As Coloma Township board members are trying to agree on how to build the township’s reserves, some also want to look into buying and moving township operations to a new building.

Township officials said there are “a lot of things wrong” with the current township building at 1200 Prophetstown Road in Rock Falls, including its low legal occupancy limit, structural issues and the need to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for government buildings.

But not all township board members agree that buying a new building – which some want to do – is the way to go.

“We do not need a new building,” Coloma Township Trustee Becky Williamson said at the board’s Sept. 10 meeting. “I am totally against [that idea].”

One reason, Williamson said, is the current state of the township’s finances.

At the same time former Supervisor Sindy Sotelo and almost the entire board abruptly resigned in February, the township found itself in a deficit, current Supervisor Kristine Dobbs said.

In order to cover payroll and operating costs, the board took a $75,000 loan from the road and bridge fund in March. At the Sept. 10 meeting, Dobbs announced that the loan has been repaid and presented Road Commissioner Ruthie Rogers with a certificate of appreciation.

“[It] was the only way to help us out of a really bad situation. Hopefully, this is a turn of a new leaf [for the township],” Rogers said.

The no-interest loan was given until March 2026, and Rogers said he didn’t expect it coming back until then.

Dobbs and Coloma Township Assessor Dave Hand said the township’s lawyer advised them to pay it back if they had the funds.

Also at the Sept. 10 meeting, the board voted on an almost 10% property tax levy to “help us build our reserves up,” Dobbs said.

The current property tax levy is 4.99%.

“We’ve gotta have some reserves,” Hand said.

Reserves are like a savings account, and the township’s “reserves are gone,” he added.

The levy measure failed on a 2-3 vote. Board members Williamson, Brian Stillman and Donna Ackland felt that it would increase township residents’ tax bills by too much, and the money was not needed after the sale of the former U.S. Bank building at 300-302 First Ave. in Rock Falls.

[ Coloma Township sells U.S. Bank building for $528,000, also receives $8,000 property tax refund ]

Under Sotelo’s leadership, the township purchased the bank building in February 2023 for $250,000 and planned to move its operations there, but the building could never legally open due to several building code violations. Williamson pointed to that situation as another reason why the township should not buy a new building.

In total, the township invested about $457,000 in the bank building - including the purchase; a $200,000 line of credit for renovations needed to pass a city inspection; $7,851.12 in property taxes, which should’ve been exempt because it’s a government building; and $117.76 in late fees on those tax bills, according to Whiteside County records.

The new board sold it for $528,000 to Pete Harkness of Harkness Enterprises Inc. on Aug. 19. Also that month, the township received a full refund for those property taxes and late fees, Whiteside County Supervisor of Assessments Robin Brands told Shaw Local.

With the money from the sale, the township paid off the credit line and paid back the loan to the road district. That leaves $266,138.

“I do not want to go through this misery again,” Williamson said. “We’ve gotta get Coloma Township to believe in us again.”

The current building has issues, but “we have the money to take care of it,” Williamson said.

The township is planning to have an updated evaluation of the building soon, Hand said.

The building’s issues include limited parking, which is a problem because the spaces are “usually all taken up by” township officials, and renovations are needed for the bathroom and front door to make them ADA compliant, Hand said.

Another issue, based on previous city inspections, is the occupancy limit, which is set at a maximum of 13 people, Rock Falls building inspector Mark Searing told Shaw Local.

Hand said that is especially difficult when residents are coming in for services because only five people are allowed inside at one time.

It’s also problematic for the board’s monthly meetings because limiting the number of people allowed inside could violate the Open Meetings Act.

One way the board worked around that was meeting at the Rock Falls Public Library in March and April. Williamson said they should continue to do that rather than buy a new building.

Meetings in May, June, July, August and September were held at the Prophetstown Road building.

The township’s next meeting is at 5 p.m. Oct. 8, when Hand said they’ll vote on maintaining the current 4.99% property tax levy.