Wilmington City Council

Wilmington to reinstate water billing late fees

Published by admin on Tue, 06/16/2020 - 4:32pm

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to institute a stay-at-home order back in March, the city of Wilmington took a step to ease the effect of the crisis on homeowners by suspending late fees and disconnection notices for those who were late on their water bills.

But, city officials said the time has come to bring those penalties back, now that the state is in Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan, and likely to move to Phase 4 later this month.

Wilmington looks to curtail ordinance violations

Published by admin on Tue, 06/16/2020 - 4:28pm

Now that the weather has warmed up, the city of Wilmington has begun with more aggressive efforts to crack down on ordinance violations, especially when it comes to properties that are not in compliance with city codes.

But going from complaint to compliance isn’t as easy as it sounds.

The city’s Police and ESDA Committee discussed ordinance compliance efforts during their June 9 regular meeting. Over the past week, the city has cleaned up some local properties, opting to mow overgrown lawns and charge homeowners rather than wait any longer for compliance.

Get $50 off your Wilmington water bill

Published by admin on Tue, 06/09/2020 - 4:13pm

When the state moved into Phase 3 of Gov. JB Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, a five-step process to reopen Illinois following closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants, bars and shops in Wilmington were excited to throw open their doors and welcome customers back.

Now, in an effort to boost those local businesses and help them generate revenue again, the city of Wilmington is rolling out a plan to pay a little something back to residents who pull out their wallets locally.

Wilmington budget woes “not that bad”

Published by admin on Tue, 06/09/2020 - 3:29pm

Despite more than two months with local shops and businesses shuttered due to the stay-at-home order put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Wilmington’s finances look to be somewhat stable.

Matt Hoffman, finance director for the city, told members of the Finance Committee on May 19 that the projected deficit for the 2021 fiscal year (FY21), which began on May 1, is currently anticipated to be around $300,000.

Wilmington to consider proposal for outdoor seating

Published by admin on Tue, 05/26/2020 - 4:10pm

The state of Illinois is set to move to phase three of Gov. JB Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan when the current stay-at-home order due to the novel coronavirus pandemic expires on May 30.

Phase three is listed in the five-step plan as the recovery phase. Regions of the state are expected to move on to this phase once the rate of infection of COVID-19 is stable or declining, and COVID-19-related hospitalizations and ICU capacity remains stable or is decreasing.

Wilmington City Hall parking lot now expanded Ford showroom

Published by admin on Tue, 05/12/2020 - 3:54pm

Folks looking to buy a car may have noticed that inventory at D’Orazio Ford has expanded to the front of Wilmington City Hall.

On May 5, the city entered into a 20-year lease agreement with D’Orazio Ford to rent a section of the City Hall parking lot, for an annual fee of $500.

Per the agreement, “the use of the premises shall be limited to the parking of vehicles for sale on an area of parking lot improved with black top pavement” in “a rectangular area of black top pavement the entire width of the City Hall parking lot.”

Water survey will seek out leaks in 50 miles of system

Published by admin on Tue, 05/05/2020 - 3:40pm

The city of Wilmington will pay $10,750 for an updated water survey to look for leaks in the system.

On April 21, the city council, meeting via Zoom, approved a proposal from M.E. Simpson Company, Inc., of Indiana, to conduct the survey of about 50 miles of the city’s water distribution system. Details of the plan were discussed previously at the committee level.

Wilmington water rate hike to take place as planned

Published by admin on Tue, 04/21/2020 - 4:50pm

The city of Wilmington’s utility rate increase looks to go forward as planned.

Water and sewer rates are set to increase automatically by 2% in June. On April 15, the city’s water, sewer, streets and alleys committee held a discussion on that planned increase.

Members of the committee recognized that there have been calls for addressing payments due to the city during a time when many people are not working or bringing in their usual pay due to the current stay-at-home orders.

However, city officials said decisions on water rates are more complex.

Wilmington awards $2 million for intersection project

Published by admin on Tue, 04/21/2020 - 4:39pm

The city of Wilmington has approved a multi-million dollar bid for a long-awaited construction project at Route 53 and Wilmington-Peotone Road.

On April 7, members of the city council approved a bid from Austin Tyler Construction, Inc., in the amount of $2.6 million for a phased construction project at the Route 53/Wilmington-Peotone Road intersection.

That contract will include pavement removal, earth excavation, Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) and hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement, HMA resurfacing, curb and gutter, storm sewer, and traffic signals.

Wilmington leaders see the positive in pandemic response

Published by admin on Tue, 04/14/2020 - 4:02pm

Day-to-day life has changed across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Wilmington is no different.

This week, the Will County Health Department announced that so far, seven cases of the novel coronavirus had been diagnosed in the 60481 area code.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), cases in the state of Illinois have topped 23,000, with more than 860 deaths.