Monmouth Aldermen this week got a look at the budget for the next fiscal year, which includes a myriad of infrastructure projects that are moving forward in the next year. City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher tells WGIL that the city's new budget is 24 percent higher than the previous year's budget due to some big projects on the horizon. Steinbrecher says that state and federal grant funds helped fund those projects. "The main reason for that is that we have received a number of grants within the last year and a lot of those projects are being funded for the upcoming fiscal year some $7.5 million. That includes not only state and federal grant funds but some local matches." Infrastructure projects include the W. Harlem water main replacement, E. Euclid Ave. water main replacement and road reconstruction, public square water main replacement, and N. 6th Street water main replacement and resurfacing. Monmouth aldermen approve engineering agreement for city square wa
Monmouth Aldermen this week approved a pair of water infrastructure repair projects. Last month, the city council was made aware of a water tower that had sprung a leak. This month, they approved a proposal to repair the leak for around $65,000. The plan was to drain the tower before work was done but Public Works Director Andy Jackson says that would cause water main breaks and cause damage to the high service pumps due to back pressure. City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher tells WGIL that a diver must apply a seal inside the tank before a weld can be made to the outside. "They have some sort of a rubber seal that they place over the crack – the leak. And then, it's sealed and the water pressure keeps that seal in place." It was originally believed to only cost the city about $10,000, but with the diver needing to apply the seal inside the tank now, it is estimated to cost over six times more. Aldermen on Monday also approved emergency work for a water softener for the
Monmouth Aldermen were informed of a new problem in the city's ongoing effort to squash water infrastructure issues. Woodard and Curran Public Works Director Andy Jackson this week informed the city council that the water tower on Harlem Avenue has sprung a leak in the last week. "We are probably going to have to get a contractor and take a look and develop a plan of action to make the repair. Most likely, it will involve draining the tower and cleaning the sediment out of there, and they'll have to weld wherever the patch needs to be. Right now, we're contacting the various contractors to see who can get in there." Jackson told the council that this was the first time he's seen a problem like this spring up and that a special contractor would have to be contacted to get a fix in. "It's just deteriorated probably. I'm going to guess a weld somewhere has failed or is failing. It's always underwater so I don't know that it is oxidizi
Monmouth Aldermen next month will consider a property tax levy of over $2.623 million. The tax levy is an increase that captures only the growth in the city's Equalized Assessed Value and is reflected on a minimal increase to the tax rate, which is 2.93 percent – or $2.93 for every hundred dollars of assessed value. In the last year, the tax base in Monmouth has increased by over 3.4 million dollars. City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher tells WGIL that the overwhelming majority of the tax levy is going towards the unfunded pension liability that the State of Illinois controls. "Of that $2,623,000, $1,873,000 of [the levy] is going to be used to make contributions to the police and fire pension funds," Steinbrecher said in a Tuesday morning interview. "And, that represents about 72 percent of the total property tax levy." Steinbrecher says that the city has contributed over $16.6 million towards the police and fire pension funds over the last 13 years. And, in
A city streets maintenance project in Monmouth that was being delayed by the Illinois Department of Transportation has been given the green light to move forward. WGIL reported earlier this month that, because of the scope of the work being done, IDOT reclassified a streets maintenance project as a construction project and required additional review. A $1.3 million road resurfacing and improvement project could see upwards of 45 city blocks worth of roads improved as a result of the work, which Monmouth Aldermen are expected to consider at the October 3 meeting. "We're hoping that we'll be able to get our streets resurfacing project underway this fall," Monmouth's City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher told WGIL on Tuesday. "1.3 million is one of the biggest contracts that we've had for [local street improvements] in town for quite a few years." Steinbrecher tells WGIL that part of the delay was there was also some drainage issues that were to be ad