Jeff Bergman
QUINCY — Only one person spoke up when a public hearing concerning the city’s proposed property tax levy increase for the 2025 tax year was held during Monday night’s Quincy City Council meeting. So Kelly Mays (R-3) took it upon herself to create discussion among the aldermen when they gave a first reading to an…
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QUINCY — The Quincy City Council passed an amended resolution during its Monday night meeting that could increase the Quincy Public Library’s levy request to 15 cents per $100 of equalized assessed value (EAV) and increase the aggregate property tax levy by 24.49 percent. That decision also means the City Council must have a public…
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QUINCY – As Halloween approaches, the issue of the 48th and State roundabout continues to haunt the community. It returns from the dead as does Count Dracula. It staggers like a zombie from “The Walking Dead.” Wooden stake, anyone? Daryl Dixon’s crossbow handy? The issue doesn’t appear to be any closer to finality as a…
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Dear MRN: I was watching the Quincy City Council meeting on Monday night when the discussion about the roundabout came up. Alderman (Jeff) Bergman (R-2) can’t make the motion to put the issue back on the agenda. It takes a member who voted in favor of it to bring it up. Can you check on…
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QUINCY — Maybe it won’t be as historic and memorable as the Thrilla in Manila (Google “Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier” if you’re not a heavyweight boxing fan), but the Debate at 48th and State certainly figures to be just as hotly contested next week if a third vote becomes necessary. One week after the Quincy City…
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QUINCY — Jack Holtschlag (D-7) said he didn’t know how the vote would go when he made a motion to have another vote for the City of Quincy to partner with Adams County to build a roundabout at the intersection of 48th and State. “I go by there three or four times a day, and not…
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QUINCY — Two aldermen changed their minds on Monday night and were the swing votes in an 8-6 decision by the Quincy City Council to approve the low bid from Blick’s Construction for $143,413 to demolish a sludge pump station south of Clat Adams Bicentennial Park on the riverfront — using money from the city’s…
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QUINCY — The Quincy City Council voted Monday night to have an ordinance drafted to end the city’s electrical aggregation program. Several aldermen noted during the Sept. 3 meeting that they were receiving complaints from customers who were automatically enrolled in the aggregation program, having their electric supply service switched to Constellation. City officials said…
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QUINCY — A rewritten resolution that authorizes giving $25,000 from the city’s Economic Growth Fund to the Quincy Society of Fine Arts got the two extra votes it needed from the Quincy City Council on Monday night. After voting to permanently table the original resolution, aldermen voted 8-6 to approve a revamped resolution. Director of…
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QUINCY — Family, friends and supporters filled the basement of the Tower of Pizza restaurant to celebrate Dan Brink’s campaign kickoff for his candidacy for mayor of the City of Quincy. However, the number of aldermen in attendance raised a few eyebrows. Brink was the first candidate to make his political intentions known in October…
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QUINCY — A resolution to authorize giving $25,000 from the city’s Economic Growth Fund to the Quincy Society of Fine Arts didn’t get enough votes from the Quincy City Council on Tuesday night. However, the resolution will be back on the agenda for the Sept. 9 meeting. Six aldermen — Ken Hultz (R-3), Mike Farha…
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QUINCY — If Director of Public Works Jeffrey Conte could do it all over again, he would have waited to give the order to tear out the carpet in City Council chambers rather than have it removed in May. The decision to allow Maas Construction to begin asbestos removal as part of its renovation work…
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QUINCY — Comments about a cleanup contract the city has with a Quincy business mushroomed into a discussion among aldermen about the lack of manpower to clean and maintain each of the city’s seven wards. The Quincy City Council approved a four-year, $128,000 plan with All-Phase Property Solutions LLC in March 2021 to maintain sidewalks,…
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QUINCY — Libraries are supposed to be quiet places. But with the Quincy City Council meeting in the Quincy Public Library because of renovations at City Hall, aldermen and members of the administration raised their voices Tuesday night as they debated how to prioritize street projects in the city’s seven wards. The discussion kicked off…
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Bret Austin is the owner of Austin Properties, a locally-owned property commercial and residential development company in Quincy. However, he may be best known for his work on the Adams County Board and as the chairman of the Finance Committee. In recent months, he’s also getting attention for his views on a possible third designated…
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QUINCY — A long-awaited vote on an ordinance approving a tax increment financing plan on Quincy’s south side was delayed for two more weeks on Monday night. The heads of the Great River Economic Development Foundation, Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce and The District made their cases for the city’s third designated TIF zone during…
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QUINCY — After defeating an amendment that would have trimmed the city’s subsidy to the Quincy Public Library, the Quincy City Council voted Monday night to adopt a $61.3 million budget that goes into effect May 1. Before aldermen voted on the budget ordinance, they discussed a proposed amendment from Jeff Bergman (R-2) calling to…
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QUINCY — The Finance Committee sent two issues about what could be Quincy’s first roundabout to the full City Council to be debated next week. However, the debate got underway in earnest near the conclusion of Monday night’s City Council meeting. The city has been asked to commit $2.6 million to the roundabout project at…
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QUINCY — Director of Public Works Jeffrey Conte has two weeks to prepare different options to pay for $30 million worth of improvements to Quincy’s water system. The creation of an ordinance to increase water and sewer rates was on the agenda for Monday’s Quincy City Council meeting. The average monthly cost to the consumer…
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QUINCY — Citing that it is not a “requirement” but a “preference” for property owners to rebuild on land they purchase under the city’s Fix of Flatten program, the Quincy City Council pulled back four properties they had intended to turn over to the Two Rivers Regional Land Bank Authority. At Monday’s City Council meeting,…
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QUINCY — Votes on a report and a resolution that have attracted great interest during recent meetings of the Quincy City Council both were tabled for a second time Monday night. A report from Springfield attorney Rick Stewart about an internal complaint filed during the hiring process for the chief of the Quincy Police Department…
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QUINCY — After hearing more than two hours of speakers speak respectfully on both sides of the sanctuary city for the unborn ordinance, debate among members of the Quincy City Council got a little heated Monday night before they voted 7-5 against it. The issue attracted an overflow crowd that filled City Council chambers and…
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QUINCY — The Quincy City Council tabled a resolution during Monday’s meeting to buy secondary insurance from American Public Life for the last half of 2023. Aldermen requested more information from Quincy Mayor Mike Troup about the cost of the insurance before voting on it. However, several aldermen made it clear they no longer want…
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QUINCY — A resolution for the city to adopt a pledge of civility was tabled indefinitely during Monday night’s Quincy City Council meeting after three of the 10 aldermen in attendance said they couldn’t support it. The resolution put forth said the Illinois Municipal League has adopted a civility pledge which states, “In the interest of…
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QUINCY — After nearly 45 minutes of debate, the Quincy City Council voted Monday night to approve a resolution that relaxes and extended residency requirements for officers with the Quincy Police Department. The Police Benevolent and Protective Association Unit 12, which represents the officers and supervisors with the Quincy Police Department, and the City of Quincy have a…
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