By Jason Crane
The second remote Montgomery Village Board meeting Monday included approval of several agenda items, including a Montgomery Development Fund Program Amendment / Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Grant Program.
To help small businesses in these unprecedented times, staff members proposed that the Village Board approve two new programs.
The following information was included in the agenda:
The first would be an amendment to the Montgomery Development Fund (MDF) program by adding a grant program for local businesses.
Applications would be filed and reviewed by the MDF Loan Committee who would, in turn, make a recommendation to the Village Board for final action. It is recommended that a grant of up to $5,000 could be awarded under this program with funds coming from the MDF reserves.
The second would be applications for grant funds through the new Downstate Small Business Stabilization Program which has been established by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
This program has been established to provide working capital funds to community’s businesses economically impacted by the COVID-19 virus.
The program makes funds available for 60 days of verifiable working capital up to a grant ceiling of $25,000.
More information can be found at the Village’s website: https://ci.montgomery.il.us/.
• Unanimously approved was an Employee Sick Leave Donation Policy.
There is a Montgomery Village employee who soon will be out of leave time due to a major medical event.
Over the past several years, there have been multiple occasions in which Village employees have asked to donate a portion of their accrued sick leave to other employees facing unexpected medical events resulting in unpaid leaves due to exhaustion of their own accrued leave time.
There is no policy or mechanism in place to do so. The Employee Sick Leave Donation Policy establishes eligibility guidelines for both sick leave donors and recipients.
Donations would be made to a general bank, rather than to a specific person, and recipients of donated leave would remain anonymous. Upon approval this policy would be incorporated into the Employee Manual.
Donation of sick leave is strictly voluntary.
Employees must be employed with the Village of Montgomery for a minimum of one year to be eligible to donate and/or receive donated sick time.
Employees who would like to make a request to receive donated sick time from the Sick Leave Bank must have a qualified medical emergency. The donation of sick time is strictly voluntary.
• Unanimously approved was an agreement between the Village of Montgomery and Metropolitan Alliance of Police.
Staff members of the Village worked with the represented Officers to come to terms on a new five-year agreement which is attached. The Officers have already ratified the agreement.
Items for Discussion:
A liquor license request for 1890 Douglas Road.
Emad Yousif contacted the Village to request a beer and wine liquor license for a proposed restaurant at 1890 Douglas Road, site of the former Lucky’s. He would like to open a franchise called Baba’s Famous Steak and Lemonade. Yousif said it would be his third location. The Board was in agreement.