Frequently Asked Questions

The City of Monticello does not allow buring of landscape or waste debris within city limits, but recreational fires in an appropriate fire pit are allowed.

You can complete an application for the Monticello Fire & Rescue Department and submit it to the Municipal Building.

The Fire Department holds meetings the first three Thursdays of each month, and trains during one of those meetings.

Vendors who are interested in selling products and services to the City of Monticello can contact the administration personnel to discuss their interest.

The City of Monticello undergoes an annual audit of all finance operations and expense reports after the close of each fiscal year- typically in late summer.

Pavilions are available for private use on a first-come first-served basis. The MFAC is available for private rental during seasonal hours, and you must contact the MFAC office to reserve your space.

We love our volunteers! Coach (head or assistant), help out at a community event, organize a park improvement day... the possibilities are endless! Contact our MPRD director to further discuss the opportunities!

The 2010 U.S. Census recorded Monticello's population at 5,548 residents.

Contact our Director of Community Development, who will be able to advise you in site selection, financing and grant incentives, zoning regulations, business plan preparation, and much more! 217.762.2583.

Zoning changes or conditional use requests must go before the Planning Commission for a public hearing. The Planning Commission makes a recommendation to the City Council who has the final say. Before you get to far in your plans, contact the CIty to discuss the process and compliance issues.

The term setback means the required distance separating a building or structure from a property line. Setback regulations for buildings are included in the Zoning Ordinance and vary depending on what zoning designation a parcel is in. Visit the Building Inspector's page for a more complete description of setbacks.

First, determine what zoning designation your property is. Then, you must view the use chart in the zoning ordinance to discover compliance. If your property is primarily used as a residence, there are regulations regarding home occupations that you must abide by. Contact the zoning administrator 217.762.2583 for more information.

The City is broken into four wards. Each ward has two direct elected City Aldermen. To determine which ward you live in please refer to the Monticello Ward Map.

Yes, all regularly scheduled city council meetings are recorded. Mediacom subscribers are able to view the most recent City Council meetings on Channel 2 daily at 10am and 7pm.

Permits are required for many types of work performed in or around your property, including but not limited to fences, decks, sheds, garages, patios, additions, new construction, signs and some remodel work. If you aren't sure if a permit is required, please call or stop by to discuss your project during the planning phase.

All work, whether a permit is required or not, has to comply with the adopted building codes. Through the adoption of these codes, the City Building Inspector is granted the right to inspect any an all construction work performed in the CIty even if no permit is required.

No, the City of Monticello does not require a permit for a new driveway, however inspection of the approach portion (between property line and edge of the street) is required prior to placement.

There is no set dimension from edge or center of the road to the property line. Please contact the City Building Inspector for more information specific to your lot.

Easements are legally recorded agreements. There are often easements created for utilities, egress, etc. Easements are recorded at the Piatt County Clerk and Recorder's office located in the Piatt County Courthouse, and kept as public record.

If you aren't sure where your property lines are please stop in the see the Building INspector and discuss your proposed project. We may be able to offer assistance as to how to locate the pins, or after discussion, the exact location of the lines may not be necessary.

Our current zoning and building regulations require a permit for many types of repair work, even if it is done to an existing fence or structure. If there is any question on if you need a permit or not, call or stop in to ask.

The building permit review, approval and inspection process is a way that we at the City of Monticello can help protect the interest of the community. This is done by reviewing proposed work for compliance with our building and zoning requirements. Then we will inspect the work to ensure that it is being done in a workmanlike manner and that it is built per the approved plans/design.

If work that requires a permit is performed prior to obtaining the permit, the CIty's recourse can range from charging double the fee for the correct permit(s) to requiring the removal of rework of some or all of the non-permitted construction.

Generally permits will be issued either the day they are applied for or the following working day. In some cases for large or unusual projects, the City may require up to 2 weeks. If you are planing a project that may not fit into the category of typical construction work, please involve us early in the planning, even if it is just to sit down and discuss your overall idea of what you would like to do.

New construction permits are good for a period of 1 year. Commercial new construction permits are good for a period of 2 years. All other permits are good for 6 months from the date of issuance.

The building inspector has the option of issuing a permit extension for an additional 6 months. This permit extension requires the payment of an additional permit fee.

The adopted codes have provisions for non-conforming or non-complete work. The codes can be enforced through fines and/or court action at the City's discretion.

The number and type of inspections will vary from project to project. Any project that requires new foundation, new sanitary sewer service or new water service will have required inspections on those items at the least. Contact us for more information.