A group of contractors work to apply siding to a building. | Jens Behrmann/Unsplash
A group of contractors work to apply siding to a building. | Jens Behrmann/Unsplash
The Tinley Park, Illinois, Village Board discussed the current and future state of local contractors during a meeting Feb. 21.
The board discussed two ordinances related to contractors working with the village, according to a recording of the meeting posted to YouTube. The first would reset the contractor registration period to begin Jan.1 1 and end Dec. 31 to match the calendar year and increase the fee for contractor registration, which would go into effect Jan. 1. The board approved this ordinance.
The second ordinance would amend the municipal code to remove the residential surety bond requirement from Tinley Park's contractor licensing process. This proposal met some opposition.
Board Trustee, William Brennan, said he and the village attorney believe the bond requirement protects Tinley Park and/or individuals working with contractors should they default or go under and abandon clients.
Board Trustee, Michael Mueller, disagreed with Brennan's stance, arguing that eight years had passed since any bonds were pulled and the process resulted in “wasted time and work for everyone involved.”
"So, the process is they have to come in," Mueller said. "They have to provide us with that bond material. And then what's happening is they are issued that day and they expire a year later or whatever the bond period is. And so there's a lot of staff time to just make sure that the bonds are up to date, make sure that they have them, and then just a lot of paperwork that goes in and a lot of time spent on just administering the fact that we have the bonds. It's not the time spent to pull the bonds that we're spending any time on. It's making sure that those bonds are in place for the contractors. That is where a lot of resources go."
The board discussed the matter for several minutes, asking about which part or parts of the process allegedly take valuable time from village staff and how much time the ordinance would save Tinley Park. They also proposed providing bonds on a case-by-case basis and allowing individuals to choose to work with a bonded or nonbonded contractor.
The Board ultimately tabled the item and agreed to discuss it further at future meetings.
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