Trustees Set to Drop Sign Fee, Change Vehicle Policy

If you own a business in Montgomery, and you want to put up a temporary sign, you might want to wait a couple of weeks.

The Village Board is likely to reduce the fee for a 15-day temporary sign permit at its next meeting, on Sept. 26. The fee is currently $25, but at last week’s Committee of the Whole meeting, trustees supported reducing it to $15.

The fee was last dropped in February, from $55 to its current $25. Trustees say this is part of their efforts to be more business-friendly, and to respond to complaints about the sign ordinance from business owners.

Both Trustee Bill Keck and Trustee Andy Kaczmarek suggested dropping the fee to zero, but Village President Marilyn Michelini said keeping some fee allows the village to regulate temporary signs, and prevent “sign pollution.”

Trustee Matt Brolley suggested that temporary signs could be authorized through the , once it goes live on Dec. 9.

The village ordinance defines temporary signs as those hung on the building wall or staked on the property, and they cannot be larger than 40 square feet. Ground signs cannot be placed more than 10 feet above grade, and wall signs cannot be more than 30 feet above ground. Businesses are allowed 10 permits per year.

Flags and banners are also considered temporary signs, and cannot be larger than 80 square feet. Two 30-day banner permits are allowed per business per year.

Trustees are also set to make changes to the employee vehicle policy, but not sweeping ones.

Montgomery spends roughly $6,072 per year on four take-home vehicles for employees, according to Finance Director Jeff Zoephel. The village spends an additional $9,600 on vehicle allowances for three other staff members who use their own cars to drive to work.

Trustees last week supported a plan that would see all current employees grandfathered in, keeping the vehicle deals they have. But under the new proposal, the Village Board will consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether to grant take-home vehicles or allowances to new employees.

The first such case will likely revolve around a new community development director. Former director Jane Tompkins’ last day at the village was Friday. She received $1,200 a year in vehicle expenses.

Montgomery provides take-home vehicles to the public works director, the police chief and two other members of the police department, and Zoephel’s annual total for those cars is based on estimated fuel costs: $3,484 for the public works vehicle, $661 for the police chief, and $1,298 and $629 for the other two police vehicles, he said.

Additionally, the village manager gets $7,200 a year in vehicle expenses, as guaranteed by contract, while the finance director and community development director each get $1,200 a year.

Trustees all agreed that the police-related vehicles were justified, since police department leaders often have to respond to emergencies. But they questioned whether the public works director needs a take-home vehicle.

Trustee Andy Kaczmarek asked Public Works Director Mike Pubentz how often he responds to emergency situations, and Pubentz said there is an on-call public works employee who investigates those situations—snowstorms, for instance—and determines who else needs to be called in.

All five trustees present at last week’s meeting supported the reduced sign fee, but Kaczmarek and Trustee Pete Heinz spoke against the proposed vehicle policy. Trustee Stan Bond was absent. The Village Board will meet on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at .