McLean County Finance Committee Met July 7.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
The Finance Committee of the McLean County Board met at 4:30 p.m. in Room 400 of the Government Center, 115 East Washington Street, Bloomington, IL.
Members Present: Chairman Catherine Metsker, Members Chuck Erickson, Gerald Thompson, Laurie Wollrab, Josh Barnett, William Friedrich and Val Laymon
Members Absent: None
Other Members Present: None
Staff Present: Cassy Taylor, Interim County Administrator, Cathy Dreyer, Assistant County Administrator; Samantha Vazquez, Assistant State’s Attorney – Civil Division; Julie A. Morlock, Recording Secretary
Department Heads/Elected Officials Present: Becky McNeil, Treasurer, Marshell Thomson, Animal Control; Kathy Michael, County Clerk.
Others Present: None
Chairman Metsker called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum.
Chairman Metsker presented the Minutes of May 25, 2021 special meeting and June 2, 2021 regular meeting of the Finance Committee for approval.
Motion by Friedrich/Laymon to approve the May 25, 2021 special meeting and June 2, 2021 regular meeting minutes of the Finance Committee.
Motion carried.
Chairman Metsker confirmed there were no members of the public to appear before the Committee.
Chairman Metsker indicated that Ms. Michelle Anderson, McLean County Auditor was not present but did not have anything in the packet for the Committee. She moved to the next item on the agenda.
Rebecca McNeil, McLean County Treasurer presented for action a request to approve a Resolution Authorizing the County Board Chair to Surrender/Cancel Tax Sale Certificate of Purchase.
Motion by Wollrab/Laymon to recommend approval of Resolution Authorizing the County Board Chair to Surrender/Cancel Tax Sale Certificate of Purchase.
Motion Carried.
McNeil presented her monthly reports. Ms. McNeil went over tax revenue and indicated that legislation “Level the Playing Field for Illinois Act” was helping them as now out of state vendors need to charge and present local taxes. Mr. Barnett asked if businesses must have physical presence in the State. Ms. McNeil stated now must collect and submit even if no physical presence. Mr. Friedrich asked where those figures were on the report. Ms. McNeil stated it was not a line item as it was not presented to them that way, we were just seeing an overall increase in tax revenue received in the bottom line. She stated that it would be not submitted to Treasurers as it was considered private information that could affect competition. She stated they were also seeing an increase from cannabis dispensary in McLean County. Ms. McNeil then went over shared sales tax and property tax and motor fuel tax revenues.
Ms. McNeil then went over investment report indicating numbers are still not good on investment returns and that she did not feel Fed would be adjusting anything in 2021. She went over numbers for Blue Cross and Nursing Home reports. She stated outstanding AR balance for the Nursing Home continues to decrease. Ms. Metsker stated it was good to see positives on the account receivables and hoped our census numbers increase.
Motion by Thompson/Barnett to accept and place on file the County Treasurer’s Monthly Financial Reports.
Motion Carried.
Kathy Michael, County Clerk presented for action a request to approve a fee increase for marriage and civil union licenses. Ms. Michael stated conducting fee study on all other fees, but this increase was based on statute limits. Ms. Laymon stated it was a large increase and asked about impact to citizens. Ms. Michael stated some will not notice the increase, but they are willing to work with couples to assist. Ms. Laymon asked if assistance is standardized. Ms. Michael stated they consult with legal if someone asks for assistance. Ms. Mead stated change would not go into effect until September 1, so they could get the word out about increase in fee.
Motion by Barnett/Friedrich to recommend approval of a fee increase for marriage and civil union licenses.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Michael presented her monthly reports. Chairman Metsker asked if there were any questions; hearing none, she thanked her.
Ms. Marshell Thomson, Animal Control Director presented for action a request to approve an Animal Control Removal Agreement Template and an Animal Control Shelter Agreement Template. Ms. Thomson went over agreements and reasons for having them with Towns and Villages. Ms. Metsker asked her to confirm these were not for City of Bloomington or Town of Normal. Ms. Thomson confirmed. Ms. Laymon asked about the categories of animal listed. Ms. Thomson indicated assisting animals not listed would fall under other statutory and regulatory guidelines. Ms. Thomson stated they already go into towns and villages and assist with other wildlife removal such as bats.
Motion by Erickson/Thompson to recommend approval of an Animal Control Removal Agreement Template and an Animal Control Shelter Agreement Template.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Thomson presented her monthly reports. She indicated the event at Radar Farm went well. She went over other programs they have in place. Ms. Taylor noted flooding at the Shelter and pointed out that Ms. Thomson and staff worked to make sure animals were safe and cared for and staff were also putting in extra time for clean-up. Mr. Friedrich thanked Ms. Taylor also for her time spent assisting with the flooding. Mr. Thomson asked how deep the water got at the shelter. Ms. Taylor indicated it was deep enough to move the propane tanks at the facility. Ms. Metsker thanked her and staff for work through the flooding. Chairman Metsker asked if there were other questions, hearing nothing, she thanked Ms. Thomson.
Cassy Taylor Interim County Administrator presented for action a request to approve an Intergovernmental Agreement Amending the Enterprise Zone Designation and Operation Criteria. Ms. Taylor stated agreement is an amendment to an incentive program we have in place and asked Mr. Patrick Hoban of the EDC to provide further information. Mr. Hoban stated this State program was originally approved in 2014 and included five units of government. He stated that the standardized incentive had not been utilized and felt there were four projects that would move forward if approved. He went through changes to the agreement.
Mr. Thomson thanked him for work Mr. Friedrich thanked for work and support. Ms. Wollrab asked who is on the board. Mr. Hoban stated two from City, Town and County and then others from private sector that rotate every two years. He stated they audit what is presented. Ms. Wollrab asked about conflict of interest and felt it could be strengthened. Mr. Hoban stated language is from another agreement. Mr. Spanos stated that conflict of interest language has been litigated many times and is not vague. He further stated that he felt the more language you added then the more chance someone else will interpret differently. Mr. Spanos indicated he had no legal issues with this document. Ms. Wollrab stated she felt it could be strengthened. Ms. Metsker asked about statement of economic interest and if board members had to fill one out. Mr. Spanos indicated all public offices did but was not sure the private business owners did. Mr. Hoban indicated that they required an economic statement of interest and had conflict of interest statement all members had to sign. Ms. Wollrab stated she was ok if document EDC had them sign covered conflicts. Ms. Wollrab also pointed out a scrivener error.
Mr. Erickson asked about how they follow up. Mr. Hoban confirmed they verify businesses are meeting requirements. Mr. Erickson asked if they get reports on audit. Mr. Hoban stated information is confidential but elected officials could come by their office to review. Ms. Metsker stated Board gets a letter from the EDC confirming groups have met criteria. Mr. Erickson confirmed incentive has not been provided a few times when companies do not meet criteria. Mr. Friedrich stated he felt there had been some negatives including effects on work force. Mr. Hoban agreed and stated that if we lower thresholds then existing businesses can take advantage of incentive. Ms. Metsker thanked him and his team. Ms. Wollrab asked how they came up with numbers of 25 jobs and amount of $250,000. Mr. Hoban indicated he got numbers from other agreements but also took into account criteria to receive funding through State programs. Mr. Thomson asked if a business had to meet both criteria. Mr. Hoban confirmed a business needed to meet both.
Motion by Barnett/Wollrab to recommend approval of an Intergovernmental Agreement Amending the Enterprise Zone Designation and Operation Criteria
Motion Carried.
Ms. Taylor presented for action a request to approve a position reclassification for a Triage Center Specialist. Ms. Malott went over need for change including statutory requirements as well as education. Also indicated demand for behavioral specialist jobs. Ms. Wollrab asked if job duties changed. Ms. Malott indicated they had not. Ms. Wollrab stated she felt we are trying to get this position paid more instead of changes to the position so this was more about salary structure. Ms. Taylor stated when they started the program from ground up just a couple of years ago they compared with other jobs in the county. She stated that many jobs they compared to were 9 to 5 Monday through Friday and not 24/7 positions, so similar but not exactly the same. Ms. Taylor provided an example of an RN who has different job duties depending on the department they work in. Ms. Taylor further indicated Staff had started the salary study by putting together job titles and comparable data and were also evaluating to determine if they would need to hire an outside consultant. Ms. Metsker stated if there was a shift differential. Ms. Malott stated they do have a shift differential; however, PAM score indicated that this position needed to be adjusted. Ms. Metsker asked about plan to move current employees up in this structure. Ms. Malott stated current employees would be reclassified but would only impact a few positions. She stated this would assist with vacancies.
Motion by Friedrich/Thompson to recommend approval of a position reclassification for a Triage Center Specialist
Motion carried.
Mr. Friedrich left the meeting at 6:01 p.m.
Ms. Taylor presented for action a request to approve a position reclassification for the Public Health Planning and Bioterrorism Coordinator as well as a Resolution Amending the Funded Full-Time Equivalent Position Resolution for the Fiscal Year 2021 Fund 0107 for an OSS I position in the Emergency Preparedness Program. Ms. Taylor stated both are grant positions. Ms. Coverston-Anderson went over changes. She stated they considered the change before COVID but COVID highlighted need for this change. Ms. Metsker stated just because there is overtime it does not justify making position exempt. Ms. Metsker stated it looked like position has decision making authority. Ms. Coverston – Anderson confirmed and went over examples of decision-making authority needed in this position. Ms. Wollrab asked if someone verifies that position meets criteria before make them exempt. Ms. Taylor stated there is administration criteria in the reclassification. Mr. Spanos stated there are legal criteria and asked to review before position was changed. Ms. Metsker asked if they could approve conditionally on legal review. It was confirmed that they could approve, conditional on legal review. Mr. Spanos confirmed he would have information to the members before there was a vote at County Board meeting that month.
Motion by Wollrab/Laymon to Amend to base approval on legal review.
Motion Carried.
Motion by Barnett/Laymon to recommend approval of a position reclassification for the Public Health Planning and Bioterrorism Coordinator and a Resolution Amending the Funded Full-Time Equivalent Position Resolution for the Fiscal Year 2021 Fund 0107 for an OSS I position in the Emergency Preparedness Program. – AS AMENDED.
Motion carried.
Chairman Metsker asked for a motion to go into Closed Session Pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (11) Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting.
Motion by Wollrab/Thompson to move into Closed Session Pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (11) Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting.
Motion Carried.
Finance Committee went into closed session at 6:10 p.m.
Finance Committee returned to open session at 6:56 p.m.
Chairman Metsker presented the Finance Committee with bills in the amount of $978,302.69 for review and approval as transmitted by the County Auditor.
Motion by Thompson/Laymon to approve the presented bills with prepaid total and fund total amount of $978,302.69.
Motion carried.
Under other business Ms. Metsker stated we would be sharing the Board room with the City of Bloomington and asked the Committee on their preference to move meeting to Room 404 on the first Wednesday of the month at 4:30 p.m. or to have a morning meeting on the same day. Committee agreed to move to room 404.
Chairman Metsker asked if there was anything else, hearing nothing she adjourned the meeting at 7:01 p.m.
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