Special Parks, Property & Streets Committee Meeting — Minutes

SPECIAL PARKS, PROPERTY & STREETS COMMITTEE MINUTES 1 MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 2 (Approved as Amended) 3 4 5 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 6 7 August 19, 2026, meeting of the Special Parks, Property & Streets Committee was called to order by 8 Committee Chair Howson at 1:01 P.M. 9 10 Committee Members Present: Committee Chair Louise Howson and members Nate Bell, Jerry 11 Ahrens, and Mike Laszkiewicz. 12 13 Staff Members Present: Village Administrator Benjamin Andrews, Parks & Streets Director Erik 14 Linczmaier, and Administrative Assistant Sarah Bertges. 15 16 Public Present: None 17 18 2. Approve Agenda 19 Motion to approve the agenda was made by Bell and second by Ahrens. The motion carried - all 20 ayes. 21 22 3. Approve Minutes: N/A . 23 24 4. Discussion/Action Items 25 a. 2026 Parks and Streets Budget Review 26 27 The Committee reviewed the proposed 2027 Parks, Property, and Streets-related operating budget, 28 including Public Works, Culture/Recreation/Education, public transportation, and related support 29 accounts. Staff explained that the budget had been updated since the prior meeting to reflect 30 revised personnel information, line-item adjustments, and actual expenditure trends. 31 Committee members expressed concern that the revised budget remained materially above prior-32 year actual spending despite prior direction to return with a flatter spending plan. Discussion 33 focused on the distinction between mill rate impacts and actual departmental spending, with 34 members emphasizing that the Committee’s review was centered on expenditures and service costs 35 rather than levy capacity or mill rate reductions. 36 Members identified concerns with the format and presentation of the budget, stating that the 37 materials did not clearly isolate the principal causes of year-over-year increases. The Committee 38 requested clearer causal explanations for major variances, particularly in wages, benefits, services, 39 operating and maintenance, and special project-type items. 40 The Committee then reviewed selected line items and directed reductions or removals where 41 spending history, timing, or lack of current-year use did not support the proposed amounts. 42 Discussion included, among other items, seasonal decorations, weed and nursery control, other 43 contracted services, memorial bench-related budgeting, public transportation contracted services, 44 miscellaneous supplies, certain Culture/Recreation placeholder accounts, and Sports 45 Complex/Recreation Facilities line items. Members also directed that accounts with no expenditures 46 in both 2025 and 2026 generally be reduced to zero unless a clear need existed. 47 Staff stated that wages and certain fixed costs would limit how far reductions could go without 48 affecting service levels. Members responded that where service impacts were possible, those 49 impacts should have been presented clearly alongside recommended reductions. 50 Minutes of the August 19, 2026, meeting of the Parks, Property & Streets Committee – approved as amended 2 By consensus, the Committee directed staff to revise the budget based on the reductions discussed 1 during the meeting and to further remove or reduce line items with no 2025 and 2026 expenditures, 2 except where fixed costs or clearly justified needs applied. Staff was directed to transmit the revised 3 figures to the Howson for review in advance of the Finance Committee packet deadline. 4 5 5. Next Regular Meeting 6 a. September 8, 2026 at 1:00 PM; Regular Meeting 7 8 The next regular meeting was noted as September 8, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. 9 10 b. September 8, 2026 at 3:30 PM; Walking Tour Meeting – Logerquist 11 The Walking Tour Meeting – Logerquist was noted for September 8, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. 12 13 6. Adjourn 14 Motion by Bell, second by Ahrens to adjourn the meeting at 1:00 PM. Motion carried all - ayes. 15 16 Respectfully submitted by Sarah Bertges, Administrative Assistant. 17