Paxton council approves language for backyard chickens ballot question

PAXTON — The Paxton City Council on Tuesday, June 10, approved the language for a nonbinding referendum that will appear on the next primary election ballot — on March 17, 2026 — asking Paxton voters if they feel the city should allow backyard chickens.

The unanimous vote came a month after the council — during a joint meeting of its community committee and license, permit, zoning and insurance committee — voted to pursue the advisory question and have City Attorney Tony Schuering draft potential options for its language.

Schuering presented three options to the council for its consideration:

— Option 1: “Shall the city of Paxton in Ford County, Illinois, enact an ordinance allowing and regulating the keeping of backyard chickens within the city?”

— Option 2: “Shall the city of Paxton amend its Code of Ordinances to allow for the keeping of backyard chickens within the city, to be subject to restrictions set forth by ordinance?”

— And Option 3: “Shall the city of Paxton amend Section 92.42 of Chapter 151 of Appendix A of its Code of Ordinances to allow for the keeping of poultry in the city, to be subject to restrictions set forth by ordinance?”

Alderman Joe Reinhart said he preferred Option 2, since it may be “the clearest to potential voters.” After some brief discussion, the other four aldermen present — Eric Evans, Deane Geiken, Mike Wilson and Justin Withers — agreed. Absent were Aldermen Matt Greenburg, Kristen Larson and Rob Pacey.

“Ultimately I don’t think that there’s a significant (difference between the choices), one way or the other,” Schuering told aldermen before the 5-0 vote to select Option 2. “It’s just, ‘Which one are you more comfortable with?’”

With the deadline to certify the advisory ballot question still months away — with Schuering saying he believes the deadline is 68 days from the election — and with three aldermen absent from the meeting, Geiken initially suggested the possibility of postponing a vote on the ballot language until July to allow for the absent aldermen to weigh in, too.

However, those present ultimately agreed to move forward anyway.

Reinhart stressed that, although the ballot question is only advisory, meaning it is nonbinding, the results will not be ignored by the council. Just as Wilson said last month, Reinhart noted that if a clear majority of voters are in favor or against the idea of backyard chickens, he expects to vote accordingly once the council eventually considers whether to amend city code to allow them.

“I can’t speak for everybody, but I think we’re putting it to the voters because we’ve had so much discussion on both sides that we can’t really come to a conclusion as to what the right thing is to do,” Reinhart said. “So, I think if it gets to the point where it’s voted in favor … I can’t see myself voting against something after we’ve done all this process and then everybody’s voted in favor of it. I can’t see myself voting against that.”

If the council were to allow backyard chickens, the proposal would first need to go before the city’s planning and zoning commission at a public hearing, Schuering said.

While numerous nearby communities already allow backyard chickens, they currently can only be kept in Paxton if they are at least 150 feet from any home, church, school building or “public way,” according to city code — restrictions that make raising them impossible on most residential properties.

Before pursuing the nonbinding referendum, Larson suggested the council amend the code to allow for backyard chickens via a permitting process. She suggested that rules be set to require that chicken coops and runs be at least 30 feet from neighboring homes and fully enclosed within a fully fenced-in backyard. Larson also suggested that the city appoint an “urban chicken educational liaison” to assist the police with enforcement of the rules “if we feel the pressure on (them) would be too great.”

Meanwhile, resident Rebecca Rutledge noted last month that compliance with city rules is already a problem, as some residents are apparently keeping chickens despite not being allowed to do so under existing city code. Proponents of backyard chickens, though, stressed that they want to do it legally, within the established rules, and expect most others will, too.

Other business
Also at the council meeting:

— Dawn Stack, president of the Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce, requested a $2,500 donation from the city to help cover the $6,000 cost of a new “Eat, Shop, Play and Stay” marketing campaign for Paxton, which will involve the creation of a series of videos highlighting everything the town has to offer. The chamber and Paxton Main Street plan to help fund the rest of the cost of the marketing campaign, Stack said. While approval of the donation was not listed on the meeting’s agenda, Mayor Bill Ingold said approval was not required, since the donation would be under the “$10,000 threshold.” Ingold told Stack: “I think you can count on us doing this.”

— Matthew Griffin, who last year received the council’s approval of a special-use permit to allow him to operate an auto detailing business at his home, said he had been dealing with “ongoing harassment” by his neighbor and, as a result, has applied for a permit to allow for the construction of a privacy fence. With issues ongoing, Griffin said he was “begging” for the city’s “expedited approval” of the permit.

— Comptroller/Treasurer Tammy Jensen said the city’s annual audit for the last fiscal year would begin the following week, and she continues to work on the city’s budget for this fiscal year.

— Jensen said a copy of the city’s annual appropriation ordinance for this fiscal year is available for public inspection at the City Hall, and a public hearing on the ordinance will be held at the council’s next regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 8, at City Hall, 145 S. Market St.

— Jensen said negotiations with the Teamsters union representing city employees were scheduled.

— The council authorized the mayor to accept bids and sign contracts for roadwork planned for this summer — without further council approval — as long as the accepted bids fall within previously budgeted estimates. Mike Livermore, with the Champaign-based Clark Dietz engineering firm, said bids were to be opened the following day — Wednesday, June 11 — and the applicable contracts must be submitted to the Illinois Department of Transportation by a June 30 deadline due to the use of Rebuild Illinois funds. Livermore said four companies requested plans during the bidding process for projects that include the milling and resurfacing of portions of Technology Drive, South Elm Street, South Market Street, North Elm Street, East Holmes Street, South Winter Street and East Larson Street.

— Superintendent of Streets and Alleys Jesse Houtzel said his crew continued to stay busy applying gravel to alleys and working on curbs and sidewalks, in addition to some tree work. Houtzel also reported that the city’s new salt bin had been installed. Once some repairs are made to its walls and its roof is replaced, the old salt bin could be used for the storage of dirt, he said.

— Superintendent of Water and Sewer Bob Carleton said a few new water service lines had been installed, including one for a property on Meuser Drive.

— Alan Meyer, owner of The Cadillac music venue, requested that the city redesign the streetside parking spaces in front of the venue. Meyer said the parking spots are too close to the building to allow him to add outdoor seating, as he hopes to eventually do. There is currently no curb there.

— With Withers abstaining from the vote, the council unanimously approved making a $10,000 donation to the annual Paxton Swine ‘N’ Dine BBQ Contest & Festival scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20. With the donation, the city will be a “platinum sponsor” of the family-friendly festival, which will include a concert downtown featuring the country music band Diamond Rio, plus food and nonfood vendors, a kids’ zone, a petting zoo, a bags tournament and a barbecue cookoff. Meyer, a member of the festival’s organizing committee, said it takes about $100,000 to put on the festival each year. Withers is also involved in the festival’s planning.

— The council voted unanimously to authorize Police Chief Coy Cornett to spend up to $66,000 on the purchase and outfitting of a new squad car to replace one that was totaled in a June 2 crash involving police officer Robert Yates. Cornett said an insurance claim was made for the totaled vehicle — a 2019 Chevrolet Tahoe — but the amount to be paid to the city was not yet known. If there is any shortage, Cornett said, it could be covered by “rollover” funds from the impoundment of vehicles and a $12,652 grant the police department has been awarded.

— The council unanimously approved making a $10,000 donation to the Danville-based Central Illinois Land Bank Authority, which has assisted Paxton with the fast-track demolition of dilapidated homes over the past three years. Ingold said the agency’s director indicated that the $10,000 donation should produce at least $35,000 in further local demolition work.

— Cornett said the council should be prepared in July to vote on the renewal of the city’s agreement with the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district for the police department providing a school resource officer at PBL schools. Under the proposed new contract, PBL would continue to pay 75% of school resource officer Brandon Ryan’s salary, Cornett said. The PBL school board will also need to sign off on the agreement next month, Cornett said.

— Cornett said the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Illinois will come through Paxton on Thursday, June 19, and he encouraged community members to help cheer on the participants as they pass through the downtown, carrying the Special Olympics torch, on their way to Gibson City and eventually Bloomington. They are expected to arrive in Paxton sometime between 10:30 a.m. and noon, Cornett said, after starting the day in Manteno. When they arrive in Gibson City, they will be treated to dinner at the American Legion Post there, he added.

— Livermore said the Hillside Development Group has submitted plats and legal descriptions related to the proposed vacating of an alley behind the shuttered car wash on West Ottawa Road, just east of the Interstate 57 interchange, to accommodate a proposed commercial development there.

— Livermore said his firm has submitted applications to IDOT for three grants, including a $282,000 grant to fund roadwork that was not pursued this year due to budgetary constraints; a $1.5 million grant for the historical restoration of a brick portion of Elm Street; and a $1.2 million grant for the reconstruction of North Market Street and addressing drainage issues in that same area of town.

— Now that engineering studies have been completed for the city’s proposed southeast drainage project, the council will need to decide whether to move forward with project design, which is expected to cost about $516,000 and take about nine to 12 months to complete, Livermore said. Completion of the design phase would allow the city to move forward with applying for state funding for the project, Livermore said. In addition to low-interest loans, grants are being considered to help pay for it.

— The council voted 3-2 in favor of a proposal to increase the number of available Class C liquor licenses in town, but the measure failed to receive enough affirmative votes to be considered approved, according to Schuering. Schuering said at least four votes were needed. As a result, the topic will be reconsidered in July. Before the vote, the council heard from Kelli Breymeyer, who said that she, her mother and her aunt plan to open a new “lounge” in downtown Paxton that would serve beer and chicken wings, among other beverage and food offerings, and that a Class C license is needed to accommodate their plans. Previous plans had called for video gambling terminals, too, but Breymeyer said those plans were now on hold as a result of concerns expressed by aldermen who believe the downtown already has too many. Voting against the increase in Class C liquor licenses were Reinhart and Wilson.

— The council unanimously approved a redevelopment agreement with Lindsay Dilks that will provide her with a onetime reimbursement of $5,100 from the city’s tax-increment financing district for the $8,106 in costs she expects to incur for new windows and a new roof at a rental property she owns at Pine and Taft streets.

— Following a discussion in closed session, the council unanimously approved a 5% increase in base pay for the city’s six non-unionized employees. Wilson, chairman of the finance committee, said the raises are consistent with “what we have” in the current Fraternal Order of Police collective bargaining agreement with unionized police officers.