Village trustees table funding for new Economic Development Committee after debate over costs and pay for trustees

Trustees sent a proposal to fund the Village of Salem Lakes Economic Development Committee back to staff for more detailed numbers after a lengthy discussion about cost, staffing and whether elected trustees should receive additional pay for serving on an advisory committee.

Trustee Bill Hopkins moved to table the funding proposal, citing the need for more time to “do some legwork” on estimated costs; Hopkins’ motion to table was seconded and carried. Hopkins and other trustees questioned line items that together produced estimates near $60,000 annually in the packet and asked staff to produce alternative scenarios.

Trustees and staff discussed where available money could come from this fiscal year, including an unfilled economic development assistant position and a previously budgeted but unused contractor line for ordinance review. Several trustees and staff said those existing budget lines could cover initial costs for this year, with any ongoing funding to be included in next year’s budget.

Trustees also debated attorney fees the proposal included. Village legal counsel and trustees noted that many legal actions would ultimately be routed to the full Village Board and that the EDC itself would not have authority to enter into contracts; the committee’s work is advisory and would generally be escalated to the Board for contracts or binding actions.

A separate point of contention was pay for trustees or elected officials who serve on boards or commissions. Multiple trustees said historically trustees had not been separately compensated for attendance at commission meetings; some asked staff to draft an ordinance to prohibit additional pay for elected officials serving on boards and commissions.

Trustee concerns included how frequently the committee would meet (the proposal initially contemplated one meeting per month), whether a seven-member committee would be needed or if five would suffice, and whether paying some committee members but not trustees raised fairness issues. Staff said they would return with scenarios that include 5- and 7-member options, projected attorney fees, meeting frequency and the effect of not filling the economic development assistant position.

The motion to table passed; trustees asked staff to return revised cost estimates and to place related items — an ordinance on trustee compensation for outside boards/commissions and a discussion of expanding the EDC to seven members — on the March 10 agenda.

Trustees asked that EDC work continue in the interim and that meetings may proceed without salary payments while the funding question is resolved.