Peoria Standard

Woodford County Finance and Economic Development Committee met Sept. 10.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

1. Call to Order

2. Roll Call – Chuck Nagel (chairman), Richard Hill (vch.), Russ Cotton, Bryant Kempf, Josh Davis all present.

3. Approval of Minutes

a. Approval of August 13, 2019 Regular Meeting

Motion to approve August 2019 minutes made by Hill, seconded by Kempf. Motion passed.

4. Public Input

5. Approval of Claims

6. Treasurers Report

There are positive balances in all funds. The Sheriff's vehicle and equipment fund is still being monitored. The revenue coming in from the fees collected for that fund has gone down, so that may need to be addressed in the future. The second installment in taxes was received and the second distribution will be next week. The three businesses in the revolving loan program are still paying. SMF has mailed a check to pay off their loan and we should be receiving it in the next few days. There are no concerns with the comparison report, revenue is steady.

7. Budget

a. U of I Extension - Bobby Sibley

Bobby Sibley from the U of I Extension explained where the funding comes from to run the programs and what services/classes the Extensions provides to the community. Funding comes from Federal funds, the University of Illinois, the State, Counties, and a state county matching fund. For almost four years the state did not give any money to the Extension through the matching program. They also receive money from donations and grants. The levy has stayed the same for several years because of grants. She went over some of the programs that they provide. It was asked who to call should a farmer have a question, She encouraged the farmers to continue to call them. They still provide the service, but it is split now between three counties instead of Woodford County having their own individual. They have cut administration to increase educators to provide more programs that the counties request. The committee felt that after her presentation there was a lot of duplicate services that the health department already provided, or businesses provided. She explained that they work with the health department and businesses, that if a program was duplicated, they would not offer that program. The committee felt that originally the extension was based on agriculture, and has now moved away from agriculture. Discussion on where the money goes. It was asked how many 4-H participants there are in Woodford County and the cost per participant to run 4-H. There are 304 individuals who participate in Woodford County 4-H and they could not give an answer to the cost per participant. It was asked - 4-H seems to be the biggest program, if it cost $20 per participant, and they have 1,000 participants, that is only $20,000. So where is the other $140,000 that we pay being spent on. She stated that salaries and benefits were the biggest expense they have. The comunittee felt that the programs they are providing migrate more to the bigger communities than the rural communities like Woodford County. The committee suggested that they start getting kids involved in more hands on projects. Kids need to learn basic skills and not so much computer based programs.

b. Discussion and approval of 2019/2020 budget

Overall departments did well in keeping their budgets within a 1-3% increase. The committee will be looking at salary requests in executive session and how they affect all employees. It was suggested that we need to move toward developing a questionnaire to ask other counties similar to ours on how they evaluate non-union or elected employees. Those questions could include things like - job descriptions, pay, etc. An employee needs to know what is expected of them in order to do their job. They went over the extra ordinary expenses that were submitted. Ms. Breyman asked to increase a line item now that we know what the cost of Office 365 will be. Mr. Moore asked to increase a line item, as they will not receive the invoice till next fiscal year's budget. He also asked for direction on how to request an extra ordinary expense.

8. New Business

a. Discussion on 3% tax on cannabis retailer's tax.

Even if the county put a moratorium on the cannabis dispensaries, we can still collect a 3% tax should a municipality decide to allow dispensaries. There may be some activities that would spill over into the county from these dispensaries that would increase cost to the county. The tax could help cover those costs. And those tax funds could also be used for programs like D.A.R.E. to help in the prevention of drug use. This only applies to recreational cannabis.

9. Unfinished Business

a. Approval of Resolution 2018/19 #68 to send RLF money to State

Sally Hanley participated via phone. There was a late change in the resolution, which was handed out. Chip Energy and Zimmerman have both expressed a desire to take the 30% forgiveness and refinance their loans. They both bank at Goodfield State Bank, and because of the banks' lending practices, they are not able to get the financing by the deadline. They have been given to the end of December to secure financing. At that time if they do not have financing, the county would have to take from the general fund to send approximately $143,000 to the state to cover the loans, and we would continue to receive payments from Chip Energy and Zimmerman. These loans have to be paid off through the state before we can submit our application. The person now evaluating the projects will allow fixture changes in bathrooms to meet ADA standards. The time frame is changing - public hearings will now be held in November so the cost numbers can be more accurate. Discussion on if our position changes if we should have to take over the note. We will still be in position 2, as the bank will remain in position 1. It was asked what the turnaround time for receiving the money back from the state if we submit the check to the state in September. More than likely, the state will wait to send the check until the design work is all done. We hope to have construction work starting in April. Motion to approve the revised resolution to send the money to the state made by Cotton, seconded by Hill. Motion passed.

b. Update on Organic Farming/ Mayors Meeting

At the last Mayor meeting Pete Wettstein spoke. He has been an industrial hemp grower for several years. Industrial hemp is global. Woodford County is the largest industrial hemp producer in the state. We need to brand our county as such. Mr. Nagel participated in a 30 second commercial about Woodford County in which this was mentioned.

10. Other The Sheriff explained about receiving the STEP grant and changes to his budget because of that grant. This grant is used for hire backs to run traffic situation violations - speeding, texting while driving, seat belts, etc. In order to spend the money, it has to be appropriated, so the sheriff increased a couple line items to include the grant. He also provided the committee with a plan for converting the current board room over to probation offices. This committee asked for a plan before they would consider spending money.

11. Executive Session

a. 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(1)-Discussion on the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees.

Motion to go into executive session made by Davis, seconded by Cotton. Roll call vote - Kempf - yes; Davis - yes; Hill - yes; Cotton - yes; Nagle-yes. Motion passed.

12. Any Action Coming Out of Executive Session

a. S ILCS 120/2 (c)(1) - Discussion on the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees. None.

13. Adjournment

Motion to adjourn made by Kempf, seconded by Hill, Motion passed.

Meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM.

https://www.woodford-county.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09102019-975