On July 29, the Tazewell County Board held its regular monthly meeting. Among other things, the Board voted to:
1) Approve an amendment to the Tazewell County Code authorizing fewer restrictions on accessory structures which are built on parcels before a residence is constructed. In short, more discretion is given to our Community Development team versus requiring property owners to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals for most structures (e.g., sheds, etc.), as long as they meet manufacturing specifications;
2) Approve an annual funding agreement with PPUATS (the Peoria/Pekin Urbanized Area Transportation Study). Member Greg Sinn and County Engineer Craig Fink explained to the Board that PPUATS is an entity intertwined with the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission that works on receiving federal funds for long-range traffic plans. Our team works with townships and cities in the County to submit projects for consideration that will help overall transport in what is considered the "urbanized area." While that area does not cover all of Tazewell County (because of the federal definition), we were advised that by participating in PPUATS, we can gain access to $2.3 million in federal funds. Even if we are not awarded funds on a project, we are "way ahead" of our contributions if we win a project once every 20 years; and
3) Approve an increase to the euthanasia fee and/or fee for animals that have bitten. We learned from representatives of our Health Services Committee that the additional fees will be used to cover the new, additional cost to vaccinate all of our Animal Control employees against rabies. While future boosters will be less, the initial vaccinations will cost $5,000.00.
During public/board member comments, the Board also:
1) Determined a meeting of the Board's Legislative Committee was in order to discuss a strategy on reaching out to state legislators on the latest efforts to pass a state budget. Unless/until a budget is in place, the state will not distribute Motor Fuel Tax funds, which fund another significant piece of road projects in our county, cities, and townships. It was stated that we would be out of our MFT fund reserve by the end of this calendar year; and
2) On a similar note, the Tazewell County Health Department is still receiving some state funding on existing contracts, but new contracts are contingent upon appropriations in a new state budget. With no state budget, the Health Department is without a mechanism to receive federal funds, too. Thanks to our Health Department's leadership and County Board of Health, we are assured that appropriate monitoring and actions are always being considered. An important note - even if a budget is enacted, we are told that at least 30-45 days will pass before any related funds are finalized and routed to the related agencies.
If you have any questions about additional items on the agenda, please do not hesitate to contact me.
