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South Beloit updates: garbage contract talk, delayed audit, $100,000 reimbursement and street sweeper delivery
Summary
At the Sept. 15 meeting City Attorney and staff reported the city's garbage contract has been affected by a sale to Waste Connections, the annual audit remains delayed due to audit-firm staffing, the city learned it will receive about $100,000 reimbursement from a 2021 DCEO project, and the new street sweeper purchase is due to arrive imminently.
City staff and the city attorney gave multiple administrative and public works updates at the South Beloit City Council meeting on Sept. 15.
Garbage contract: The city attorney reported the city's 10-year garbage contract, originally with Rock River Disposal, is now affected by an acquisition: Rock River was purchased by Waste Connections. Staff said the city has received preliminary pricing from Waste Connections and will contact council members to discuss next steps. The attorney said, based on a recent request-for-proposal process run by nearby Roscoe two years ago, re-bidding may not yield a cheaper price than what Waste Connections is offering.
Audit timeline: City staff and finance personnel said the annual audit remains incomplete. Staff attributed the delay to limited availability among the firms that bid municipal audits (named in discussion as Sikich and Lauterbach) and to the complexity of the city's single-audit requirements tied to sewer loans. Staff said the city responds quickly to audit requests but audit firms are stretched thin across multiple clients, which has slowed final reporting and presentation of the audit report.
Reimbursement for 2021 project: A staff member reported Winnebago County confirmed receipt of DCEO grant funding tied to a 2021 project and requested an invoice from the city, indicating the city will be reimbursed roughly $100,000 for past construction costs. Staff said, to their understanding, the reimbursement was for costs the city had already paid and that they did not believe the reimbursement carried restrictions, but they would confirm paperwork details.
Public works and equipment: Staff reported the newly purchased street sweeper is expected to arrive either Friday or the following Monday. Staff also detailed plans to rent a skid loader and cold planer from a Rockford supplier for two weeks to perform patching and in-house curb and catch-basin repairs in several neighborhoods. The meeting record also noted the city pulled funding forward to buy a street sweeper this year and move an ambulance purchase into a future fiscal year so both pieces of equipment will be obtained in different years.
Staff encouraged residents to report alleyway or other municipal issues through the city's mobile app, which has been active about six months and routes reports to the appropriate department. The app's GPS-based reporting was described as the preferred way for residents to report nonemergency issues instead of posting on social media.
Council members heard the updates and asked staff to continue outreach with the garbage provider and audit firms and to confirm paperwork on the DCEO reimbursement.
