By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
City officials attempting to solve postal delivery
“We don’t deliver the mail,” said Mayor Scott Levin at the City Council meeting held Monday, July 19. “A lot of people have been calling City Hall with concerns about the sporadic delivery of the mail in town and, while I understand that people would call City Hall, the fact is, it is a national issue.
“But we have been in touch with our [U.S. Representative] Mike Quigley and have asked if he can use his influence to make something happen. We are certainly not the only community or neighborhoods that are experiencing this problem.”
Levin reported on a letter received through Cong. Quigley from the Department of Governmental Services, which pointed out some reasons for the delays. Part is due to a huge increase in boxes and packages being mailed as more people stay home and order things to be delivered. There has also been a decline in letters.
There has been interruption in service because of increased absences due to COVID-19. Area offices continue to experience staffing shortages. The U.S. Postal Service knows it must protect employees but it’s a severe disruption to the labor market. Since May 1, the report says that only 67.72% of postal employees are working, which, Levin pointed out, means that up to 1/3 of employees are missing. Plus, because of the Federal Emergency Leave Act, there have been 118,841 hours of leave granted, not to mention sick leave, etc.
Cong. Quigley is continuing to monitor this throughout his district because it’s happening everywhere, including Chicago. In the meantime, people may be receiving their mail every three or four days rather than six days a week.
Finance Director Trosien retires
It was announced that Monday evening’s meeting would be the last one for Finance Director Tom Trosien, who has been planning to retire for more than a year but agreed to stay around when COVID-19 hit last year. City Manager Jim Grabowski said there will be some occasions planned to allow the public to give a salute and final send-off to Trosien. They will be announced later.
It was proposed that, since the City is currently using a contractor to fill the assistant finance director, perhaps it should use the same company to obtain a finance director on a contractual basis. According to the report, cost savings could be as much as $70,000 per year, not to mention it can cost from $11,000 to $19,000 to do a staffing search, recruitment, the advertising involved, etc.
Alderman Mark Mulliner (7th Ward) was the sole ‘nay’ vote.
“I do not support the idea of outsourcing one of our major directors,” he said. “The finance director needs to be in-house and directly responsible to the City Manager. There’s a difference between a team member and an outsider from another company. I believe they need to be a permanent part of the team.”
Mayor reappoints Library trustees
At the Elmhurst City Council meeting on Monday, July 19, the City Council approved by consent the recommendation by Mayor Scott Levin to reappoint three members to the Elmhurst Public Library Board of Trustees. Susan Sadowski, William Ryan and Ingrid Becton will each serve a term to expire July 1, 2024.
Citizen Police Academy returns Sept. 1
During announcements, City Manager Grabowski said the Citizen Police Academy will begin again on Wednesday, Sept. 1, so members of the public should consider signing up now. For information, visit the City’s web site at elmhurst.org.
