there's a project that's been listed for two years, after two years, if the work has not started, what happens?

That is a conversation that we have with the public works department to see what the intent is going to be.

Um as we do with let's say it's uh an IT project, we have the same conversations.

Um we are not looking to simply sweep money away because we can.

It's more of is this still something that's on the docket to get done?

And if the answer that it is, it is, we'll continue to roll it over.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Craddy.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

You're welcome.

Councilmember Valpula.

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh Director Cratty, I just have one clarification question.

That is on the page 27.

So the 35 million dollars that that we have to collect, is it for the year 2025 to 2026, or is it a carryover from the past?

It's a carryover from the past.

We we continue to carry the debts until they reach a point where they are no longer collectible.

Um so this report I I would say looks really at years 21 through 25 at this point.

So when does this fall off?

Like you you just said that it becomes you will you'll accumulate it till it becomes uncollectible.

Correct.

So it five years is a pretty common time frame in which we will move it over to TH or have to make a decision on whether or not we deem it to be collectable.

Um of the debt, um, and if it looks like I'm couching an answer, it's because some of the debt, for example, stormwater.

Um stormwater is tied to the owner of record at the time, same with the garbage fee.

Um at a certain point, um, if someone has moved and is no longer a resident of the city, um, it's extremely difficult for us to collect on those.

In some of those cases, we would move them over to the collection agency, um, assuming that they might have a lot a better reach than we do to reach those individuals.

Um, and so that's just an ex that's the one exception to kind of that time frame rule.

Um just one, I think with a little quick point for the council, just so I think it's clear with this.

Um this is the debt that we're hand we're holding in terms of attempts to collect.

Um these revenues are not showing and have not shown on our historic listings.

So if you look at our audit in stormwater, we know our collection rate is traditionally around 85 percent.

If we have uncollected debt at year end, we write off that 15 percent that are we we write off the amount that we anticipate in a traditional manner from a county standpoint to be uncollected.

What that means for the council is um if the efforts of the treasurer with the staff is successful, this is now counted as new revenue.

This isn't us trying to catch up with revenue we have already articulated.

This is us having new revenue come in.

So it is it's why it is an area we have we are want to focus on and try to make some inroads in these collections because it obviously will help us financially down the line um when budgets get tighter so one more question.

So the next column that is the debit held by the third party collection, it also falls off in the next five years of the city.

Because we are looking at we are looking close to $50 million.

Um of that um we get into statutory requirements that I will freely admit that I am probably not the best person to know the statutory requirements in terms of which the those items are no longer considered collectible.

That's obviously something we can get some more information on for clarity for the council.

I don't want to speak without being informed on what that is.

Um but with those debts, they would also continue to attempt the collection until um illegally we were no longer able to do so.

Thank you so much.

I have another question with regards to question number 13.

Uh it's on page 17.

So how much money is left in the R panel?

We everything is done, or we have any any dollar that is left?

Uh from the from the staff's perspective, um, with the swapping of projects that the council did this last year, um, we are completed with our expenditures.

Okay.

I just have uh um just a small thought process.

I mean um we we have done significant uh um you know distribution for economic development may be raised grants or something like that, which was very much useful, which was very much used and which was very well appreciated by the business community.

Now, since the money is drained up, uh uh what what do you have any thoughts or do you do you know how best you can help the business community?

I was thinking of had having a discussion on a micro loan system.

I don't know if that is a possibility, but how do you think that really fits into this budget or it's not?

Um what I can speak to in terms of what I know is in the budget from an economic development standpoint is um you are correct in terms of the grant funding drying up.

Um so you know, in conversations with the assistant city manager, we but we are looking at our loan programs again to look at trying to get our loan programs going.

Um but um to your point, there isn't a rise grant in there.

Um there is is in some of our TIFFs, we'll do things like commercial facade programs or specific um commercial projects within our TIFFs, but if that business is not in that TIFF, um we don't really have set aside money for economic development in this budget.

Thank you so much, Madam Mayor.

Thank you.

Welcome.

Councilmember Kelly.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um couple questions.

One, you mentioned I I and I'm not sure I understood if if there's someone who owes us money on whom we do not have a lien.

Um they I think you said if they want to for what I heard.

If they do something in the county, we can get a collection back from them or something.

I I really didn't follow where you were going there.

If you uh recall that I think I think I was speaking about the memorandum of judgment.

Yes.

So uh if a property owner has an incident where we determine that the method of uh perfecting our debt is a memorandum of judgment.

That property doesn't attach like a lien to the speci uh that that debt doesn't attach as a lien to any property.

Oh it is a notice that on the transfer of any real estate, this individual owes this money to the city.

And that typically uh closing at a title company will make a collection regardless of what property the individual sells.

So we have a lot of uh property owners that own multiple rental properties.

This is the most common area where we use this tool.

They may have a housing violation in one uh building and will do the memorandum of judgment because it'll affect all their property.

They can't transfer any of their properties without satisfying that debt or negotiating with us to get that property sold.

And we often will get a piece of what we're owed out of a property transaction, that type of thing.

And so that's part of the uh collection mechanisms we're operating now that's actually functioning as far as making effective collections on uh multi-unit property owners.

So that memorandum adjustment will work anywhere within the county where uh land transaction takes place through a title company.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That's very that was very clear.

Maybe I just wasn't paying attention.

Um it happens.

Uh uh, Mr.

Craddy.

Uh let's go to uh page 27.

Uh quick hit balance ENV.

I don't know if that's environmental, I don't know what that is.

ENV housing and quick it housing default.

Well first of all, what is what is quick it?

Is that so quick it is the software that the community development department uses to write these tickets, um as well as work through the citation process for um environmental or uh and or housing uh defaults.

Okay.

Um what that ENV uh means what?

Environmental.

Environmental.

And then straight out housing default, what is that?

I might defer to corporation counsel on the exact verbiage of what's defined as a housing default.

Actually, community development director Dulan is here, he can help to explain that.

Hello, Director Doolin.

Hello.

Uh so there's a multitude of ways of fines will occur from the community development department.

Uh and it's really based on where it's at in the municipal code.

Uh if a violations uh goes to um chapter 13 and it goes before the hearing officer, that's essentially that you're in violation at the time the violation occurs.

Uh that's what we use quick it for.

So that's uh tall grass, weeds, litter, things like that.

But that's also the same thing we'd use for uh failure to obtain uh non-onor occupied registration, criminal housing management, uh working without a permit.

Then when you get over to the housing side of things, that's specifically related to chapter five of the city code, uh, but there's a different process involved with that.

So after the code inspector goes out, you get a court date.

That's six weeks from when we initially go, you work through the hearing officer process, and as long as you're making progress, uh it's not necessarily you had the violation in the first place, you're making progress.

Okay.

So those are the distinctions.

Okay.

Uh it wasn't uh, and thank you.

Thank you for that.

It wasn't the uh differential uh in other words, this is these are the fines from the community development department for housing uh that uh have not been collected that are that are behind.

That's that's what those two lines are.

Yeah, and if we could just touch quickly on that, uh I think uh yes, and uh when the finance director put out the report, it looks like a lot of money that is owed to us.

I would say that's intentionally done, uh kind of a strategy about how we try to get enforcement, knowing full well that a lot of that money is not collectible.

Uh what we hope is that if the the prop well obviously we hope that the property owner complies and we don't have to ever fine you.

Um but a lot of these times the abandoned properties, we want to have something on the book.

So if you do come to pay your property taxes within two years before we can declare a property abandoned, we have something on our books to have some leverage to get you to comply uh much quicker without just selling the property and dumping it to someone else.

So a lot of the times if you don't show up to court, you don't respond, and you're uh habitual offender.

We asked the judge for max fines, knowing full well we'll probably never collect that, but it just helps us much uh helps us much better down the road uh when it does stop paying property taxes, and we're trying to get the property through that abandonment process.

So it looks like a lot of money is owed, but that's kind of our fault by the strategy we're taking to try to get compliance in the long run.

Um okay.

I I thank you for that.

I and I appreciate appreciate and have appreciated the fact that you know you have a collection problem, et cetera, with a lot of fines.

I just didn't uh understand the terminology here.

So thank you very much.

Um I don't know if this would be I think it's a legal question.

Um if we have a uh delinquency on a property, and maybe maybe this was the judgment you spoke of.

The delinquency on on a uh property over here.

And maybe we've written it off, you know.

They owe us uh, you know, fifty thousand dollars, but we we've written it off.

It's it's old, etc.

They come and they want to do something in the city.

Can we, and if so, do we bring that up and say, sorry, you know, you gotta pay this first.

Or if they want any help of any sort, not just financial uh from the city.

Can we pull that stuff that we've written off?

Can we pull it back in and say you gotta you've got to satisfy this first?

If it's still uh uh there's a difference between when the finance director writes off a debt as uncollectible and when it's legally no longer collectible.

So if as long as it's legally collectible, we maintain a record of it, and we're gonna call people to account when they come in for other things.

And we often do that.

Um the common device we'll utilize in those circumstances is a payment plan where they've got to make regular payments to satisfy the debt, and then we may allow them to license a different business or to obtain a business license or whatever they're want to do.

Um and so yeah, we're trying to pursue this debt whenever it comes up.

Um we have a FOIA system that is utilized by title companies throughout the area to figure out what the debts are owed on properties, and we're often giving title companies through our FOIA system, these the all of these different debts that might be owned on a specific property uh and attempting to make collections.

So, yes, we're dealing with individuals who are coming to us for other things uh when they come to us for other things.

Um of our ordinances specifically require people to resolve all their debts before they could get certain things.

Other times we're just raising the issue with the individuals if we can.

So we're making those efforts.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

And uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

I'm I'm sort of getting off the budget here.

Uh but uh appreciate your uh forbearance.

You're welcome.

Councilmember Allen?

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh Director Crady, I want to bring your attention back to page 21 of 38.

Uh appreciate Councilman Sear um asking for this information regarding the the various tax rates that the various uh public taxing bodies are um that are that are collecting from our our our residents.

I think um sometimes we know we don't always look at our tax bill, and we may not see that this is definitely a group project.

I mean, depending on where area you live in, you're paying it's a downlap schools or Piora Public Schools, City of Peoria, Peoria County, Peoria Park District, Illinois Central College, the library, City Link, airport, township, and the soil and water as well too.

So appreciate you providing that so that way we have context.

Um we'll be having a truth and taxation hearing here shortly based off of the estimated equalize assessed value that um based off of people's property uh evaluation this upcoming year.

I believe that estimation is 6.6%.

Can you tell the public what is the primary expense that equalize assessed value collection goes to uh when we collect that?

Uh it will all go towards pensions.

It'll all go towards our public pension costs.

The only I really it's public safety pensions as well as we have some FICA IMRF uh costs that we have.

Um we have a component of roads.

There's a little bit of roads, so I think probably the safest way to look at it is 95-ish percent of what we're increasing the levy for will go towards pensions.

Okay, thank you for that that clarification.

Uh we know that our public pension obligation is a priority that we must maintain.

So I appreciate you providing uh clarity on where that EAV collection goes to.

And then uh Director Doolin, uh, if you could come back to the to the mic real fast.

Um a question that I wanted to ask, and a program that I'm a huge fan of is the neighborhood mini grant program.

Uh I see that we have recommended in your budget uh to keep that uh in the budget because it I know was funded previously by American Rescue Plans of $200,000.

Is that a decrease from last year when it was funded by ARPA?

That's the same amount it was funded by ARPA.

Okay.

Yes, sir.

Good, good.

That's good to know.

I just wanted to ensure, I mean, I'm a huge fan of it, our constituents they love it, and so I wanted to make sure that you know you had the acquit adequate funding, excuse me, to support these upcoming projects.

Yes, sir.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you.

Councilmember Sear.

Uh just a clarification, my mayor for uh Mr.

Craddy for uh councilman Allen's question.

I just want to make sure you're talking about our portion, what we collect, right?

That goes to the pension, not all the other bodies, taxing bodies.

They do, I mean goes to them, obviously, and they do whatever they correct.

That is that is just for the same.

Just our portion goes.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

You're welcome, and thank you, Director Craddy, for all the report back.

Very comprehensive.

Appreciate you.

Uh we're ready to move to you, Mr.

Manager.

Sorry about that.

Yes.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um we had had uh is part of the discussion last Tuesday.

We talked about uh Councilman Sears motion uh as well as uh some other motions to try and bring the budget back into balance.

In addition, uh some grants that we know that we're receiving that we wanted to budget for those.

Uh so we've laid out for you this evening nine budget motions that will have the the net effect of not only um reducing the deficit that we have in the 2026 budget, which is roughly 3.1 million dollars, uh, where we're using cash to spend that.

Um, but it will do the same for 2027 as well.

So uh over a two-year period, uh this would put both uh the budgets uh in total in balance uh for both years.

So the first budget motion um would be the the motion that uh Councilman Sear had made previously, uh which would be to amend the 2026 biennial budget to not accept the proposed fee increase for garbage sewer and stormwater fees for 2026 and 2027.

Um the net effect would be a revenue reduction of 1.1 million uh in 2026 and 1.14 million in 2027.

Okay.

The council would you like me to walk through all the motions?

Yes, do that.

Okay, very good.

I'll do that.

Um the second motion uh would be to amend the budget to move one million dollars and one million thirty thousand dollars of construction expense for Hickory Grove Road, uh that that capital project and one point six million dollars of construction expense for the Sheridan Road project to 2027.

This would leave the the engineering expenses in both years of 2026 for the projects, allow the staff to do the design work that's needed, and then all the construction work would get completed in 2027.

The third motion uh would be um to uh add the Federal Rail Administration's new corridor ID grant in the amount of six point four million dollars.

The fourth motion would be to amend the the budget to add the state grant for Wisconsin Avenue.

Uh the Wisconsin Avenue project would start in 2027 uh and run through 2029.

This would free up six point nine million dollars of state motor fuel tax to be reallocated towards other projects.

Next motion would be to add a land bank grant in the amount of $2 million, of which $1,21,100 would be put into the 2025 budget, and the remainder would be put into the 2026 budget.

Or sixth motion, excuse me, would be to add 100,000 for the exposition gardens maintenance in years 2026 and 2027.

The seventh budget motion would be to add the safer grant in the fire department budget.

Real estate transfer tax revenues and building permit revenues in 2026 and 2027.

And then lastly, a motion to reduce some operating expenditures in the sewer fund in 2026, and in our police and fire pension contributions in 2027.

Okay.

Councilmember Seer.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you, May Mr.

Manager, for all your work so far.

It's been great.

Number one, uh first motion, move to amend the 252-27 uh budget not to accept, not to accept the proposed fee increase for garbage, sewer, and stormwater fee for the 2026 and 27 budget.

That has been seconded by councilmember Oiler.

Any discussion?

Please cast your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Oh, hold on just a minute.

Yeah, it's just not clear yet.

Councilmember Sear?

Sorry, ma'am mayor.

Thank you.

That's all right.

Uh move to amend a 2026-27 budget to move $1,030,000 of construction expenses for Hickory Grove Road to $2,027 and $1.6 million of construction expenses for Sheridan Road to 2027.

And that has been seconded by Councilmember Valpula.

Any discussion?

Councilmember Kelly?

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Is uh Director Powers in the House?

He is.

I think he's next door.

I'll see that he gets in here.

Thank you, Director Powers.

Have you been following or we have a motion on the uh Hickory Grove and Hickory Grove Road and Sheridan Road to be considered?

Um we're moving uh a great deal of money from 26 to 27.

Um we're told that we'll go ahead and we'll do the engineering and et cetera.

Uh and we're gonna move the uh the actual construction, which these numbers would indicate that construction was going to begin in 26.

A million thirty thousand and a million six hundred thousand.

We were going to get into the real deal in twenty-six.

Am I correct?

We would have.

Okay.

Can you so this was going to be a two-year project under the under what you had before?

Is that correct?

That is correct.

Um I I know I'm I'm familiar enough to be dangerous, you know, with some of these uh projects.

Um in both of these projects, the whole construction is going to be moved into 27.

That is correct.

Can we do that?

Yes.

Are we that good?

Our our contractors are that good.

We can move the work through to contracting again.

There are there are variables in anything, Councilor.

I can't promise you because again we don't know what the when the hot plants will open.

There are a number of variables in this.

If everything is the practical, we can put the work through and accomplish the work.

Okay.

But again, there are some things that we cannot foretell if we have a long winner that start gets them a start date later.

That's whether that's really my question.

My question was it was scheduled for two years.

Um it was gonna be uh okay.

Uh you have answered my question.

I I I thank you.

You're welcome.

Um thank you, Madam Mayor.

You're welcome.

I was we have a motion and a second on item number two.

Please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Councilmember Sear.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Last one, then I'll let somebody else you want to jump out of order.

I'll if it's okay with you, I'll jump to number nine for my colleagues here.

Number nine is to uh move to amend the 2627 budget to reduce sewer operating expenses by $600,000 in 2026 and police and fire pension contribution by 2,000, I'm sorry, by $2 million in 2027.

Seconded by Councilmember Valpula.

Any questions, comments?

Councilmember Allen.

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh Director Crady, can you again just provide some context?

$2 million sounds like a lot of money uh to reduce our pension obligations by two million in 2027.

I just want to make sure that we understand any potential ramifications of this decision tonight.

Yeah, absolutely.

So it in the discussions with council and in the existing 26 budget, we made the recommendation to make a content an additional contribution above and beyond our required contribution of about a million eight.

Um we had included um two million dollars in 27 for the same concept.

Um we still will have close to two million dollars in the budget for 27 for normal growth of our pension expenses, so this is not undercutting where our costs would go.

We simply will just not have the the money set aside for the additional contribution.

Okay.

So again, for clarification, we will still be making our standard payment in 2027.

We just won't be going above and beyond how we previously have been able to operate the last several years.

That is correct.

Okay.

Thank you, Director Crady.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

You're welcome.

Councilmember Kelly.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I'd just like to remind the council that um moving or foregoing that two million dollar contribution means that we have we will be lacking the return on two million dollars for 13 years.

That's going to make our final payment bigger.

Yeah.

Just so we know that.

Okay, that's a lot of foregone.

What when we when we throw extra money into the pension fund, we reduce the the total amount we're gonna have to pay.

Just so you know.

Okay.

Uh is not just moving money around, it's moving 13 years worth of returns on two million dollars.

That's what we're playing with here.

Just so you know.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

You're welcome.

Uh Mr.

Manager, you want to clarify?

Cosmic Kelly is correct, but I just want to point out also if the market bottoms out.

The funds will lose money as well because they are investing these inequities.

And so just as every financial advisor says that there is a risk, you know, you're not you can't look at past performance as a guarantee of future results.

Can't ever find 13 years where the market hasn't gone up.

Well ever.

But it but it there are peaks and valleys.

And and you know, we have been at a at a very high peak for some time now.

So it it it's just the there is a cycle, and we have to understand.

Sure.

Thank you.

Please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Now we can go to number three or we can continue to go out of order like councilman.

If you have a favorite, if you have a favorite.

Um let's move on with motions.

Councilmember Riggenbach.

I'll move to amend the proposed City of Peore 2627 biannual budget to add the Federal Rail Administration new quarter or ID grant in an amount of six million four hundred thousand dollars.

Can I get a second seconded by council member allen?

Any discussion?

Please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Uh next motion.

Councilmember Ringbach, I thought you wanted that one.

Thank you, madam mayor.

I'll move to amend the proposed City of Peore 2627 biannual budget to add a state grant for Wisconsin Avenue from Forest Hill to McClure.

Seconded by Councilmember Gordon Young.

Any discussion?

Please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Councilmember Euler.

Thank you.

I make a motion to amend the 2025 revised budget and 2627 biannual budget to add the land bank grant and the amount amount of two million dollars.

Seconded by Councilmember Gordon Young.

Any discussion?

Councilmember Sear.

I just want to have a clarificate clarification.

I understand the move here, but uh Mr.

Manager, can you explain to us again in our constituent uh about the this two million dollars?

Where does it come from?

Uh why did you move it there and and tell us about the Expo Garden?

So the uh this two million dollars is a grant um that was a legislative grant that that is coming to the city.

Um it was appropriated in this fiscal year.

Um we've received word um from our friends in Rockford that DCO is starting the paperwork process.

Uh they should be reaching out to Director Doolin to start that process.

Um it is money for uh land bank activities.

We have a Peoria land bank.

Um we presented to you that we would utilize these grant funds for the purchase of exposition gardens.

That's why in this budget motion there's 1,201,100 that's being appropriated in 2025, and then the remaining $789,900 would be in 2020 uh to be used for land bank activities at that point in time.

Do you still feel pretty good that we'll receive this money eventually?

Very much so.

Thank you, madam mayor.

You're welcome.

Councilmember Carmo Carmona.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

My question was answered during uh Mr.

Manager's speech.

Thank you.

Okay.

Thank you.

Councilmember Riggenbach.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I think we'd be remiss if we didn't thank Director Dulin for his leadership in getting that two million dollar grant.

He worked hand in glove with um Eric Setter, former Peoria alum, um the community developer or land bank director in Rockford, and they lobbied the state legislature for money for land banks across the state, including of obviously our two.

And what fortunate um coincidence that that award came to us just as we're having that conversation about Expo Gardens.

So when people say that Peore doesn't look ahead, I would say that's not true at all.

And Director Dolan, thank you very much for facilitating that and your lobbying efforts in Springfield to get that for us.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Kudos, Director.

Uh we have we have no more questions.

Please cash your ballots.

Motion passes unanimously.

Councilmember Euler.

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.

A motion to amend the 2627 biannual budget to add 100,000 for exposition gardens maintenance.

Uh seconded by Councilmember Gordon Young.

Comments, questions.

Councilmember Carmona.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh, just for future reference, uh, I know we've been talking about the purchase of uh Expo Gardens for a while.

And in during those discussions, uh we had spoken about how great of an opportunity it was and all these things, which is fine.

Um, but I want to make sure that we don't overlook potential expenses like this.

So when we were originally talking about it, we were saying that maybe Expo would still be leasing it potentially from us for say a dollar a month or a year or whatever, so they can maintain the land, which was kind of a selling point for um some of the council members to you know maybe be more on board with purchasing this property.

So I just for the future, I I'd like things like this to be added into potential purchases if that's the route we're going down, so council members and the general public are aware of additional funds that it may take uh when we do incur property, because a similar thing also happened when we purchased purchased the PC building uh months later, uh staff came back and said we need a little bit more money.

So I just think for transparency for all of our taxpayers and for us making the decisions, it'd be good to get as much information as possible.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

You're welcome.

Councilman Valpula.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I just have a one clarification question.

So where does this hundred thousand come from?

So this is a this is a budget amendment.

This would be just adding it as an expense line in the 26 budget and in the 27 budget, not saying that we're gonna use it.

Uh and and to Councilman Carmona's point too, um, you know, we may look at at the property and what we may want to auction off some of the stuff that's on the property that that you know ends up with us in our our possession, because you know, there may be items that that are there that have value that we'll be able to to look at that.

So that would offset some of those costs as well.

So, you know, I think that that what this is is just an amendment to the general fund, putting this money into the public works budget to maintain the property over the next two years.

Hopefully we move it faster than that, but this just puts that money aside for do it.

And if we don't spend it, that that spending authority just goes away.

Uh could this 100,000 come from the two million grand that we received.

Possibly.

I got it, you know, there it does talk about land bank activities, and there be there may be some of those activities as we look at at getting the property ready for sale that would work.

But if it's operating expenses like keeping the lights on and maintaining the property, that we can't utilize it for.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Mitch.

Councilmember Sear.

Thank you, madam mayor.

My comments are for JJ over there.

I don't want him to fall asleep.

He doesn't like it when we vote and we don't we don't explain our vote.

So uh I will be a no for this item because I was I was a no for the PNC purchase uh building and and also for the expo garden.

Um these are extra expenditures that we will have moving forward, and since I was against the project, uh that's why I'm voting no.

But uh obviously make I want to make sure I'd love for my colleague and the mayor and everybody I'd vote for to be uh to be successful.

I'm not I'm not praying for my colleague not to be successful.

I hope we're successful with each project, but I was against it, so I'm against move no all the extra expenses we will have moving forward.

That's why I am a no.

Thank you, my mayor.

Just being consistent.

Yes, right.

I just want to please cast your ballots motion passes with one nay search.

We got two more motions to go councilmember Riggenbot.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I'll move to amend the 2627 biannual budget to add the safer grant in the fire department budget.

Seconded by council member Allen.

Any discussion?

Please cash your ballots motion passes unanimously.

Councilmember Euler.

Uh last motion to amend the proposed City of Peori 2627 biannual budget to increase real estate transfer tax revenues 250,000 dollars in 26 and 27 and building permit revenues 100,000 twenty-six and twenty-seven.

I get a second seconded by councilmember Riggenbach discussion, Councilmember Kelly.

Councilmember Kelly.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I uh don't have any particular dispute with these numbers, but am I right that these are the latest uh IML estimates or something, then they're different than what we were using before.

So what this what what this was in looking back at we looked at the revenue projections back in mid-July at that time where real estate and transfer taxes were and where um uh our building permit numbers were.

We felt that the numbers we had in the budget were the the correct numbers.

Um, as we're going through this process, um we have seen stronger numbers in both of those areas, and so staff has felt comfortable coming back to council and saying we believe that there is more upside on real estate transfers as well as building permits than we had originally anticipated.

Um so just wanting to amend the budget to be in line with that.

Thank you.

Thank you, madam mayor.

You're welcome.

Uh-oh, let's see.

Any other discussion?

Please cash your balance.

Motion passes unanimously.

Good job, Mr.

Manager and team.

Can you tell us where we are?

What are our next steps related to the budget?

Uh we we can, thank you, Madam Mayor and Council.

Thank you for um working through all of those budget motions.

Uh as I mentioned, um that effectively balances the budget for 2026 and for 2027.

Um next week we do have um scheduled the truth and taxation hearing, so we do still have a special meeting.

We need to hold that.

That's been published, so we have to have that.

Uh and then uh following that we would have the um budget prepared.

If there's no other uh reason for us not to, we can prepare all of the the appropriate ordinances uh to have those items on the agenda for the uh the November 4th meeting, which is if you remember, because of the holiday, because of Veterans Day falling on our normal Tuesday, the November 4th meeting is a business meeting, so it it is a regular business meeting that we have for that will be closed on Veterans Day, and then and then the last meeting in November will be November 18th.

Okay.

Okay.

Well, we're getting very close.

Very close.

Okay, good.

All right.

Thank thank you, everyone.

All right, madam clerk.

Do we have any additional unfinished business?

No.

No.

Then we'll be on to new business.

New business.

I have two quick items.

Uh first I want to announce that on November 5th and 6th, uh Illinois River Cities and Towns Initiatives will hold its inaugural or first annual conference right here in Peoria.

And it is free uh conference.

And so I do want to encourage any uh council members that are available that day to attend.

There is a reception the night before, the night of the fifth, and the con uh at the gateway building, and then the conf excuse me.

The reception is at the Riverfront Museum, and the conference is at the gateway building.

I'll send out information to counselors that might be interested in uh registering for the the free conference, and we'll know tomorrow.

I think if if the governor is able to make it.

Also, I wanted to point out an article uh that was published today.

Um, the 10 best places to buy a home in the nation.

Uh Peoria, Illinois was ranked the ninth best metropolitan area in the United States to buy a home by consumer affairs.

The city scored high for affordability with housing costs just two times the national medium household income.

Peoria ranked first in the nation for growth with home values rising 42% over the past two years.

So this is always good news.

We just don't have enough homes, right?

We have good homes.

We need more housing, but it's always great to get good news about our city.

Other new business, Councilmember Rigambach.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

We talk a lot about small business and how we value them in Peoria.

Well, there's a couple milestones taking place here.

Popcorn Heaven, a local popcorn shop with Gourmet Popcorns is celebrating their 10-year anniversary, and we'll be having an open house this Saturday at their location at 609 West Lake Street here in Peoria.

So they got some good stuff.

And I don't know if I'm stepping on Councilman Carmona's toes and recognizing the 100th anniversary of our favorite pizza place, Agatchi.

So there'll be a special street naming taking place tomorrow, I believe.

Right, Stacy.

11 o'clock.

11 o'clock.

So congratulations to both of those.

100 years is a long time to be flipping those pizzas, but hopefully we'll all be supporting them another hundred years.

Thank you.

Any additional new business.

Madam Clark.

We're at Citizens Opportunity to address the City Council.

And I have nine cards, uh, starting with uh Keishi Bernard with Lula.

Hi, Casey.

I'm back.

But actually, we never left.

Um Madam Mayor and Council, you know who I am.

I feel like this introduction is not necessary, but for anyone who doesn't, I'm the co-founder of Lula, a small street-based, not outreach non-for-profit here in Peoria.

You all know I've spent years walking alongside people in our community who are at unhoused struggling with substance use trauma and disconnection.

These are my neighbors, my friends, and for many of the people we're talking about tonight are the folks I see every single day.

And just so we know, we have people with living experience in this room right now.

They are being forced to sleep outside.

Since the closing of the Motel Project, we at Lula have continued to show up every single week to bring food, clothing, wound care, harm reduction supplies, emotional support, and connection to care and other service agencies to people who have nowhere else to go.

We never stop doing the work, even when the resources disappeared.

I meant to send an email to several of you today before coming here to speak tonight.

But we are now in the process of moving camp for the fourth time in seven days.

We are exhausted, and the folks we serve are exhausted.

Lila has often been asked to work in the gray.

We realize the complexity of our highest acuity and most vulnerable people and the issues that they face, and it requires innovation and flexibility, but it is unfair to ask them to live in the gray.

Our folks are being forced into hiding.

It is making service delivery very hard.

That includes finding people when they are finally pulled for housing, treatment, and other services that they so desperately need.

We need a real solution.

I'm sure most of you are aware Bloomington declared homelessness, a public health emergency.

This has allowed them flexibility with their codes and ordinances.

I need you all to be aware we've lost people to preventable death and incarceration.

Do you deny having an address?

This is a parole violation.

I need you all to be aware that we have people that were told they would be housed before the motel project ended.

One is now in prison, and several are still on the street.

And this is through no fault of their own.

Winter is coming, and to my knowledge, there are no proposed immediate solutions for where people will go when the temperatures drop.

We can't wait until the crisis happens to talk about what could have been done.

We have to act now.

We are part of the OPOAI settlement initiative managed by IDHS.

Together we're working with our local partners to connect unhoused and unstably housed folks to care, treatment, and resources, especially those falling through the cracks of the traditional systems.

What we need right now is better communication and coordination between partners and the city.

Council, we need your guidance and support.

And finally, and I know I've been beating this drum, but it still stands.

I know that I have addressed several potential paths forwards.

We could revive the motel project, but with adequate staffing and operational support this time, it worked, but we burned out because it was unsustainable, or purchase a building to create a more permanent transitional shelter and wraparound center, a centralized hub where people can stabilize, connect to care, and receive warm handoffs into housing treatment and other long-term support.

We don't have to reinvent the wheel.

We just have to resource what already works and bring people together to move from emergency response to sustainable solutions.

So tonight I'm asking the council to work with us to listen to the people doing the work on the ground and members from our unsheltered community and help build a plan that ensures no one is left outside this winter.

Thank you always for your time and support and listening.

Thank you.

Heather Stacy.

Every day I see the direct consequences.

People are being forced to hide, moving into more isolated and dangerous areas to avoid enforcement.

It's making it significantly harder for outreach outreach workers like myself to locate them and provide critical services, whether that's medical care, mental health support.

Sorry.

Or simply a meal and a conversation that reminds them that they're still human and not forgotten.

The people I serve are now living in a constant state of fear, not just of the harsh realities of being unhoused, but of being cited, arrested, or displaced simply for existing.

These policies don't address homelessness, they hide it.

And in doing so, they increase suffering, trauma, and long-term barriers to recovery.

As someone who has walked this past myself, I know how essential trust and stability are in the healing process.

What message are we sending when the systems meant to help also punish people for being in need?

When it comes to criminal when it becomes criminal to sleep, rest or seek safety in public spaces.

What do we think the outcome will be for those with nowhere else to go?

I urge you to listen to not just me, but the many voices of those living this every day.

We need solutions rooted in housing, health care, trauma-informed care, and human dignity, not punishment and displacement.

Thank you always so much for your time.

Have a great night.

And it's a pleasure to meet all of the city council representatives up in here.

I'm here on behalf of all the lower, which you would call or what people would consider as lower class citizens of Peoria, Illinois, the ones who are struggling right now.

And I want to, I just want to talk about three different points food and financial and uh policing.

First of all, um I have been away from here for 18 years.

I'm born and raised here in Peoria, Illinois, 53 years old, uh pure Richwoods, all state basketball player.

Um, after seeing coming back to Peoria, the city has changed.

The city was great.

Great.

I was proud to say I was from Peoria.

Proud to say I was from Pior, proud of it.

But now when I come here, I see a lot of abandoned buildings, homes tore down, regenerative of downtown by the museum and everything, which which is good, which is good.

But right now, um I'm gonna speak on the South End, the North End.

There's no there's no food.

There's no food.

Uh there's one place where I like the financial uh to support Chuck Brown, Pastor Chuck Brown.

He owns or is ahead of the Harvest, which is right down the street uh on Western.

And I believe uh we need to invest in people.

We need to invest in all people, all people.

And um I believe that will solve a lot of crimes.

And um, besides that, you said we were 35 million dollars in debt, I believe.

If we invest that into the people into all races, into everyone, I believe Peoria can come up out of that.

Starting with the homes, all the empty houses around here.

Sell them out, fix them up, get them ready.

Uh there's jobs here.

Uh, but we need more jobs that are paying and making a livable wage.

Um to the policing, to the chief.

I first of all, in every democracy, there must be law and order.

There must be law and order.

And I saw some of the videos.

Um what I saw was embarrassing.

It would to me they were kids, but I saw uh police officers slamming them on the ground and just chaos.

That's what I saw.

And um, I believe we should go over the videos and hold some of them police officers accountable for the way they handled themselves.

Now, I'm for policing, first of all.

We need it, we got to have it.

But I believe we could put a better training method or let police officers that are from the South End or from that area.

Let them police that are instead of having police officers that are from way out or don't know the air and don't know the people.

Uh besides that.

And uh first of all, I'm proud of you, madam, madam mayor.

I'm proud of you.

Thank you.

I'm proud of you.

That's all I have to say.

Just come together.

I see, you know, we were talking about the budget and we're talking about spending, but invest in people.

Invest in the people here.

Because that's what we did when I was younger.

The people, they invested in the people.

You invest in the people, you show them something the next generation behind them will have something to look up.

Now they can say, we have a mayor, little girls, boys, they can come here.

I can do that too.

I can be that way too.

Let's invest in all in everyone.

Then the liquor, liquor situation.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Thomas.

Yes, you're welcome.

Thank you all.

Worth Mohammed.

Hi, um, first off, I want to address the false narrative that was created in here today, calling what happened downtown, um, criminality, referring to the people down there that assemble as criminals.

Um, you have a constitutional right to assemble.

That's not a crime.

It's also not a crime to smoke weed in public.

That's a ticketed offense.

Drinking in public is a ticketed offense.

It's not a crime.

These are not criminals.

That's something you write a ticket for and you keep it moving.

Especially when it was a crime, a misdemeanor in Peoria.

You could go right to Peoria Heights, it was a ticketed offense.

It was a misdemeanor in the city of Peoria, it was a ticketed offense in Peoria Heights.

Also in Taswell County.

Now it's been deemed recreational in the whole state of Illinois.

They sell it almost on every corner in the Peoria Police Department.

It's the security for the dispensaries.

So this weed that y'all saying is criminal for people smoking it outside are ticketed offenses.

So y'all have labeled all of these people criminals when as much as they did deserve a ticket.

And then when you talk about Wesley Collins, one of the people locked up right now, he has zero criminal record.

Zero.

Never been charged with a crime.

His teeth has been knocked out of his mouth by Peoria Police Department as he's sitting in Peoria County jail right now.

And y'all worried about violating people's rights to assemble downtown.

The video I watched was people just being shot at.

Instead of pulling out their phone like George Floyd recording it, they decided to apply pressure to the wounds.

They saved that man life.

When you watch the first video, when the first officer arrived and the victim is surrounded by all the people, those people were supplying pressure to that, those wounds, stopping the bleeding.

Yes, they probably were a little unintoxicated.

Last time I checked, um, hoops closed at 5 30.

I don't know.

I ain't been out in a long time.

But when I was going out, people would leave the four o'clock clubs, and by 4:30, 445, they was all meeting up down at hoops to get something to eat.

So I don't, I don't know if they still stay open open past 4 o'clock, but last time I checked, they did.

So that would be another false narrative that nothing was down there open.

But I'm not sure on that.

But it's definitely a false narrative calling these people criminals when some of them never even committed a crime in their life and now they're being called criminals for ticketed offenses.

How many of y'all have had a ticket?

Imagine if you was considered a criminal from for a ticket.

That's absurd.

And when you see the officer that was a plug that was cutting off the shirt, saving the man life, it's other officers standing behind them to keep people at a distance.

This officer chose to leave that man to die and push a female into Barry Anderson, which started the whole assault.

I don't know what video y'all watched, but we could sit down and watch it and go frame by frame.

Because what I seen was people saved this man life, and then they were treated as criminals.

And while the only places that's open in Peoria, Illinois at those hours are gas stations and hoops.

Last time I checked, why weren't the police already down there?

How was somebody able to come shoot up the block and escape and get away?

And we praise in the police department, the shooters got away.

But people that were assaulted were concerned victims and people who were friends of the victims who just applied pressure to the wounds to save the lives of the victims.

And when you look at the video again, you will see by the time the officer cut off the shirts of the victim, the blood had already stopped coming out of the holes because of the great efforts of the people who decided to apply pressure to those wounds instead of recording or running after a shooting.

So I urge this council not to put in force.

I know you already passed it, but I urge y'all to reconsider violating people's rights to assemble downtown when there probably would be a uh a weed fest going on on Water Street um next summer.

Whole lot of white people out there smoking weed, having a weed fest, nothing will it they'll have a good time, won't nobody break it up or nothing.

Won't nobody break it up or nothing.

So I urge y'all to reconsider violating people's rights and calling up criminals and release downtown five.

According to the video, the officers were aggressive.

And if I was an officer, the first thing I would have did was came to the scene and say, okay, who are the witnesses?

Can we get everybody who's event over to the side?

That's one way to do that.

Next speaker Rio Arbuckle.

Good evening.

I'll be brief.

Good evening, Madam Mayor and City Council members.

I come here as a constituent as somebody who's worked with the homeless population over the last year.

Yeah.

I can say the ordinance has done nothing positive for the city or my fellow citizens in the last year.

The amount of money the city had put into removing the encampments and displacing a lot of folks who have nowhere else to go.

Um is kind of it's sad.

It's it hurts my heart, honestly, to think about it.

Um it is not only the ordinance has not only had a huge mental and physical impact on our citizens who are unhoused, unsheltered, it has had a huge mental and physical impact on the service providers trying to find them and provide them services over the last year.

The hotel project had positives, you know, there was a place for them to go.

We were able to provide them services in that location.

That project has since ended.

I will say there were some downsides to it.

It was kind of tiring at the same time.

Just trying to provide services to these folks, but we're tired.

I'll be frank.

I'm I'm tired.

Um I have tried to find people.

The second I find them, I get, you know, I get excited.

I'm able to provide them services, and not even 24 hours later, they're forced to move on and go somewhere else, and I can't find them no more.

I can't provide them the services that they need.

Many of them have nowhere to go.

Many of them can't work jobs to be able to afford their own places because one, they're either mentally disabled, physically disabled, they have histories of evictions, backgrounds, criminal backgrounds that are barriers that make it harder for them to obtain housing on their own.

I have worked tirelessly over the last almost year trying to provide services to these folks.

The shelters are overcapacity.

Between Peoria Housing Authority, Phoenix and the city and working on them getting housed, there's not enough housing options available to these folks.

There's not enough affordable housing options to these folks.

We need something.

The ordinance isn't helping.

There has to be something better than the ordinance to deal with this epidemic of uh homelessness.

The Dream Center, Salvation Army, and Pathways do not have room for everyone who was unhoused.

The unsheltered population is continues to grow with the housing crisis that we're experiencing.

The federal government, frankly, doesn't care enough about the folks.

Everyday folks, this ordinance has affected not only the unsheltered people, but has unfiled um affected those who are sheltered, who just out an example.

Summer camp that was canceled, and a lot of folks were a little bit upset about that because they weren't able to enjoy summer camp how it was supposed to be enjoyed, camping out and enjoying some music festivals on that end of things.

Between here, peeking in East Peoria, the folks that we serve, they're tired.

They're losing more and more hope every single day.

The fear that they experience on trying to, you know, get the care that they need, only to, you know, relax someplace and then get displaced not even an hour uh 24 hours later.

We need to find a better solution.

There needs to be a better solution.

I appreciate you guys' time.

Thank you.

Welcome.

Marjorie Schubel.

Schweibel.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Mayor, all of our council reps, I appreciate all your time.

You have a big job.

Uh I believe that we need to start with our preschool, and I've lived um in the Midwest, five different states.

I have quite a bit of experience, and there was a program that we had in Springfield, Ohio, whereby they started with kindergarten and teaching kindergarten children, anger management, and that anger management, then became the class every summer at Wittenberg University, we also had the kids in our city could come, and again, there was a program in ways to interact with one another without throwing fits, screaming and yelling, because that doesn't solve problems, and then in the junior high high school, there was a continuation with the anger management.

Now I know I've worked as a chaplain in the hospital.

I know I have listened, talked with people that have come in, and a sixteen-year-old, I'll give you an example.

A sixteen-year-old had her fourth baby.

She started when she was twelve.

Now, when we were discussing, I said, Well, is this the same father to the other three?

No, ma'am.

They just drop you and move on to someone else.

And then I was also in the hospital as a chaplain, and many of these young girls that are pregnant, they're coming in because when that boyfriend leaves them, they are traumatized, and then they're coming in because they feel suicidal.

This is a vicious cycle.

And it takes two to be there consistently all throughout these children's lives.

And if you would take one of these kids who have been traumatizing our city, pull up aside and ask them what is some losses that you're feeling in your life.

I want to know what are those losses that have been in their lives.

All the programs, no matter how much money you put out there, lacking of two parents for a child to follow that child along in life.

It's not gonna work unless two are committed.

Thank you, Miss Schweibel.

Thank you for allowing me to speak.

You're welcome.

I didn't know what the program was, how many minutes now?

Because five minutes.

I've been coming and going here, and it used to be three minutes to five minutes.

Thank you very much.

You're welcome.

Tian Garcia.

Yeah, hello.

Um, hopefully I don't get emotional.

Um, I'm speaking up about, I'm not even gonna call them the downtown five because I'm only talking about one person, which is my partner, Trinelle Carter.

We've been together for nine years.

What makes me upset is because watching all these articles come out, even when someone was allegedly um the article came out for someone being allegedly shooter.

At the bottom, it says innocent until proven guilty.

Automatically on all the other um articles that the police put out pertaining to the individuals from the downtown incident, it does not say that at none of the bottom, proven it's a guilty.

It's like everybody will prove it to innocent.

It's like everybody is already marking them as guilty.

I called your office, mayor Rita Ali to ask for appointment.

When I called your secretary and I said, Hey, I'm calling to you know, be a voice of one of the downtown five.

Her response was, uh, what?

That's how I've been getting from everybody.

Everybody is they're not together.

My partner, he literally, he's a crane operator, he takes care of our household, he takes care of three other households prior to us being together, his older children.

He don't have since he's been in there, he has not got no medical treatment.

They also put him in a cell, he was supposed to testify.

He would, he stopped even going downtown.

He literally called me at 4 44.

I guess the first shooting had already happened.

I was on the phone with him at 4 44.

I hear the second shooting go off.

I'm like, hey, babe, what's going on?

Get off the phone, make sure you save his like I just got down here, T and I'm trying to get to my car.

The first video I saw a week later, literally, his mistake was he literally just tapped the officer to go by him, and he's on the phone with me.

When he tapped that officer's shoulder, that officer got on him.

I did eight years in the military, eight and a half.

Where is their tegrity at?

Where do you accept accountability for your own actions?

Y'all are trying to make example out of these people.

When do they get a voice to speak for?

They're right.

Y'all holding him in jail for 30 days.

Now he's gonna lose his job as a crane operator or might get charged and get tied in for them five individuals.

He's his own individual.

He did not go down that car, go down there on some BS.

He just got off of work of doing, he normally works 72 hours.

We live in West Peoria.

He normally is at the bars in West Peoria.

He just happened to say, hey, people still downtown, babe, I'm gonna head downtown.

Called me as soon as he got there, and it was all type of chaos going on.

But since he's been locked up for this incident, he was supposed to testify for another situation.

They put him, he was at a situation where somebody got shot.

That bullet went through that person and went to my partner's neck.

They put him in the same pot with the person he was supposed to testify with.

They realize that till pretty much this week.

Where is the right?

Where is his safety at?

Everybody's treating him like a criminal.

This is new to us.

We don't deal with the law.

Everybody that I have been calling around, once you mention that situation, it's like a dead end.

Click, hang up, we can't do nothing for you.

Where do he get to speak out for his voice?

He's not a criminal.

He went down there to have fun to have a good time.

And then they say that everybody stopped them.

My partner was never by the medics who was doing trying to do any of that what they needed.

And they say if it was 50 people down there, where are the 50 people at?

Where are the ones that actually was stopping the medics trying to render aid?

My partner was walking by the cop and touched his shoulder, and the cop just went at him with the swinging with the baton, and he went back and got pushed to the wall, slammed to the ground, dragged, and then you hear him saying, get them off of me.

Don't let them do this to me.

And he's like, hey, stop.

He's saying, sorry, because he's what he's saying, sorry, so they can stop tasting him so they can stop beating him.

His chest was all black and blue.

He asked for medical attention, they denied him medical attention that first week.

They gave him checked his temperature and checked his vitals, and that was all.

Shooters got information about allegedly shooters out here.

Y'all put articles about them.

Oh, they did this, they did that, but not once it's been an article about my partner of what type of life he lives.

He's already tied to these five.

He's not part of that five.

He didn't drive in a car with none of those individuals.

He just got off of work working at Keystone out there, working out there, getting out, going from West Peoria, having a good time at our bars where he normally hangs out and happened to go downtown and was literally there less than five minutes.

Babe, 444, he calls me.

I hear the shooting.

I say, let me get up and go downtown and see what's going on.

Sounds like a lot.

I get down there, can't find him because his interaction was to tap a cop.

I seen people hitting the cops and everything.

They're not in jail.

Where is his right at?

Where why they can't talk to nobody?

Why hold this person for 30 days?

He has a family to take care of.

Why they can get on the outside and fight for their defense?

Why they have to be stuck in there, treated like, oh, you're part of these people.

Y'all came together, so we're gonna label y'all all together.

He's not with them.

He's his own person.

And so I have to be his voice out here to speak for him.

And then, like I say, I'll get eight and a half years in the military in the military.

Where is the integrity at?

Garcia, I know you called me twice, and I haven't been able to get back with you, but I will get back with you this week.

And like I said, when I called your secretary, the response that I dies up.

Sorry.

Yeah, everybody's setting the door.

Thank you.

Lucinda Overton.

Hi.

Good evening, Madam Mayor, Council members.

My name is Licinda Overton.

I am a Peoria resident, a mother, and also a small business owner of six years, and the co-founder of Stand Up for Your Rights Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for family disability and prayer rental rights throughout Illinois.

Madam Mayor and City City Council members, my family story shows what happens when the city system loses their humanity.

After the birth of my son, that you guys probably have witnessed in here.

Um agencies working under the city's authority entered my hospital room without a warrant and removed our renewborn from our care.

Later, we learned that crucial body camera footage from that day was reported missing.

No parent in Peoria should ever experience that kind of fear or confusion.

I'm not from here, I'm from Rock Island, Illinois.

I've been living here almost 10 years, Miss Madam Mayor.

And me and you have talked before.

And it needs to change.

It starts with authorities, people that have positions that are higher than others.

And um, I think what it is is that they it's a systematic racism.

I don't know if that's the best word to put it because, like I said, I don't feel like I should have been treated this way.

I'm not even from here.

I thought that I was moving to a town where I could better my life and change my life.

And I went through some things where I was falsely accused of something that I did not do, and it had something to do with my children.

And ever since then, I've been targeted in Peoria, Illinois.

I have been harassed by uh Peoria police department, hospitals, um, ambulance people.

I've been taking um into custody before, being mistreated.

I'm like, how are people being treated like this in here?

You know, just as well as some of the other people are saying, you know, I don't want to keep it a long drawn-out thing, but people do have rights, and I think that they should be treated with rights, but it's somehow here that people aren't treated with constitutional rights, you know, parental rights, um God-given rights, you know, different amendment rights, and and I don't know where is it just Peoria?

Like, do they just take the constitution out of here?

You know, do they take our rights out of here or what's going on?

Because, like I said, I'm not even from here, and I moved here, and I'm just like, whoa, this is a horrible place.

This is not a place for people to live.

I think that people are more worried about how they can fix the city up and make it look good and put a nice little street over here and and over there, but that's not fixing this city.

And and to be honest with you, I I've there's times when I've had conversations with Peoria police, and they make accurate, you know, sense when they're talking, and I can understand them, but then you look at certain things, and they're like, Well, hold on, why am I being treated this way?

But then you look at certain things and they're like, well, hold on, why am I being treated this way?

You know, I haven't done anything, I'm not that kind of person.

Um, I know this isn't the time to throw it all out at you, um, mayor, but I also just want to say, although my family has since then been reunited with my children, thank God we are still navigating ongoing court proceedings and agency involvement, and that is exactly why these reforms matter so deeply.

Families deserve fairness, transparency, and compassion.

I am not here to attack anyone.

I am here to ask for a change.

Peoria families need policies that ensure everybody camera recording from child or family-related incidents is preserved and available for review.

Parents receive clear written notice and full due process protections before any action is taken involving their children.

All personnel receive ADA and trauma-informed training so that parents coping with medical, mental health, postpartum, disability challenges are treated with dignity and respect and care.

Through my foundation, I've met many parents who feel voiceless, afraid to speak out, but tonight we stand together because we still believe Peoria can lead and can't change by some by showing that fairness and accountability and compassion are possible in every part of government.

Thank you, Madam Mayor and members of the council for your time and your continued service to this city and families.

I pray that there is a change, and I pray that things do change, and that together we can make Peoria a better place because there's a lot of things that's going on and it needs to change.

And I asked for you to enter this into the record, and that me and you can still have a conversation whenever you have time.

Thank you, Ms.

Overton.

Thank you.

Uh resident, um veteran of uh U.S.

Army sergeant and squad leader who served two years in Iraq.

Um also I'm the founder of Standing for Your Rights Foundation.

Um I built this organization to stand up uh for accountability, justice, and reform, especially where police misconduct has caused harm in our community.

Um I recently reviewed the videos of the September 28th uh downtown Peoria incident uh after the shooting near Maine and Monroe.

And um what I saw was confusion, poor coordination, and a lack of leadership.

Officers shouted conflicting orders, get back, get the F back while pushing, swinging batons and tackling bystanders.

Um there was no clear perimeter, no command structure, and not enough officers to safely manage the scene or protect the victim.

As someone who's led soldiers in combat, I could tell you this.

Uh, when communication breaks down and leadership is absent, chaos uh replaces order.

A simple tool like a loud speaker could have changed everything, allowing one clear voice to direct the crowd and fellow officers.

Um police said that uh five people were arrested for interfering and charged with aggravated battery.

Uh, but none of the footage shows well, I haven't seen um the footage showing anyone attacking or making contact with an officer under Illinois law, aggravated battery requires intentional physical contact or injury.

The evidence simply doesn't show that that I've seen at most, this was obstruction, not felony assault.

Um, that raises real concerns about probable cause training and oversight.

Uh so tonight I'm asking this council to take action, order an independent review of the incident and arrest, require loudspeaker communication and command officers and major scenes, expand crowd control, de-escalation and ADA training, ensure transparent uh compliant review and accountability.

Transparency doesn't end when uh video is released, it begins when leadership accepts responsibility for what the footage reveals.

Peoria deserves a department that leads with discipline, communication, and integrity.

But I also want to say that I've been a victim in so many different areas, and I just want to say this.

I really don't, you know, want to just say that.

I really don't, you know, want to just say that, but you know, I've been pulled over or while walking, and you know, the description is uh basically black man and hoodie.

Now I didn't contacted a lot of people, you know, sent emails out, and you know, that's to me that's racial profiling, you know.

And um, so I tried to I filed complaints uh with the Priority Police Department, and even with dispatch, I said maybe it's dispatch, because that's a vague description that's giving you the ability to pull over anybody that's black in a hoodie.

And we already know black majority of people were black or white, you know, even if it was a white person.

If you say a white man and hoodie, that's a vague description that's giving you a license to just pull over everyone.

And um, but I just didn't see anything done.

It's like, yeah, I filed plenty of complaints, and um, yeah, my rights have been violated several times.

So I'm gonna just, and that's why I built the Standard for Your Rights Foundation to see if we can make change.

So thank you for letting me speak.

Thank you, Mr.

Smith.

Madam Clerk.

We do not have an executive session, so we'd be at adjournment.

Can I get a motion to adjourn?

Moved by councilwoman Gordon Young, seconded by council Councilman Sear.

Please cast your ballots.

Thank you for your service.