News |Village discusses referendum

The village of Willow Springs held their regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday Nov. 9. Mayor Alan Nowaczyk spoke about the tax referendum which failed to pass by a vote of 416 yes against 1,315 no votes. No future plans were given. Mayor Nowaczyk said that there would be another town meeting to discuss the financial situation and let residents know where the money shortfalls came from and why they occurred. Richard Chiapetta was sworn in as the village treasurer. Chiapetta is a village resident who has 17 years of financial experience in the private sector. He is currently working on a degree in municipal finance and has been doing work with the village for the last four months as a volunteer. The treasurer position has an annual stipend of $3000. The license committee approved the business license for Crete Petrol/Citgo which will allow the gas station at Archer and Nolton to open for business in the near future. The Justice/Willow Springs Water Commission will be building a water reservoir on land north of the police station and will be submitting a sight plan for the project. The Willow Springs Police Department received a $10,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Criminal Justice. The grant will be used for a mobile data computer program. The Police and Fire Committee reported that traffic fine collections are up $8000 from last year. The police chief reported that there are nine candidates involved in the on-going sergeants exam process. The Willow Springs Committee of the Whole will meet on Thursday Nov. 16.