July Meeting Report

The July 27 meeting of the Tazewell County Board started with two reports from fellow board members:

1) Monica Connett (District 1), shared information regarding a fundraiser for a motorized wheelchair transport bicycle for Schramm School (donations can be made here); and

2) Carroll Imig, the Board's liaison on the Mackinaw Valley Water Authority, provided an update from his day in Springfield at the Mahomet Aquifer Stakeholders' Conference. Among other things, I learned that the aquifer (a water source for a large portion of our county) begins in Pennsylvania and runs to the Illinois River.

After these communications, the Board took the following actions (among other things):

* Approved an engineering agreement with Illinois Department of Transportation for the bridge replacement for Manito Road over the Mackinaw River;

* Appointed those on the County Clerk's Election Judge List; 

* Authorized a replacement hire for a Deputy in the Sheriff's Department; and

* Agreed to annual recycling grant payments to various municipalities for curbside recycling, including Washington and East Peoria.

IMPORTANT NOTE: while the Board approved the Election Judge List, County Clerk Webb confirmed that there is still a need for many more judges, especially for a Presidential election.  If you or someone you know (including older high schoolers with permission) is interested in serving as a judge, please contact the Election Division at (309) 477-2267.

July Board Packet and Financials

Tonight, I uploaded the packet for the July 27 board meeting, along with the accounts payable report. Please let me know if you have any questions on the items appearing for consideration, but I wanted to take a moment to thank all of our election judges who will be officially appointed for the November election during the board meeting.  November 8 could be a very long day for those judges and our County Elections Department, so I encourage you to also thank them when you go vote (either on Election Day or during early voting).

This fall will also bring our Finance Committee together in special sessions to review the draft Fiscal Year 2017 budget.  The calendar of budget meetings has just been released, and if you are interested, please feel free to attend any of the following:

September 6, 3:30pm - Finance Committee

September 14, 3:30pm - Finance Committee

September 19, 3:30pm - Finance Committee (if needed)

October 10, 6:00pm - Tentative Budget presentation to full County Board

October 26, immediately after County Board - Final Budget Hearing 

All meetings will be held in the Carius Community Room (101 S. Capitol Street, Pekin).

The Tazewell County Board convened on June 29, 2016, for its monthly meeting.  Our meeting began with several presentations, including:

* a contribution from the Pekin Dragons Hockey Team to our County Veterans Assistance Commission (VAC) for $2,400+.  The team hosted a "blackout night" in support of veterans, including the sale of commemorative t-shirts. The funds will be used to buy Kroger cards for those in the VAC program.  What a tremendous effort by this group of young people and their families! Thank you!

* the quarterly report from the Greater Peoria Economic Development team.  We received our County's 2015 "elevate" report, which focused on what was learned from visits by EDC representatives to businesses in the County.  Some of the achievements reported include: 45% of the businesses had increased sales, 59% had an increase in their market share, and 7% plan to expand in the near future.  We also heard from the EDC rural development coordinator, and learned about recent studies on various pilot programs for those areas throughout the five county EDC area, and how they may be used in Tazewell County in the future.

In its deliberative actions, the Board, among other things, voted to:

1) Approve the replacement of the existing county garage for the Highway Department using Motor Fuel Tax funds;

2) Approve the annual prevailing wage rate for laborers, mechanics and other workers; and

3) Approve the 1st and 2nd quarterly installment payments to the EDC, but on the condition that the full Board will review the EDC's performance on a quarterly basis.

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the meeting.