GODFREY - The Godfrey Village Board of Trustees held their regular meeting on Tuesday night and passed several ordinances, delayed two others, discussed the 2023 Tax Levy, and announced a cleanup event along Tolley Lane.

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Trustee Virginia Woulfe-Beile announced that the Sustainability Commission will be hosting an Adopt-A-Highway cleanup on Tolley Lane between Humbert Road and Godfrey Road in lieu of their regular meeting. That event is open to the public and will be held this Thursday, Nov. 17 at noon, and she said there will be “plenty of supplies, and maybe some hot cider and donuts or something.”

The board unanimously approved an ordinance amending Chapter 74 of the Revised Code of Ordinances for the Village Of Godfrey, Illinois regarding traffic. Over the years, the village has acquired roads in certain subdivisions that have been transferred from the county, and in this case, a resident of the Summerfield subdivision was asking why there weren’t stop signs in certain places. This ordinance would allow a study to be conducted to see where stop signs should be placed along these new roads obtained by the village.

One discussion item on tonight’s agenda concerned the 2023 Tax Levy, with Mayor Mike McCormick and Woulfe-Beile offering opposing views on what to do with it, though no actual vote was held on it.

“If it’s up to me, we would reduce it, because we can afford to reduce it as the Treasurer,” McCormick said.

“Well like I’ve said before, it’s not sustainable to keep reducing the tax levy and you’re saving a household a couple of dollars, but you’re reducing the money towards services,” Woulfe-Beile responded. “So I’m not in favor of reducing it, but I would be in favor of keeping it where it’s at.”

One ordinance originally on tonight’s agenda would have added “electrical code language” to Chapter 18 of the Village of Godfrey Building Regulations Code. Essentially, the ordinance would require electrical workers to get licenses from the village under more circumstances in an attempt to protect residents against unlicensed electricians doing poor-quality work.

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Trustee Rick Lauschke expressed concerns about the ordinance adding an unnecessary level of “bureaucracy” and discouraging electricians from working in Godfrey, without necessarily fixing the problem of bad electricians. He also mentioned that the ordinance, as written, lacked definitions and contained multiple “inconsistencies.” With other trustees not fully understanding the details of the ordinance as it was written, the board decided to delay voting on the ordinance until they can review it more closely.

The board also decided to delay the consideration and approval of the village funding a sewer line to the property at the corner of Pearl and Humbert Road at a cost of $345,000. After some discussion over whether the village could justify using Business District funds for the sewer project, the board again decided to delay voting until further details could be provided.

One resolution for the consideration and approval of the Village of Godfrey’s 2023 Holiday Schedule led to some discussion over what the schedule was based on and which holidays would be included after it was revealed the version the board was voting on did not include Juneteenth.

After further discussion, it was determined this holiday schedule is based on the holiday schedule negotiated with union employees according to their contract, which does not include Juneteenth - this is the version the board ended up voting on. The schedule passed with 5 in favor and Woulfe-Beile casting the sole “no” vote.

The consideration and approval of a new computer for the Parks and Recreation Department in an amount not to exceed $2,000 passed unanimously, as did the consideration and approval of bids for the 2023-2025 Parks and Recreation uniforms and awards.

The board unanimously approved a raffle license and waiver of bond and fees for the St. Ambrose Catholic School "Cash Bash Raffle Fundraiser" taking place from December 2022 to February 2023.

They also unanimously passed an ordinance authorizing the execution of the IMLRMA Minimum/Maximum Contribution Agreement, and also unanimously approved the Village Board Meeting Schedule for 2023.

For a full recording of Tuesday night’s meeting, and live coverage of future meetings, visit the Riverbender.com Facebook page.

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