The September 30 meeting of the Tazewell County Board was called to order at 6:00pm. Chairman Zimmerman led us in prayer, and we then segued into our newly-aligned agenda (see item #4 for more details).
Among other things, the Board voted to approve:
1) the lowest responsible bid for the demolition of a storage building and lean-to area at the County's Tremont campus. Our property committee discussed the condition of both structures during its "in-place" committee meeting, and learned that the demolition will include the removal of the concrete footings, too;
2) a change in our current insurance premium for County employees. Specifically, under requirements of the Affordable Care Act, employers are capped by an Internal Revenue Service formula as to the amount of premium they can charge an employee (the law requires a premium to be "affordable"). Over the last several months, it was determined that some employees could be charged over that cap if current calculations remain in place. Therefore, thanks to County Administrator Ferrill, we caught this issue in time and we able to act to reduce premiums where necessary before that became an issue. Again, this change will only impact employees who were running up against the IRS cap;
3) the 2015 Legislative Agenda for the County. Legislative Committee Chairman Andrew Rinehart worked hard on this agenda, and it will now be submitted to our lobbyist to include it in its overall plan for the upcoming session(s) of the General Assembly; and
4) the new Rules of Order and Procedure of the Board. Board Members Sinn and Harris requested amendments in the draft presented to allow for Chairman Zimmerman to appoint what has been known in the past as the "order of next" - essentially, a line of succession - for the Board and Committees so there is no dispute as to who will head these meetings in case of the absence of the respective chairs and vice chairs. Chairman Zimmerman indicates he will likely create this "order" using seniority.
Again, I want to thank our ad hoc Rules Committee and our County Board Clerk (Sue Beeney) for their hard work, as we now have an agenda where the public will have a right to speak before our Board and Committees take any action.
If you want a copy of the new rules, let me know, It may take a bit to get them to you, but I am happy to do so. Currently, I am in the process of working with the Assistant State's Attorney Mike Holly (who serves on my committee) to draft a final version to include the amendments passed last night.
