Council Names Acting Village Manager for Vicksburg Ken Schippers was named “acting village manager” for Vicksburg at the August Council meeting. “I won’t let you down,” he commented after the 7-0 vote was taken. He began his duties immediately with the full faith of the members behind him.
Council member Ron Smith walked the listeners through a slide show on the current designated duties of the village manager and the perceived need to change them to fit the Council’s wish to tighten the responsibilities and reporting procedures. He found that the ordinance as currently written, gives the village manager “insular authority” over village affairs and in the absence of a clerk or treasurer, the manager assumes all of their responsibilities.
The village now has an appointed clerk, Tracy Locey and Richard Dykstra, acting treasurer. Smith’s recommendations for change included the following items:
1. Make unisex references to the village staff in the ordinances to his/her, he/she. etc.
2. Amend village manager authority section to provide more direct oversight
3. Define mechanism by which the village manager is responsible to the council for efficient administration of all departments of the village
4. Give the clerk and treasurer a greater voice in reporting village finances to the council
5. Allow for department heads to manage their budgets
6. Allow for department heads to continue reporting at village council meetings
7. Appoint an acting village manager with limited authority until we sort out the above issues
Thus the appointment of Schippers, the long-time head of the Department of Public Works was affirmed.
Also, a 12-year tax abatement for Kal-Plas, an Accro-Seal company in Vicksburg was given on their addition costing $250,000 to their manufacturing plant. A six-year exemption on personal property was approved with an expectation of eight new jobs being added.
South County Community Services was given the go-ahead to create a parking space on Prairie Street for the Metro van to load and unload between the weekday hours of 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm on Wednesdays. A noise complaint was received from a citizen about the Chamber of Commerce Block party in August.
This was refuted by Tanya DeLong, owner of Tanya’s Totes. She said that decibel levels were measured and thought to be acceptable from up close to one block away. The Council didn’t take any action but felt they could work with the Chamber to come up with some unique solutions.