Consultant to help Sandwich prepare budget for fiscal 2018

Temporary budget consultant Shante Humble was introduced at a recent Sandwich City Council meeting.

Humble works at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, in the finance department’s office of the budget, Mayor Rick Olson said. According to her contract with the city, Humble will work in Sandwich and off-site through the city’s budget year at the end of May.

Humble distributed new forms to city officials and heads of departments to help them prepare the city’s fiscal 2018 budget, according to Olson. He explained her contract is for a total of 96 hours with an hourly wage of about $33 an hour.

The city’s prior finance director left the position in November.

In other business, the council had a lengthy discussion about 16 new streetlights that will be installed on West Center Street from Green Street through the Main Street intersection. Some aldermen thought there’s not enough money in city coffers to pay for the streetlights and others stressed that the decorative streetlights should remain a part of the downtown beautification efforts.

Director of Public Works/City Engineer Tom Horak told the council there were three different prices, depending on the number of non-decorative street lights with arms on top and how many of the decorative street lights are erected. The prices ranged from $171,000 to $189,000 to $227,000. He said the poles would have electrical outlets and flag holders installed.

Horak announced a schedule for bidding the streetlight project, with bids opened March 22 and awarded April 6. If those dates remain in effect, he said work would start after the July 5 Freedom Days Parade and be completed by the Early Days Gas Engine Days parade of tractors the end of June.

The parking lot on the southeast corner of Main and Center streets will be closed for 31 days for construction equipment, he said.

Horak also is preparing plans for work on the Lisbon Street project, where the city plans to repave the street and to install new sidewalks, water main pipes and sanitary sewer pipes. Construction, which also will include improvements at the intersection of Main and Lisbon streets, is to begin in April, he said.