It’s a date.
River Forest village and township officials on July 14 will have their first-ever sit-down to talk about collaborating on services and administrative costs.
Although it’s uncertain whether anything can be accomplished during this first meeting, the date of which was set last week, both parties hope to at least have a substantive discussion.
Formative talks were on the mind of Village President Catherine Adduci when she sent an invitation to the township more than two weeks ago. The concept of a meeting was approved by the township, but a date at that time had to be scratched because of scheduling conflicts.
Township Supervisor Carla Sloan polled township trustees and found that the date would work best. That was confirmed during their agency meeting on June 17.
“They want to [talk] fairly soon,” Sloan said. “Are there areas where we can put our resources together and make the pie bigger? It’s definitely worth having that discussion.”
Township trustees were not only encouraged to make an effort to attend but also to be prepared. Sloan asked them to study the village budget “in great detail” as that might generate questions and ideas on where some savings can be found.
Sloan said there might not be a lot in the township budget in terms of flexibility, but they should think creatively and “see if there’s something we can come up with.”
Adduci was encouraged to hear that township trustees would come prepared.
“I’m pleased that we’re going to sit down and have a meaningful, substantive conversation. Hopefully we will have a meeting of the minds on certain subjects that can drive efficiency, save tax dollars and provide better services for our residents. I see all good coming out of this,” Adduci said.
While the township was addressing when to meet, village trustees were preparing questions that would be sent on to the township. Issues that arose during the village trustees’ meeting on the same night included:
Since village hall is often the first point of contact for residents, is there a way of providing a one-stop shop for services? Where would the savings come from?
Can village hall provide intake resources so more services can be offered?
Can a social service committee be created to augment existing township committees to talk about village-wide issues? Other services could be offered, such as a snow removal program for homebound seniors.
Police are often first responders during a crisis. Is there a way to training them on issues related to seniors and the mentally ill?
Is it difficult for people to get to the River Forest Community Center?
How do people know when township offices are open?
Which common services are provided by the village and the township? And how much money could be saved by merging them?
What would the cost-benefit relationship be if services such as IT, finance, etc. were offered by the village?
Can there be cost savings in consolidating communications?
What positions are unique to the township?
Only Trustee Tom Dwyer did not provide questions. “I don’t think there is any reason why the board should be pursuing this [collaboration], so I didn’t turn in any questions. I think there is no advantage for doing this,” said Dwyer. At the board meeting where the notion was first broached, however, he said he favored offering detailed questions.
Excluded from the discussion in mid-July will be programs and services administered by the township or done in conjunction with Oak Park Township.
Any discussion on collaboration could have been complicated if HB 4425 were still on the table. If it was approved in the General Assembly, the bill, sponsored by Rep. Chris Welch (D-7th) would have allowed voters to decide by referendum whether all township services should be transferred to, and performed by, the village. The bill is on hold; Adduci was a strong supporter of the measure.
Other attempts at discussing consolidation were not realized. Talks fizzled before they even got started in 2012. Just this past January, a discussion about the bill between Welch and village and township officials was unproductive.
Talks this winter between Village Administrator Eric Palm and Sloan were unproductive, and no other discussions were re-scheduled. The township sought a meeting this winter to talk about its programs and services; village trustees preferred to see talks continue between respective administrators.
An attempt to bring the merger idea into the public arena was shot down in May when Trustee Tom Cargie broached it during a special township meeting, billed as an educational forum on township programs and services. Sloan, at the time, told Cargie she did not think that meeting was the appropriate place to discuss it.
CONTACT: deb@oakpark.com
