Peoria Standard

Peoria County Board met Dec. 14.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

I. Call To Order

Ii. Moment Of Silence

Iii. Pledge Of Allegiance

Iv. Roll Call By The County Clerk

Attendance was taken with the Roll Call-Pro voting system, and the following members of the Board were present: Baietto, Dillon, Elsasser, Fennell, Harding, Mayer, Morris, O'Neill, Rand, Rieker, Robinson, Rosenbohm, Salzer, Watkins and Williams, with Adamson, Parker, and Pastucha absent.

V. Citizen's Remarks

There were no citizens’ remarks.

Vi. Zoning Ordinance And Resolutions

1. A resolution from your County Operations Committee recommending adoption of a 5% increase in the Peoria County Health Plan Premium from the 2017 level effective January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018.

O’Neill moved to approve the resolution and Rosenbohm seconded. The resolution passed by a roll call vote of 14 ayes and 1 nay, with Harding voting nay.

2. A resolution from your County Operations Committee recommending approval of the FY 2018 Authorized Staffing Count for Administrative Departments.

O’Neill moved to approve the resolution and Watkins seconded. The resolution passed by a roll call vote of 14 ayes and 1 nay, with Harding voting nay.

Pastucha entered the meeting.

3. A resolution from your Infrastructure Committee recommending approval of the FY2018 Capital Improvement Budget and the 2018-2022 Capital Improvement Plan.

Salzer moved to approve the resolution and Fennell seconded. The resolution passed by a unanimous roll call vote of 16 ayes. (Pastucha noted for the record that she meant to vote aye).

4. A joint resolution from your Budget Subcommittee and your Executive Committee recommending approval of the Annual Authorization for Year End Transfers.

Mayer moved to approve the resolution and Robinson seconded. The resolution passed by a roll call vote of 15 ayes and 1 nay, with Harding voting nay. (Watkins noted for the record that he meant to vote aye).

5. A joint resolution from your Budget Subcommittee and your Executive Committee recommending approval to abate the tax levy for the principal and interest payments due in 2018 for:

a. The General Obligation Bonds (alternate revenue source) Series 2010

A and B (partial) b. The General Obligation Bonds (alternate revenue source) Series 2010 F c. The General Obligation Bonds (alternate revenue source) Series 2011

Mayer moved to approve the resolution and Baietto seconded.

Mr. Sorrel explained that the bonds are several outstanding bonds that are called alternate revenue source bonds, which means that the payments are made with something other than property tax. He noted that if the revenue source is insufficient to make the payment, then the Board must levy a property tax to make it. He stated that the resolution says that there are adequate non-property tax revenues available to make the payment, and therefore the Board will not be levying a property tax for these bonds.

The resolution passed by a unanimous roll call vote of 16 ayes.

6. An Executive Committee report submitted by the Executive Committee Chairman and the County Administrator on the 2018 Annual Budget for all Funds, including amendments recommended by all standing committees:

a. Public Safety and Justice Committee – Robert Baietto b. County Operations Committee – Thomas O’Neill c. Land Use Committee - James Dillon d. Infrastructure Committee – Phillip Salzer e. Ways and Means Committee - Allen Mayer f. County Health Committee – Sharon Williams g. Joint Budget Subcommittee / Executive Committee - James Fennell / Andrew Rand

Fennell moved to approve the resolution and Williams seconded.

Chairman Rand recognized all the elected officials and Mr. Sorrel for a very effective budget process.

The resolution passed by a roll call vote of 14 ayes and 2 nays, with Elsasser and Harding voting nay.

7. Adoption of the Annual Tax Levy - All Funds

Fennell moved to approve the resolution and Rieker seconded.

Mr. Sorrel detailed that it is the amount of property tax to be levied based on the equalized assessed value for 2017 used for the County Clerk to calculate the tax bills. He reported that the equalized assessed value rose 1.0% to $3.517 Billion with a levy of $28,981,298, increased by almost $287,000. He informed that the tax rate would be flat at 82.41¢.

The resolution passed by a roll call vote of 15 ayes and 1 nay, with Harding voting nay.

8. Adoption of the Peoria County Annual Budget and Appropriation Ordinance for January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018.

Salzer moved to approve the resolution and Fennell seconded.

Elsasser remarked that he is displeased with the line item for Heddington Oaks of $100,000 for the use of a consultant due to the results in the past, where the results did not match their numbers. He said that he would like to remove that money from the budget and not spend it on the consultant and potentially bring in management companies to make the nursing home more profitable. He expressed that he would be voting against the budget due to the inclusion and that the problems need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Baietto emphasized that the nursing home was built to take care those who could not afford the care and the Board voted to stay in it. He asserted that if a private company came in, it is possible that it would not serve those people.

Williams noted that the inclusion was based on the recommendation from the subject matter experts and asked for Mr. Sorrel to explain what the consultant would be doing.

Mr. Sorrel identified that County Health Committee believes that the nursing home needs a new financial model. He stated that the plan was developed prior to opening and that regulations and service delivery have changed since the plan was implemented. He described that if the budget is approved, there would likely be a contract in front of the Board in February.

Harding highlighted that the issue is one of public safety and it is to give a hand-up, not a hand- out. He noted that the Auditor strongly suggested that the nursing home be privatized on both the operations and management side. He contended that there are other options that could cost less than the budgeted consultant, and if the Board would have listened two or three years ago, it could have invested less, had similar information, and may not be facing the dwindling resources.

Adamson entered the meeting.

The resolution passed by a roll call vote of 14 ayes and 3 nays, with Adamson, Elsasser, and Harding voting nay.

Mayer asked for clarification on the amount that was approved for consulting services for Heddington Oaks. Mr. Sorrel explained that the budgeted amount is $10,000.

Vii. Miscellaneous And Announcements

Chairman Rand recognized Williams for her 5 years of service to the Board.

Williams said that the Board Members are very wonderful to work with and she really enjoys the work.

Viii. Adjournment

There being no further business before the Board, the Chairman announced the meeting was adjourned.

http://www.peoriacounty.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_12142017-466