State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) held another of his roundtable discussions for mayors at the City of Casey this week. After providing a legislative update from the most recent Session, each mayor was able to bring up issues important to their city, town, or village. Those in attendance for this roundtable discussion included Herman Davidson, City of Martinsville, Theresa Fielder, Village of Oblong, Mike Nichols, City of Casey and Jack Sheckley, Village of Rose Hill.
“With fifty communities spread out over eleven counties, I decided to host smaller groups of mayors at meetings in the southern region and then the northern region,” said Rep. Niemerg. “My previous meetings have been well received and it gives everyone a chance to bounce ideas off each other and talk about things that have been successful as well as things that didn’t work so the next community can evaluate what might work in their case.”
A discussion of new laws that impact local control or funding issues followed. Rep. Niemerg talked about his new law (P.A. 103-0987) that allows for towns and counties to set up intergovernmental agreements to provide ambulance services while saving taxpayers money.
Rep. Niemerg discussed the Illinois Municipal League (IML) as a resource for local mayors but pointed out that some priorities of the statewide group may not be a priority for villages when it comes to “home rule” issues that may not be good for the smaller communities. The issue of homelessness came up and the attempts to stop the takeover of campgrounds in one area by people staying longer than thirty days.
Rep. Niemerg talked about helping the mayors wade through the “bureaucratic shuffle” of Springfield to cut the red tape whenever possible. Several questions came up about grants available for utilizes and business development.
“Some communities are looking for help with economic development projects while others are interested in grant opportunities for public safety needs. All seem to be dealing with a jump in methamphetamine problems which can be traced back to the ten million plus illegal migrants coming in the country under the current administration.”
Learn more about legislation and sign up for legislative updates at RepNiemerg.com or by calling the district office at 217-813-6036.