Sycamore dissolves committees city says were long inactive

SYCAMORE – The Sycamore City Council dissolved multiple city committees officials said were long inactive and voted instead to create a special committee system the mayor will oversee.

As a result of council action, Sycamore’s finance, public safety and public works standing committees have been dissolved. The beautification committee and other city commissions and boards, including for planning and zoning, remain intact.

Sycamore Mayor Steve Braser now has the power to appoint special committees as the city deems necessary, or as directed by the City Council, according to the ordinance that was passed. Before the vote, Braser told city officials he’d never been invited to a committee meeting in the 16 years he’s been an elected official and thinks there’s no reason to keep the old system in place.

“As it is now it doesn’t work,” Braser said. “As we go forward, we have a chance to make it work and do it over again.”

Previously, city code mandated that three committees – finance, public safety and public works – remain standing in perpetuity, although the mayor still had the power to appoint special committees as he deemed necessary.

City Council members seldom have anything to say during the reports of standing committees agenda item in every council meeting, however.

When 4th Ward Alderperson Ben Bumpus asked what would happen after approving the ordinance changes, 3rd Ward alderperson Nancy Copple said, “We don’t have to hear them say, ‘No report, no report, no report.’”

Bumpus, who was the only alderperson to vote against the ordinance change in a 6-1 vote, said he doesn’t see the change benefiting the city.

“It’s almost like we’re addressing the wrong problem,” he said. “We’ve got an opportunity, which at one point I think these three committees were vehicles to help the city either stay accountable or move forward. We’re going to say, ‘We’re going to do away with those and possibly add new ones.’ I don’t see that creating value. I’m interested in what are we doing to help move forward with these committees, and the actions I think at one point they were designed to accomplish.”

First Ward Alderperson Alan Bauer told Bumpus the city used to not have a finance department, necessitating a finance committee, but things have since changed.

“Committees had to make deliberation on finance issues,” Bauer said. “I mean, we used to sit and go through every line item of the budget and sometimes it would take three, four hours in two different nights. ... So now we have have a finance department that creates a budget that we review, and ask questions about and approve. We have a city manager that’s managing things. The city manager is doing evaluations, and so that’s all happening because of our internal management structure.”

In March 2023, with a finance department in place, City Manager Michael Hall submitted a 2022 tax year computational report to the DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder Office with a total levy rate that was more than what the City Council had approved three months prior, a Daily Chronicle review of tax records found.

Financial Director Brien Martin left the city in September 2023. Kristian Dominguez, who was hired as assistant finance director in 2022, was selected as his replacement, all before city officials were made aware of the findings of the Daily Chronicle tax records review.

The standing finance committee did not meet as a result of the taxation error.

During discussion about the proposed changes to the committee structure, 2nd Ward Alderperson Chuck Stowe said he thinks the standing committees are unnecessary.

“These committees have sort of gotten to be superfluous,” he said. “The last time I can remember, having a meeting on anything was during [COVID-19], and it was on water rates. Actually, no, it was about improving the system, about lead in the system.”