Peoria Standard

Peoria County Board - County Operations Committee met May 23.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

MEMBERS PRESENT:	Steve Rieker – Chairperson; Eden Blair – Vice-Chairperson; Jennifer Groves Allison, Camille Coates, Brian Elsasser, Nathan Hoerr, Danny Phelan, Rob Reneau, Sharon Williams
MEMBERS ABSENT:	Brandy Bryant
OTHERS PRESENT:	Scott Sorrel – County Administrator; Shauna Musselman – Assistant County Administrator, Jennie Cordis Boswell - State's Attorney's Office; Angela Loftus, Gretchen Pearsall – County Administration; Heather McCord – Chief Financial Officer; Rachael Parker – County Clerk; Nicole Bjerke – County Treasurer

Call to Order

Chairperson Rieker called the meeting to order at 12:47 p.m.

Approval of Minutes

A motion to approve the minutes of April 25, 2023 was made by Dr. Blair and seconded by Mr. Phelan. The motion carried.

A motion to allow the participation of Mr. Elsasser via teleconference was made by Mr. Reneau and seconded by Dr. Blair. The motion carried unanimously.

Informational

• Workforce Report

Mr. Sorrel advised that the current report covers applicants, new hires, demographics, and separations for April 2023 and a comparison of April 2022 and April 2023 figures. He noted that April hires do not directly correlate to positions that became vacant in April, due to the differing length of time to fill the various positions.

Mr. Phelan asked if all departments conduct exit interviews, and Mr. Sorrel remarked that exit interviews are not uniformly conducted. Dr. Blair suggested including additional information on positions that are difficult to fill.

(Mr. Elsasser enters meeting.)

• Vacancy Report

Ms. Loftus advised that the vacancy report displays number of FTE positions budgeted in FY2023 by department, the number of positions filled by department, and vacant positions by department.

A brief discussion ensued as to the overfilled position count in the Coroner’s Office, with Ms. Musselman explaining that offices under the purview of the County Administrator are tied to the budgeted number of positions, while elected offices are not tied to a specific number; however, elected office must still stay within their budgeted appropriation.

Informational

• Comprehensive Human Capital Management Study RFP and Budget Amendment

Mr. Rieker remarked that although this item was originally on the agenda as a resolution, the topic is being presented as informational to allow for committee discussion and initial feedback on desired outcome and scope.2

Mr. Sorrel noted that a Comprehensive Human Capital Management Study has been a top priority identified in the County Administrator evaluation. He stated that although $300,000.00 in funding for the project was approved in the FY2023 budget by the County Board, the RFP proposals received for the project have exceeded the amount budgeted. He noted that the request coming before this committee is for an additional appropriation of $150,000.00 to cover the remaining cost.

Ms. Musselman summarized the scope and key components of the intended study. She remarked that the study is designed to examine compensation structure within the organization.

Committee discussion ensued, with Mr. Sorrel and Ms. Musselman answering questions and concerns related to the project. In response to several questions related to internal staff conducting this study, Ms. Musselman advised that although staff can and have conducted benchmarking, surveys, etc. internally, it would be difficult operationally to conduct a study of this size and scope. She added that there would be a benefit to having a company with actuarial background to collect and analyze the data, and to provide a solid recommendation.

Mr. Rieker advised he will reach out to committee members for further discussion, feedback, and potential options.

Public Comment

Chairperson Rieker called for any public comment. There were no public comments.

Miscellaneous

Mr. Rieker noted that hiring practices within several Peoria County offices and departments Peoria County may not be in compliance with county processes. He requested that Mr. Sorrel work with the HR Team to provide a substantive report regarding current compliance to the HR hiring process and recommendations on ensuring countywide compliance.

A motion to go into executive session to discuss Pending Litigation was made by Mr. Elsasser and seconded by Mr. Hoerr. The motion carried (9-0).

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Regular session resumed upon a motion by Dr. Blair and second by Ms. Williams.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned by Chairperson Rieker at 1:58 p.m.

https://www.peoriacounty.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06272023-1446