Budget Workshop Meeting Minutes – March 19, 2026
BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING – VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE
Thursday, March 19, 2026
The Village Board met Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM.
Present: Sue Eckert, Mayor
John Markiewicz , Trustee
Janet Rudd, Trustee
Sue Sedon, Trustee
Kathleen Terwilliger, Trustee
Wendy Reu, Recording Secretary
Nathanial Matthews, Treasurer
Absent:
Public Attendance: No public present for meeting
Mayor Eckert called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m..
Mayor Eckert and Treasurer Matthews presented the tentative budget for the Board’s review.
Treasurer Matthews presented the Salary schedule for full time employees. He reported that the proposed salary for the Mayor would remain the same $ 8,000.00 and the Trustees would remain the same at $ 3,000.00.
Treasurer Matthews informed the Board that his recommended tentative budget overrides the tax cap. He stated while there are not a lot of changes to the budget this year, there needs to be substantial changes to the tax rate. He stated we can’t fund the reserves properly as we are spending more due to the increased costs of materials and services.
Treasurer Matthews stated that the Police Department budget has some large costs associated with it. He stated he anticipated some increase but they are more substantial than planned. He stated it is not the fault of the Chief but rather the overall costs in general of the necessary software and programs required to run a department. He cited the accreditation costs, Lexipol, and other equipment utilized as examples of needed costs but not anticipated when we expanded the department. Mayor Eckert stated she has spoken with Chief Richardson about the budget. She stated we all thought the school was going to contribute but they are not. She also stated we are not seeing revenue from tickets. She stated the plan moving forward was to reduce the part time officers to 16 hours per week, down from 25 hours per week. Again, she stated this is no reflection on how the department is run. She said it is great and she wants to see it continue. Mayor Eckert stated PD will be spending less time at the school, in fact, he will only go to the school if there is an emergency. She stated this will free up the Chief for more patrol time.
Treasurer Matthews stated he has spend down the fund balance and there is a $ 35,000.00 hole that needs to be funded or we need to take out services.
Another item in the budget this year is recodifying of the Village Code. This has needed to be done for many years but has been put off because of the cost. The Clerk reported she has been here 19 years and the code book has not been updated in that time. She stated that every local law and revision to Village Code the Board has acted upon is in a file in a drawer with a photo copy of the document stapled in the Code book. She stated that the Village Code book is utilized by PD, Court Justices, and our municipal attorney and it is time for our document to be brought to a more current status. Treasurer Matthews stated that he has partially funded the $ 15,000.00 project in this year’s budget.
Treasurer Matthews went through the entire tentative budget, line by line, explaining areas of significant change and answering questions from the Board and made changes where requested. He noted that Joint Youth budget was reduced this year to approximately $ 49,000.00.
After discussion, the Board directed Treasurer Matthews to establish the tax rate as $ 10.87/$ 1,000.00 which was a $ 1.20/$1,000.00 increase over the previous year. Trustee Rudd made a motion to establish the tax rate of $ 10.87/$1,000.00 as recommended by Treasurer Matthews. The motion was seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to move the Tentative Budget to Preliminary for Public Hearing on March 30, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. The motion was seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business before the Board, motion was made to adjourn by Trustee Sedon, seconded by Trustee Rudd and passed by voice vote with no one dissenting. The meeting was adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy Reu
Village Clerk
