McLean County Finance Committee met July 6.
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 Gerald Thompson, Chuck Erickson, Josh Barnett, William Friedrich and Val Laymon.
Members Absent: None
Other Members Present: None
Staff Present: Cassy Taylor, County Administrator; Cathy Dreyer, Assistant County Administrator; Anthony Grant, Assistant County Administrator; Christopher Spanos, First Assistant State’s Attorney Civil Division, Taylor Williams, Assistant State’s Attorney – Civil Division; Julie A. Morlock, Recording Secretary
Department Heads/Elected Officials Present: Rebecca McNeil County Treasurer; Molly Evans, Children’s Advocacy Center, Timothy Jorczak, Supervisor of Assessments,
Others Present: Connie Clifford, Assessors Office
Chairman Metsker called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum.
Chairman Metsker presented the April 14, and May 12, 2022, special meeting minutes as well as the June 1, 2022, regular meeting minutes of the Finance Committee for approval.
Motion by Friedrich/Erickson to approve the April 14, and May 12, 2022, special meeting minutes as well as the June 1, 2022, regular meeting minutes of the Finance Committee.
Motion carried.
Chairman Metsker confirmed with Ms. Taylor there were no requests to speak by members of the public or County employees.
Chairman Metsker noted Ms. Kathy Michael, County Clerk was not present and presented on her behalf a request to approve a contract with Cott Systems. Ms. Metsker asked if this was a replacement to the existing contracts. Mr. Bounds indicated this contract would update the scanning process and allow the public access to more records.
Motion by Thompson/Laymon to recommend approval of a contract with Cott Systems.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Metsker presented for action a request to approve an Addendum to Acceptance Agreement with the Illinois State Board of Elections Voter Registration State Grant 2022. Ms. Metsker noted that additional funds were made available to cover election expenditures and went over additional amount the County would receive.
Motion by Erickson/Laymon to recommend approval of an Addendum to Acceptance Agreement with the Illinois State Board of Elections Voter Registration State Grant 2022.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Metsker presented for action a request to approve the Lists of Election Judges. Ms. Laymon asked if this was something that happened on a regular basis. Mr. Spanos noted approval by the County Board is required by statute. He noted the process of approvals had changed a little with the movement of the primary from March to June. Ms. Metsker assured Ms. Laymon this was something they approved on a regular basis. Ms. Metsker thanked the County Clerk election staff for putting the lists together.
Motion by Laymon/Thompson to recommend approval of the lists of Election Judges.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Metsker noted the monthly reports for the County Clerk were in the packet. She noted there are still a large amount of documents being recorded. Chairman Metsker asked if there were any questions; hearing none, she moved to the next item.
Ms. Marshell Thomson, Animal Control Director presented her monthly reports. Ms. Metsker noted positive article in Pantagraph. Ms. Thomson indicated they participated in baby animals’ day at Rader Farm which had been a big success. Ms. Laymon noted the number of dogs being euthanized was still trending up and asked if that was still due to increase in distemper. Ms. Thomson noted recently there had been an increase in parvo and distemper, but also numbers are due to non-socialization of animals, dog bites and police orders.
Ms. Thomson went over numbers of dogs and cats they have and noted they are over capacity. She encouraged people looking for a pet to consider them. She also indicated they are looking for people to foster and volunteer. Ms. Laymon thanked them for the tour and all they do for the animals in the County. Ms. Metsker asked about increased number of dogs and bites. Ms. Thomson indicated dogs they are seeing are not as socialized as they have been in the past and noted they are looking for volunteers to help with socialization of the animals. Ms. Metsker thanked her and her staff. Chairman Metsker asked if there were any further questions; hearing none, she thanked her.
Mr. Timothy Jorczak, Supervisor of Assessments provided a report. Ms. Metsker noted they had not seen this report before. He noted this is equalization season and went on to explain that report from department of revenue outlines EAV and once they receive this report the County has to adjust their 3-year levels to make sure they are at 33 1/3. He stated that this is done to make sure that property is treated equitable across counties and if they do not do it then the Department of Revenue will. He noted the State gets the information for their report from sales transfer information. Mr. Jorczak went over their calculations and how they get the multiplier and then went over the example provided for Old Town township. Discussion about process and where they should direct questions.
Chairman Metsker noted Ms. Michelle Anderson, County Auditor was not present and had nothing in the packet for consideration this month but would have the Single Audit Report next month as there were still things to be finalized on the report due to changes in the federal process.
Ms. Rebecca McNeil, Treasurer presented for action a request to approve an Ordinance by the McLean County Board amending Chapter 205 Fees; Article XIV Tax Sales, Section 38 Authority; amount in the McLean County Code. Ms. McNeil indicated this is a fee that can be adjusted by the County Board and will be beneficial to tax payers. This is for real estate only
as the Mobile Home fee is different. Ms. Metsker asked her to confirm this is a reduction in a fee. Ms. McNeil confirmed.
Motion by Thompson/Barnett to recommend approval of an Ordinance by the McLean County Board amending Chapter 205 Fees; Article XIV Tax Sales, Section 38 Authority; amount in the McLean County Code.
Motion Carried.
Ms. McNeil presented for action a request to approve an Ordinance by the McLean County Board amending Chapter 205 Fees; Article XIV Tax Sales, Section 39 Fund; purpose in the McLean County Code.
Motion by Barnett/Friedrich to recommend approval of an Ordinance by the McLean County Board amending Chapter 205 Fees; Article XIV Tax Sales, Section 39 Fund; purpose in the McLean County Code.
Motion Carried.
Ms. McNeil presented for action a request to approve an Ordinance by the McLean County Board amending Chapter 205 Fees: Article XIV Tax Sales, Section 40 Effective Date in the McLean County Code.
Motion by Laymon/Thompson to recommend approval of an Ordinance by the McLean County Board amending Chapter 205 Fees: Article XIV Tax Sales, Section 40 Effective Date in the McLean County Code.
Motion Carried.
Ms. McNeil presented for acceptance and placement on file her monthly reports. Ms. McNeil went over reports including income tax. She noted changes to prepayments and so we received more earlier in the year. She went over the Investment Report and noted they had moved funds into US treasury and Illinois fund. Mr. Thompson asked what kind of rates they were looking at. Ms. McNeil indicated rate is high at over 1%. She indicated that Fed rate is moving so they would continue to move some funds around. She went over employee benefit fund and noted stop loss fee has been beneficial. She went over nursing home revenue and expenses noting that fund getting low enough on cash that we will have to borrow funds from the General Fund to cover expenses.
Ms. McNeil also provided a report on Property Tax Abatement Agreements. She went over abatements and process. Mr. Thompson asked about total property tax abatement provided in report. Ms. McNeil indicated total provided is for this year only. Ms. McNeil noted that each year may be more as this also takes into consideration growth of company. She noted Rivian was largest abatement it has been because of their growth. Mr. Barnett reminded members that as Mr. Erickson had noted in the past, this is a powerful tool for economic development in our community. He stated that we need to remember that investments in our community may not have occurred without these abatements. He encouraged individuals to get more information if they have questions. Mr. Thompson agreed.
Motion by Friedrich/Thompson to accept and place on file the County Treasurer’s Monthly Financial Reports.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Cassy Taylor, County Administrator presented for action a request to approve a reclassification for the Behavioral Health Project Coordinator Position. Ms. Taylor stated that Ms. Granger-Belcher would be leaving the County as her family is moving and is making adjustments to leave the department in the best possible position. Ms. Taylor indicated this would be for a Supervisor of Behavioral Health areas and would include responsibility for the annual forum. Ms. Metsker asked how this impacts the budget – Ms. Taylor noted this will correlate to other organizational changes which will be a net positive.
Motion by Erickson/Barnett to recommend approval of a reclassification for the Behavioral Health Project Coordinator Position.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Taylor presented for action a request to approve a Position request for CASA Case Manager. Ms. Evans noted they are receiving an increase in funding and have a need as they are only serving about 45% of children in foster care. She noted this would allow them to have an additional part-time employee to supervise more CASA volunteers. She stated because funding is based on the number of individuals they serve they hope the State will increase amount next year. Ms. Metsker asked how fast they will be able to bring those volunteers on board with training. Ms. Evans indicated they provide training 4 times a year and have CASAs waiting for appointments.
Motion by Thompson/Erickson to recommend approval of a Position request for CASA Case Manager.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Taylor presented for action a request to approve a Position reclassification for the Director of Community Education for the Children’s Advocacy Center. Ms. Evans noted they had identified a need in the school setting. As they offer services to adults but now will be offering services in schools. She noted they could not secure all the funding needed so they made some adjustments within the department to meet this need. Ms. Metsker asked about hours this position would be working. Ms. Evans indicate the position would be full-time and there would be meetings after regular hours. Ms. Metsker asked how many schools have currently agreed to sign on. Ms. Evans indicated with only one staff member assigned they only offered in McLean County and have had two school districts (Olympia and Heyworth) and one small private school (St. Mary’s) for a total of about 2,000 students. She indicated Stepping Stones is working with Unit 5 and District 87. Ms. Metsker asked if we are duplicating services. Ms. Evans indicated their curriculum will be different and looking to provide to schools who do not currently have services. Mr. Barnett asked for more information on how program would work. Ms. Evans indicated there would be requirements to take two sessions per class on Aarons law sexual abuse, cyber abuse, physical abuse, trafficking and tools to handle these situations.
Ms. Metsker asked about percentage of time spent on this program. They went over time that would be spent on different areas. Ms. Metsker asked why request not done with the budget cycle. Ms. Evans indicated requesting now because grants are on State fiscal year and school year starts in August. Ms. Taylor noted that they are asking departments to look at grant positions that cover salaries and how to best utilize those positions.
Ms. Laymon asked this will enhance any current education provided in those schools. Ms. Evans indicated Olympia used Stepping Stones before but St. Mary’s did not provide this service before.
Motion by Friedrich/Laymon to recommend approval of a Position reclassification for the Director of Community Education for the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Motion Carried.
Chairman Metsker presented the Finance Committee with bills in the amount of $1,156,230.41 for review, and approval as transmitted by the County Auditor. She noted there were no transfers to come before the Committee.
Motion by Friedrich/Laymon to approve the bills as presented.
Motion carried.
Chairman Metsker asked if there was other business to come before the Committee; hearing nothing, she adjourned the meeting at 5:55 p.m.
https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/8838
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