South Cook News

Village of Flossmoor Board of Trustees met Jan. 22

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Mayor Nelson called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. 

Village Clerk LoGalbo took roll.  

PRESENT: Mayor Nelson, Trustees Bradley-Scott, Daggett, Driscoll, Lofton, Mitros, Mustafa 

ALSO PRESENT: Village Manager Bridget Wachtel; Assistant Village Manager Jonathan Bogue; Finance Director Ann Novoa; Assistant to the Village Manager/ Communications Manager Nicole Castagna; Acting Village Attorney Karl Ottosen; 22 community members, media, and others. 

Mayor Nelson reminded everyone that the Village Board meeting was being streamed via Zoom for the convenience of those unable to attend the meeting in person. Public commenters who signed up to speak would be called from the sheet they signed in on. Mayor Nelson requested that commentors abide by the Village’s public comment policy which includes stating their name and address after they approach the podium, acting with decorum, and addressing the comments to the public body as a whole and not a single  member of staff. Mayor Nelson asked that speakers limit their comments to five minutes per person for a maximum of thirty minutes of public comment time. 

Citizens Present Wishing to Address the Board: 

Citizens Present Wishing to Address the Board on an Agenda Item & Non-Agenda Item (It should be noted that in reporting these comments, the Village has not researched the accuracy of any comments.):  

Flossmoor resident Andrea Perry’s comments, in summary, were regarding a communication she received from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office’s PAC regarding her public comments on October 7, 2024, and their opinion was that she was not in violation of Flossmoor’s public comment policy because it was political campaigning. Perry read that the Illinois Attorney General’s Office’s PAC determined the Board was not in violation of the Open Meetings Act, cautioned the Village Board, and noted their regret for the Village Attorney interrupting her public comment. Perry stated that she expected a response from the Village Board like the one from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. 

Recognitions and Appointments: 

None. 

Mayor Nelson referred to the Consent Agenda (which encompassed Agenda Items 1-3):

1. Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting Held on January 6, 2024 

2. Presentation of Bills for Approval and Payment as Approved by the Finance Committee (January 22, 2025) 

3. Consideration of an Ordinance of the Village of Flossmoor, Cook County, Illinois, Amending Article 2, Chapter 105 of the Village of Flossmoor Municipal Code (State of Emergency) 

Mayor Nelson called for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Trustee Mitros so moved, seconded by Trustee Daggett.  

Trustee Mustafa requested that item #3 be pulled off of the Consent Agenda.  

Mayor Nelson called for a motion to approve items #1 and #2 of the Consent Agenda. Trustee Mitros so moved, seconded by Trustee Lofton.  

Mayor Nelson called for a vote on Consent Agenda items #1 and #2. Motion passed by a roll call vote.

AYES: Trustees Bradley-Scott, Daggett, Driscoll, Lofton, Mitros, and Mustafa.

ABSENT: None 

ABSTAIN: None 

NAYS: None 

Mayor Nelson referred to Agenda Item #3 – Consideration of an Ordinance of the Village of Flossmoor, Cook County, Illinois, Amending Article 2, Chapter 105 of the Village of Flossmoor Municipal Code (State  of Emergency). Mayor Nelson called for a motion to Approve an Ordinance of the Village of Flossmoor, Cook County, Illinois, Amending Article 2, Chapter 105 of the Village of Flossmoor Municipal Code (State  of Emergency). Trustee Daggett so moved, seconded by Trustee Bradley-Scott. 

Trustee Mustafa inquired when procedures would be developed to make the ordinance operational, and how emergency procedures would be communicated to residents. Trustee Mustafa inquired about the timeframe for the rollout of the information to residents.  

Assistant Village Manager Bogue responded that the Village is preparing for emergencies and provided the example of the recent tornado exercise with the Village’s intergovernmental partners. He explained that communications staff also participated in the exercise, and they discussed how messages would be communicated to each other and residents, including by the use of the radio system, push systems like reverse 911, and even the bullhorn concept via emergency vehicles. Bogue noted that Village staff is committed to have more emergency preparation exercises in the future, and where issues can be addressed by intergovernmental partners. Bogue also explained that the Flossmoor Public Works, Police and Fire Departments have been engaging in a County-wide Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) update with training and the updating of policies.  

Village Manager Wachtel noted that the EOP is not a new document to the Village, that it is being updated, and it is a common practice among first responder departments. She also noted that the Village is trying to anticipate emergencies through their tabletop exercises, but that it would be difficult to announce to residents to expect that the Village will communicate to residents in a particular way, given that emergency situations are fluid and will dictate the response at that time. The Village may need to use signage at major intersections or bullhorns depending on the situation.

Assistant Village Manager Bogue discussed the concept of pointing people to the Village’s website in an emergency, and noted how the Village has redundant internet and power that should be helpful unless an emergency is very bad.  

Village Manager Wachtel explained that the Board has supported and approved the redundant internet and power initiatives in the last couple of years. She noted that the Village is ahead of many public organizations  in this regard, and the importance of having the redundant services when business is done over the internet. She also discussed the importance and benefits of participating in the tabletop exercises.  

Trustee Daggett inquired about whether the Police Department’s vehicles have PA systems, and where the state of emergency information can be located on the Village’s website. He also inquired about how long  the emergency declaration would last between Board meetings. 

Village Manager Wachtel confirmed that the vehicles have PA systems, and that the state of emergency declaration ordinace can be found in Chapter 105 of the Village’s Municipal Code under the Office of Mayor and declaration of emergency.  

Acting Village Attorney Ottosen explained that the authority is with the Mayor to do the emergency declaration and then invoke as appropriate for those emergency issues, which would be reported to the Board. The authority is for thirty days, but it can be renewed as they were during COVID where every thirty days they were renewed. Ottosen also explained that as far as waiving ordinances are concerned, the Board would still have authority to adopt new ordinances, and there would be a shared responsibility and authority; but, with respect to putting aside ordinances already in place, it would happen within the authority of the Mayor in the state of emergency declaration.  

Mayor Nelson called for a vote on the motion as presented. Motion passed by a roll call vote.

AYES: Trustees Bradley-Scott, Daggett, Driscoll, Lofton, Mitros, and Mustafa.

ABSENT: None 

ABSTAIN: None 

NAYS: None 

Reports of Committees, Commissions and Boards:  

Mayor Nelson thanked the Community Relations Commission on the 10th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service and noted that it was an amazing day. Hundreds of volunteers all throughout the Village and in Homewood as well participated. Mayor Nelson thanked everyone who came out for the Day of Service. She also thanked the Green Commission members who supported the Day of Service with an art  installation that they worked on.  

Action Items: 

Mayor Nelson referred to Agenda Item #4 – Consideration of a Resolution of the Village of Flossmoor, Cook County, Illinois, Approving a Customer Agreement with BS&A Software, LLC. Mayor Nelson called 

for a motion to Approve a Resolution of the Village of Flossmoor, Cook County, Illinois, Approving a Customer Agreement with BS&A Software, LLC. Trustee Daggett so moved, seconded by Trustee Mustafa. 

Finance Director Ann Novoa explained that Staff were seeking approval for a customer agreement with BS&A Financial Software which is the Village’s current financial system. Staff were also seeking approval to waive the competitive bid process throughout the process if the Board approves the contract. Novoa  explained that the Village has been with BS&A for five years and in 2020 they went through the RFP process 

and then they implemented their ‘.Net' system. Then BS&A launched the new iteration of BS&A called BS&A Cloud. Novoa explained that the Agreement at issue is to upgrade the Village’s current system to BS&A Cloud. Novoa explained the need to upgrade including increased security, and to make processes more efficient and automated. Novoa also noted that with the upgrade, the Village can use BS&A’s payment platform instead of the current one which will cost the Village and residents less money when residents  make credit card payments such as for water bills. Novoa explained that to pay for the upgrade, there is about $115,000.00 saved for it in the capital equipment schedule and the cost of the upgrade is $104,650.00. She also explained some of the incentives with regard to staying with BS&A and noted that it would be an FY26 purchase. The item is being presented now because BS&A is allowing the Village to use their business licensing module for the Village’s new business registration program. 

Mayor Nelson inquired about the plans for the server that would not be needed, what Invoice Cloud is used for, whether processing fees would change for residents, and what World Pay was used for. She noted how the current system does not allow for a $1,000.00 payment and that a resident currently has to make two payments and incur two fees to make that $1,000.00 or more payment, which will not occur with the new software. Mayor Nelson also noted that residents could make payments using a check which would not incur any fees. 

Assistant Village Manager Bogue explained that the server would be repurposed to be a backup for  something else such as evidence storage.  

Novoa explained that Invoice Cloud is an online payment portal currently used by the Village for utility billing where residents can go to pay their bills, pay for building permits and pay for some miscellaneous invoices. She explained that World Pay is the credit card machine used by the Village and costs the Village on average $1,500.00 in fees per month with the use of credit cards being swiped on the machine.  

Keegan, the Village’s representative from BS&A, explained that the processing fee when paying a utility bill would be 2.95% and fifty cents per transaction. There would be no implementation, annual, or monthly support fee for the payment platform.  

Trustee Daggett inquired about Novoa’s opinions of the software, and Novoa explained that the current Net version has limitations and detailed how the new software would save time for employees.  

Trustee Bradley-Scott inquired whether BS&A offers anything additional that the Village is cross referencing in another entity that the Village has and is paying for, whether the Village’s contract with Invoice Cloud was expiring soon, and whether there would be cost savings from eliminating the Invoice  Cloud contract.  

Novoa responded that Invoice Cloud would be the main example of where the Village was paying for another service that BS&A would replace. She also noted that the current contract was a yearlong contract, and that there would be savings to the Village if the contract with Invoice Cloud was canceled.  

Assistant Village Manager Bogue noted that for building code enforcement, some BS&A modules will be easier to use by staff in the field than they are currently.  

Trustee Bradley-Scott inquired about the purchase being made under the FY26 budget, and Novoa explained that the Village will continue to use the .Net version until the end of the fiscal year.  

Trustee Mustafa inquired about the BS&A cloud technology and access to same, especially in an  emergency, and Keegan responded how the backup of the data is handled, where the information is stored, and how the Village would access the information.  

Trustee Mitros inquired about the capability of making automatic payments, and Novoa responded that the system would have that capability.  

Trustee Lofton applauded Novoa’s work. He noted his dislike for the waiving of competitive bidding because it means that a minority owned business will not have a chance to bid on that particular item, and asked Novoa to keep that in mind going forward.  

Trustee Driscoll lauded Novoa for saving money, consolidation of providers, and saving work hours for  staff.  

Mayor Nelson noted the amount of training that would be included in the contract.  

Mayor Nelson called for a vote on the motion as presented. Motion passed by a roll call vote.

AYES: Trustees Bradley-Scott, Daggett, Driscoll, Lofton, Mitros, and Mustafa.

ABSENT: None 

ABSTAIN: None 

NAYS: None 

Discussion Items: 

None.  

Mayor Nelson referred to Agenda Item #5 – A Motion to go into Executive Session to Discuss the Employment of Specific Individuals, Property Acquisition and Litigation.  

There was no need to enter into Executive Session.

Trustee Mustafa noted the complimentary letter from the Community Relations Commission praising the  work of Village staff members Stephanie Wright and Nicole Castagna for their work on the Dr. Martin  Luther King Jr., Day of Service, and Trustee Mustafa also thanked them for their work. 

Trustee Bradley-Scott noted that the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Day of Service was another success for  the Village, and thanked the organizers, volunteers, and the people who donated to causes. She noted the event that she and Mayor Nelson recently attended that Commissioner Donna Miller hosted which was called the Intersection of Hate and featured the work of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the work that they do. Trustee Bradley-Scott encouraged the community to work together, work as a community, and be  more committed to incorporation and integration with all of what is done in Flossmoor.  

Trustee Daggett noted the residents’ passion for giving back, especially on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Day of Service, with, for example, Destiny Watson’s work with You Matter Too, Clerk LoGalbo’s LEGO collection for hospitalized children, Trustee Bradley-Scott’s work with the Jack & Jill Monarch Cities  Chapter. He noted the Community Relations Commission for their efforts with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Day of Service and the Village’s efforts to make the Village facilities available for use.  

Trustee Driscoll echoed the other Trustees’ comments and noted the wonderful benefit concert that Mayor Nelson organized for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Day of Service that raised money for the Center for  Food Equity and Medicine.  

Trustee Lofton noted the Community Relations Commission’s letter lauding Village staff members Stephanie Wright and Nicole Castagna for their fantastic work representing the Village.  

Clerk LoGalbo thanked everyone for their support with the Bricks of Hope LEGO drive, noting that she collected 150 sets of LEGO’s to give to Bricks of Hope and that the collection broke the Village’s previous collection record. She thanked Mayor Nelson, Trustee Bradley-Scott, Village staff, the community, and Flossmoor’s Volunteer Fire Department Corporation for their donations, and Nicole Castagna and Stephanie Wright for their assistance.  

Acting Village Attorney Ottosen stated to resident Andrea Perry that although he was not the person that cut off her public comment, it was someone from his office and apologized on behalf of his office for Perry being cut off. He noted that the public has the right to engage in public comment, including criticism and his firm supports that. He noted that Mayor Nelson allowed Perry to continue her comment and that’s why it was not a Board issue for them to address her, but instead his.  

Village Manager Wachtel echoed the positive comments about staff members Nicole Castagna, Stephanie Wright and Jonathan Bogue for their work on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Day of Service. Wachtel noted how far the Day of Service has come and blossomed over the last ten years from three small projects with three small volunteer groups, to a record number of projects, hundreds of volunteers, and media attention. She noted that Flossmoor prides itself on volunteerism, which is done year-round, and she noted that she is proud to be part of the community along with other Board members and staff. 

Mayor Nelson thanked everyone who attended the 5th Annual Classical Music Concert which raised  $2,530.60 for Dr. Ann Jackson’s Center for Food Equity and Medicine. Mayor Nelson thanked the Music Institute of Chicago which sends talented musicians every year for the event.  

Mayor Nelson noted that the Community Relations Commission would be hosting a Lunar New Year event the following Saturday morning at the Flossmoor Public Library,  

Mayor Nelson encouraged people to purchase a book titled Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial Inc., History  of the Civic Center Building written by former Flossmoor resident Richard Condon who lived in the  building. The donations from the book sales would be donated to the Flossmoor Veterans Memorial, Inc. to go towards the building of a Veterans’ Wall of Honor in Flossmoor.  

As there were no other items to discuss, Mayor Nelson called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Mitros so moved, seconded by Trustee Bradley-Scott, and passed by a voice vote. 

AYES: Trustees Bradley-Scott, Daggett, Driscoll, Lofton, Mitros, and Mustafa.

ABSENT: None 

ABSTAIN: None  

NAYS: None 

The Regular Meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.  

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