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Board asks staff to seek utilities from Metro West, schedules budget hearing and directs finance/audit next steps

Village Board of Campton Hills · March 25, 2026

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Summary

Trustees directed staff to negotiate utilities and modest rent changes with Metro West Council of Governments, set an April 20 budget hearing (documents due April 14), gave staff direction to include Lauterbach & Amen contract funding in the budget, and signaled consensus to issue an RFQ for auditors while keeping timelines to enable forensic audit work.

Trustees discussed three related finance and facilities items and gave staff several directions.

Lease: The board reviewed the Metro West Council of Governments lease that expires Sept. 23, 2026. Patsy Smith read utility costs the village has borne for the leased space (since May 1, 2024: NICOR $1,160.40 and ComEd $7,004.20), noting the village has been paying roughly $300 a month in utilities for the tenant’s occupancy. Several trustees said the village should seek to recover utilities or modestly increase rent. Trustees asked staff to meet with Metro West to discuss utilities and potential rent adjustments and report back.

Budget hearing and COLA guidance: Trustees agreed to receive the budget document on April 14 and to hold the budget hearing/special meeting on April 20 at the usual 7 p.m. start. In budget modeling, staff presented CPI and three COLA scenarios; trustees settled on 4% as the base COLA to build into the draft and asked staff to also show a 5% scenario for comparison, with sensitivity numbers for village expense.

Finance staffing and auditors: Trustees debated finance staffing and Lauterbach & Amen contract terms. Staff asked whether to budget $7,000 per month for Lauterbach & Amen and to include a 19-hours-per-week local position; trustees signaled support for including the $7,000/month cost and asked Russ, Patsy and the contracted firm to clarify the structure and long-term roles (treasurer functions vs finance-director/supervisory tasks) before finalizing. On auditing, the board discussed a direct engagement with Sikich versus issuing a full RFQ; several trustees favored starting an RFQ for transparency and possibly better pricing while keeping a tight timeline so forensic audit work can start promptly. The board directed staff to pursue an RFQ/process to secure an auditor in short order.