Peoria Standard

Peoria County Board met Oct. 12.

Attendance

Present:

Members: Jennifer Groves Allison, Eden Blair, Brandy Bryant, Camille Coates, Linda Daley, Jimmy Dillon, Betty Duncan, Nathan Hoerr, Daniel Kelch, Danny Phelan, Rob Reneau, Steve Rieker, Paul Rosenbohm, Terrence Ruhland, Phil Salzer, Sharon Williams, Matt Windish

Absent:

Members: Brian Elsasser

CALL TO ORDER

MOMENT OF SILENCE

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

ROLL CALL BY THE COUNTY CLERK

I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Member Salzer moved to approve the September 14, 2023, minutes and Member Duncan seconded. The minutes were approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

II. CITIZENS' REMARKS

Kimberly Strack addressed the Board and handed 416 signed petition cards to the County Board in support of a moratorium on CO2 pipelines until the US Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration updates their regulations.

Tracy Fox addressed the Board concerning the Wolf ADM CO2 Pipeline.

III. CONSENT AGENDA

C1. September 2023 Treasurer's Board Report

C2. The Auditor's report of expenditures from Accounts Payable system is accessible at www.peoriacounty.gov/auditor/transparency.

C3. Delinquent Tax Resolution - September 2023

C4. Increase FY2023 authorized full-time equivalent staffing county in PCAPS Department to accommodate a Medical Services Officer

C5. Chairman Appointments

Member Rosenbohm moved to approve the Consent Agenda and Member Blair seconded. The Consent Agenda was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

IV. ZONING ORDINANCE AND RESOLUTIONS

1. Case ZBA-2023-0036, RPIL Solar 7, LLC.

Member Rosenbohm moved to approve the petition and Member Daley seconded. Member Rosenbohm explained this was a solar facility that is located West of Grand Prairie on Route 150. The petition was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

2. Case ZBA-2023-0040, Marilyn Strickfaden.

Member Rosenbohm moved to approve the petition and Member Daley seconded. The petition was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

3. Approval of Collective Bargaining Agreement between Peoria County and ASFCME-PCEA Local 3586 and FY2023 Budget Amendment (Pending Committee Approval)

Member Rieker moved to approve the resolution and Member Blair seconded. Member Blair thanked Shauna Musselman, Assistant County Administrator, and her team, as well as Rachael Parker, County Clerk, for representing the elected officials and the employees who were able to come to a mutually agreed upon decision. The resolution was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

4. FY2024 Authorized Staffing Count for Peoria County Administrative Departments

Member Rieker moved to approve the resolution and Member Duncan seconded. The resolution was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

5. Adoption of Peoria County's Employee Health Plan Premium Increase and Subsidy

Member Rieker moved to approve the resolution and Member Blair seconded. The resolution was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

6. Local Agency Agreement for participation in the IL Department of Transportation's 2024 County Engineer's Salary Program

Member Salzer moved to approve the resolution and Member Kelch seconded. Member Rosenbohm asked for the amount of savings to the County by participating in the program. Member Salzer explained the contract is for six years with the option within that time to increase the salary of Amy, McLaren, County Engineer. He emphasized that the County saves about half of the County Engineer's salary by participating in this program. The resolution was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

7. Annual Authorization for Year End Transfers

Member Williams moved to approve the resolution and Member Daley seconded. Member Rieker asked Shauna Musselman, Assistant County Administrator, to explain to the public what this means. Assistant Administrator Musselman conveyed this is a part of general housekeeping that is done. She reported this resolution gives the County Administrator authority to authorize any budgetary transfers in Period 13 at the end of the year which may be needed between line items to cover any outstanding bills. The resolution was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

8. Abatement of Tax Levy for Principal and Interest Payments due in FY2024 for General Obligation Bonds

Member Williams moved to approve the resolution and Member Hoerr seconded. Member Williams asked Assistant County Administrator Shauna Musselman to explain the resolution Assistant County Administrator Musselman said generally a levy would be done within the debt service fund however since there are two alternative revenue sources one for each of the bonds. She identified that the first one listed is for the Riverfront Museum where the public facility sales tax is utilized to pay the debt. She stated the second one is for Heddington Oaks which has its own property tax levy, so they do not need to levy within the debt service fund and this resolution authorizes us not to have to do that. The resolution was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

9. Adoption of the Annual Tax Levy

Member Williams moved to approve the Annual Tax Levy and Member Bryant seconded. Heather McCord, Chief Financial Officer, presented a PowerPoint presentation to the Board regarding the Annual Tax Levy. Member Williams asked on average how many open positions at one time does the County have. Ms. McCord said it was around 10%. Member Reneau asked if the unused money for personnel goes back into each department's fund balance reserve. Ms. McCord stated technically most of the money rolls back into the general fund reserves, not the department. Member Phelan inquired as to how many days these vacancies have been open. Ms. McCord noted that would be more of a question for HR. Ms. Musselman remarked she would talk to Angela Loftus, Director of Human Resources, to see what information they can gather to provide to County Operations and the full Board. Member Rieker asked if she could explain the $4.6 million reserve use. Ms. McCord described the fund balance reserve as a savings account, money that is put away for future use. Member Rieker thanked Ms. McCord for her explanation. Member Ruhland asked Ms. Musselman if the County is actively trying to fill open positions. Ms. Musselman mentioned the County does actively recruit for the open positions.

She explained that the elected official or department head goes through HR who verifies it is an approved vacancy within the budget and funding is available. She stated the position is then posted for that department and they work with them to post the position in other areas if they want. She said once the applicant is selected, then the onboarding process is started. Chairman Dillon gave the example of two new hires in Maintenace at the Courthouse and one at JDC. He explained that before those positions were not getting filled due to only being paid $17-$18 an hour and once the pay was increased it attracted people with maintenance expertise to join our team. Chairman Dillon explained a subsidy on insurance has taken place over the last couple of years asked Assistant County Administrator Musselman to explain how we arrived at that and how much we pay on the health insurance. Ms. Musselman explained the employee health fund is not paid out of the general fund but funded by two main revenue sources. She said the first is the employer's share of the premium, which is paid out of each department's budget and the second is the employee premium which is payroll deducted. She mentioned they partner with Nyhart, an actuary, looking at our claims and giving us an estimate of what we would need in the employee health fund. She noted that once those premiums are set they have to look at the threshold in the Affordable Care Act of affordable coverage, they look at labor agreements, the anticipated budget adoption numbers for wage increases the following year and finally look at everyone on the health plan and run the numbers to make sure that anyone on the premium level would have less take home pay the following year because of the health insurance premiums. She reported this was the first year they did a subsidy on the employee share only, single coverage because the test showed they were $10 off. The Annual Tax Levy was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

10. Adoption of the Peoria County Annual Budget and Appropriation Ordinance for January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024

a. Floor Amendment #1 - Appropriate Funding for 2024 Personnel Expenses related to AFSCME-PCEA Agreement (pending approval of Agenda Item #3)

Member Williams moved to approve the Annual Budget and Appropriation Ordinance and Member Blair seconded. Member Rieker moved to approve Floor Amendment #1 and Member Reneau seconded. The amendment was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes. Member Williams read a prepared statement. She thanked Heather

McCord, Julie Kusturin, their team, administration, elected officials, and department heads as well as Members Bryant, Daley, Rieker, Reneau, and Phelan. She explained the Board has two main priorities, which include infrastructure by taking care of their facilities and paying off the Heddington Oaks bonds in nine years. She voiced concerns about the timeline. She explained the Board was given the budget, a 500-page document, and only had 13 days to review it before committee meetings. She mentioned the Board Members still have many questions, but it is also a living document the County Finance Committee will continue to work on the concerns of Board Members. She asked for the Board to support the 2024 budget. Member Ruhland conveyed his support for the budget specifically because he knows how hard Member Williams and everyone involved have worked. He noted they have ignored the revenue versus reserve policy and in eight years tough decisions will be made due to not having any reserves. He also mentioned the proposal, which was made by Member Williams weeks ago, to pay off Heddington Oaks in 9 years isn't reflected in this budget. He recommended every month there is a discussion on what needs to be done or changed. He noted he is supporting this but hopes that it does not stay in its current form. Member Daley recognized the work Member Williams put into this and agreed after the first of the year spending more time going over these things. She explained whether it is our increase in full-time equivalents over the last two years which has been substantial or the Heddington Oaks bonds. She commented she was very happy with the focus on infrastructure and appreciates Member William's articulation of how the majority of the Board feels. Member Phelan agreed with Member Ruhland about keeping an eye on the living document and changing or amending it as needed. He conveyed he was naive before becoming a Member of the Board and felt 13 days was plenty of time. He recognized it isn't nearly enough time to facilitate conversations and ensure we are asking all the right questions for our constituents. He asked for consideration for next year the timeline be extended. Chairman Dillon explained next year they will be looking at a November timeframe or possibly a special meeting for insurance and making sure they have the most accurate numbers. Member Blair mentioned she enjoyed being able to attend the budget meetings where she got to ask a lot of questions and felt like she understood it. She remarked she hopes that continues in the future. Chairman Dillon thanked the staff for all the meetings they had and for answering all the questions he asked on behalf of himself and the entire team. The motion as amended was approved by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

11. SUSPENSION OF RULES

Member Phelan moved to suspend the rules, and Member Groves-Allison seconded. Chairman Dillon explained that the rules must be suspended to vote on the following item because it did not come through the committee before coming to the full Board. The motion was passed by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

12. Emergency Declaration for the gate at the Peoria County Jail

Member Daley moved to approve the Emergency Declaration and Member Groves-Allison seconded. Chairman Dillon explained that the gate has been in disrepair and neglected by the budget for the last few years. He noted that it also led to a prisoner escaping while taking out garbage. He reported this isn't something that can wait multiple months and the work will be done by a local company at a fair price and Randy Brunner, Finance Director for the County Sheriff's Office agreed. Member Salzer asked if this was something the County Administrator could handle due to it being under $20,000. Chairman Dillon explained that the project is being done for $69,000. The motion was passed by a unanimous roll call vote of 17 ayes.

V. MISCELLANEOUS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Member Phelan asked if he could be provided with a list of constituents who signed petitions for the CO2 pipeline.

Member Groves-Allison congratulated the JDC on their reaccreditation for quality health services for youth in custody.

Member Reneau invited everyone to Richwoods on Wednesday. He mentioned the Marching Knights will be performing their halftime show for friends and family, which they are extremely proud of since they have had some hard times gaining membership back after COVID.

Member Salzer remarked that after three months of forgetting his iPad, he finally remembered it for this meeting and didn't even get to use it.

Rachael Parker, Peoria County Clerk, the County Clerk now has an app that is available to the public to download. She mentioned that not only does it include information for the County Clerk's Office but it also includes a link to the Election Commission website to assist the public with voting-related questions.

Chairman Dillon thanked Shauna Musselman, Assistant County Administrator for filling in at the meeting.

VI. ADJOURNMENT

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

https://www.peoriacounty.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10122023-1514