Published on September 1, 2026 7:53 pm
Last Updated on September 1, 2026 7:53 pm
Much of Tuesday’s Effingham City Council meeting was devoted to the Freedom of Information Act and whether the City needs an employee devoted to answering FOIA requests.
City Police Chief Kurt Davis, city police staffer Sandi Rich, and City Clerk Abbey Nosbisch provided most of the information on the volume of FOIA requests received by the City, with City Attorney Tracy Willenborg providing information on what requests she sees received by Effingham along with all of the other communities she works with.
Effingham Mayor Mike Schutzbach discussed the limited number of FOIA requests he received when he served as police chief, compared to the volume of requests now received as the SAFE-T Act and other legislation has expanded the requests.
City Administrator Steve Miller said when the request for a FOIA officer was considered at budget time, the thought was “wait until the matter could be reviewed.” Now, he said, the volume of requests has exploded.
City Commissioner Hank Stephens said the information presented Tuesday was “eye-opening”.
Also at the meeting, Miller reported that bids received for the supply of electricity for residential and small commercial retail customers were not acceptable, so Effingham will stay with Ameren for another several months. Effingham will look at aligning with other larger municipalities in hopes of getting a better bid.
The Council awarded a bid for $3,286,228.20 from Feutz Contractors of Paris for construction of Airport Road from US Route 45 to Schutzbach Street. The project is designed to open up the area west of Route 45 to economic development. There was also a vote to rezone land owned by Stacey Durbin in the same area for a future development project.
Council members also recognized city staffers Pat Brown and Jeremy Heuerman for reaching 15-year employment milestones, and approving Jon Zerkel to fill a vacancy on the City Plan Commission.
