The Shorewood Village Board of Trustees decided to amend a Village rule on licensing and regulating raffles at its Oct. 10 meeting.
In a 5-0 vote, officials took action to satisfy this aim. Trustee Daniel Warren was absent.
“We discussed this quite bit at the Committee of the Whole meeting, and as I mentioned the state provided the authority to regulate raffles to municipalities a few years back,” Village Attorney Dave Silverman said. “This ordinance is generally an ordinance that reflects the requirements of the state law in terms of raffles.”
Typically, raffle licenses are required of charities, educational organizations, labor, law enforcement and other similar groups that intend to raise money to support a cause thereby providing opportunities to give away prizes.
Entities with a desire to sell raffle tickets within the Village of Shorewood need to approach staff for an application, which will be investigated.
As it stands, interested parties need to seek Village Board approval for any raffle exceeding $250. A $10 fee is extended to groups that wish to obtain a license to cover the accompanying administrative costs.
Trustee Clarence DeBold said the ordinance, as presented, sounds manageable.
The process of renewing a raffle license is an annual process.
Village attorney Dave Silverman said many of the concerns raised at the Committee of the Whole meeting have been addressed, though it remains unclear whether or not to cap raffles valued at over $150,000.
DeBold questioned if it would streamline matters to increase the cap to $250,000.
Silverman suggested that officials leave the details of the ordinance, as presented.
As it stands, interested parties need to seek Village Board approval for any raffle amount exceeding $250.
Trustee Anthony Luciano wanted to see if there is enough consumer protection to prevent scams, should an event of this type occur.
Silverman sought to lessen the concern and went on to say a number of different communities already have similar ordinances in place.
Leaf collection update
Also at the meeting, Trustee Daniel Anderson provided an update on the Village’s fall leaf collection program, which began Oct. 9 and runs through Dec. 1.
Leaves are to be placed on the parkway parallel to the street at approximately 12 inches behind the edge of the curb or pavement. Such collections will not be picked up if left in the street or gutter, so as to prevent obstruction to the flow of stormwater runoff and flooding.
Residents are discouraged from including debris, such as garden materials, brush, cans, paper, bottles and construction materials, so as to prevent damage to equipment or injury to leaf collection personnel.
Crews will begin picking up leaves at 7 a.m. and work through 3 p.m.
Should anyone have additional questions, they are advised to call the Village at (815) 725-2150.