Finance

The City Council voted to approve the payment of various bills totaling $258k.
The City Council voted to accept the City Treasurer’s financial report covering the period of May 1, 2025 through November 30, 2025.
GW & Associates (GWA) has provided the city with finance and accounting services for over ten years. The agreement governing the relationship between GWA and the city has expired. The City Council voted to approve a new 2-year agreement that covers the period of January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028, with monthly fees of $10k in 2026, $10.5k in 2027, and $11k in 2028.
A Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district is a tool used by municipalities to spur economic development in specific geographic areas that are blighted or deteriorating. There are nearly 1.5k TIF districts across more than 500 municipalities in the state. The city’s TIF district was created in 2002 with an original term of 23 years. In 2021, with the required letters of support from overlapping taxing bodies (including D112 and D113), the Illinois General Assembly approved a 12-year extension, moving the TIF’s expiration from 2025 to 2037. City staff presented an overview of the TIF fund’s current fund balance and projected fund balance through 2028.

Licensing

City staff recommended that the City Council amend the city code to reduce the number of allowed Class A liquor licenses from 11 to 10, to match the number of active licenses. The City Council voted to adopt an ordinance to make the recommended change.

Proclamation

Mayor Pecaro read a proclamation declaring the city’s support and pride in the new Highwood Stallions semiprofessional bocce team, proclaiming January 20, 2026 as Highwood Stallions Day, and presented members of the team with a framed copy of the proclamation (picture here).

Other

The City Council voted to approve meeting minutes from January 6, 2026.
The Chamber of Commerce’s Eat. Drink. Highwood. will be held from February 3rd through February 7th at various times and locations around Highwood; additional information here.
The Chamber of Commerce’s Spill Sessions (Stories We Carry in Books and in our Pockets) will be held on February 18th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Beermiscuous (552 Sheridan Rd.); additional information here.

Meeting Records

A video recording of the Regular Meeting is here.
Once approved, minutes from the Committee of the Whole Meeting and Regular Meeting will be linked here.
These write-ups are purposefully brief. Please do not hesitate to call or email me if you would like additional details or have questions.

*unless otherwise noted, City Council directives and votes were unanimous.

November 18, 2025