MACOMB - The Macomb City Council voted Monday to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Local #189. This is a threeyear contract for Macomb police officers and they will receive a four percent annual wage hike each year. City Attorney Lisa Scalf said officers will also receive a one percent increase in shift differentials.
Aldermen also voted to give themselves power to act in committee of the whole next Monday in consideration of a new three-year collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Union Local #627. The union represents Macomb public works employees.
The council also voted to increase its professional service agreement with Jacob & Klein Economic Development Group from one to three years. The group will handle administration of the city’s West Side and Downtown-East Side tax increment finance districts, Jacob & Klein was also hired by the city Monday to provide administrative support for creation of a Macomb Business Development District for a fee of $43,200. City Administrator Scott Coker said the firm would begin in July to work on a rough estimate of the district location. In a related move, aldermen heard first reading of an ordinance approving the business development district and setting a public hearing on August 18. Alderman John Vigezzi said the new business development tax would be paid by visitors to the district.
The city council approved an intergovernmental agreement for Macomb to join the Prairie Hills Land Bank Authority. The authority will serve a six-county area--Mc-Donough, Hancock, Knox, Warren, Henderson , and Fulton--by purchasing and redeveloping substandard properties. Coker said discussions about creating the land bank began late last year. He said that because one of the members, Galesburg, is a home rule community, its power to deal with land improvement would extend to the other members of the land bank authority.
A public hearing was held on the application of Arrowwood Hospitality for a restaurant liquor license. The company plans to reopen Rocky’s Bar and Grill at 1420 West Jackson Street. A company representative told the city council, “”I’ve heard nothing but good things about the history of Rocky’s and I’d like to bring it back to the people of Macomb.” Scalf said the business also plans to have video gaming machines.
The council dealt with three requests from Police Chief Jeff Hamer. One was approval of a request for the purchase of two 2025 Dodge Durango squad cars at a cumulative total of $111,642. Hamer said his department would sell three older vehicles:a 2016 Ford F150, a 2018 Ford Explorer, and a 2021 Ford Explorer.
Also approved was a five-year agreement with Axon Enterprises for 24 taser packages at a cost of $21,839 per year. Hamer said the police department’s current taser units are aging out. He said the new taser packages are considered “less than lethal.”
Hamer received council permission to apply for an organized retail crime grant from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. He said he hopes to receive $26,000 to cover first year implementation of seven license plate reading and recording units.
Other council action Monday included: approval of a Macomb Fire Department recruitment plan to pay for fire academy expenses of candidates whose costs were paid by other departments; creation of a special event liquor license for the Macomb Heritage Days beer garden on June 26 through 28; approval of an increase in sidewalk reimbursement from $3.50 per foot to $5 per foot; paying BS&A $21,470 for an upgrade to cloud-based software that Finance Director Melissa Worley said would improve flexibility and security; and voting concurrence with Mayor Mike Inman’s appointment of Sam Thompson to the Macomb Planning Commission.
The city council meeting ended with a moment of silence in memory of Essie Rutledge, who died Monday. Rutledge had been a professor at Western Illinois University and served for years as head of the Macomb Equal Opportunity and Fair Housing Commission.
