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Votes at a glance: Princeton council approves labor agreements, water-chemicals contracts, updates and appointments
Summary
The Princeton City Council approved multiple ordinances and resolutions at its April meeting, including labor agreements for firefighters and utility workers, the award of water‑treatment chemical contracts, an MFT maintenance resolution, a revised solar credit and personnel handbook updates.
The Princeton City Council took a series of formal actions at its April meeting. Most items passed on roll call; the transcript records affirmative votes for each measure and no recorded votes against them.
Key outcomes
- Ordinance O-25-010: Council approved a revision to the city’s solar credit to 0.038 volts per watt hour on second and final reading.
- Resolution R-25-012: Authorized a labor agreement between the City of Princeton and Professional Firefighters Local 4308. The agreement packet in council materials included a three-year wage plan: 6 percent the first year, then 3.5 percent in year two and 3.5 percent in year three (appendix A, packet page 35, per the staff presentation).
- Resolution R-25-013: Authorized a one-year extension of the labor agreement with the local union for electric/street operations (international brotherhood reference in the packet). Staff reported wage adjustments limited to specific operator positions while other classifications receive a 3.5 percent increase.
- Resolution R-25-014: Awarded contracts to low bidders for water treatment chemicals for 2025. Staff named three suppliers in the discussion: Bren Tag (three chemicals), Raul Chemical (sodium hypochlorite), and S. J. Smith (carbon dioxide). The staff presentation noted increases in chemical costs compared with prior years.
- Resolution R-25-015: Approved a maintenance resolution under the Illinois highway program (MFT). Staff said this action starts the process to submit the resolution to IDOT and begin bidding for MFT projects and related general fund projects.
- City handbook updates: The council approved updates to the Princeton benefits handbook and personnel manual to clarify language and add recently enacted requirements (packet notes that the manual had not been updated since 2018).
- Invoices: Council approved city invoices totaling $1,075,503.09 across multiple departments.
- Appointments: The council confirmed appointments to various boards and commissions: Firefighters Pension Fund (one 3-year term), Police Pension Fund (one 2-year term), Plan Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals (three 3-year terms), and Trade Commission Committee (three 2-year terms). Names were read into the record by staff.
How the council voted
The meeting transcript records roll-call “aye” votes for each measure as the mayor called the roll. The transcript excerpts show the council answering “Aye” on each third call of the roll for the items listed above; no “no,” “abstain,” or recorded recusals appear in the transcribed roll calls.
Why it matters
The firefighter and electrical-worker labor agreements set multi-year wage schedules that change personnel costs; the water-chemicals contract and MFT resolution affect operating and capital projects for utilities and streets. Handbook updates affect employee policy and compliance with newer laws. The agenda combined routine procedural business with these operational and labor items.
Next steps
- Contracts and wage increases will be implemented per the agreements’ timelines in the council packet. Staff indicated the firefighter contract’s wage table is in appendix A (packet page 35); the electrical contract adjusts only select operator positions and extends the agreement by one year.
- The MFT resolution will be transmitted to IDOT to begin the bidding process.
- No further amendments or post-vote motions were recorded in the transcript for these items.
