After six months...

Tonight's Board meeting was another blend of full Board action and "In-Place" Committee meetings, which allowed the Board to accomplish all of the items on its agenda this evening.

The Board first heard from Circuit Clerk Lincoln Hobson, who provided an update on the transformations that office has seen since he was sworn in late last year.  Many modern changes have occurred, and I have witnessed them first hand when visiting that office during my "day job" as a lawyer.  Congratulations to Circuit Clerk Hobson and his tremendous team.

Following that report, the Board, among other things, approved:

* the auction of County surplus property on September 28, 2013

* a request to approve the filling of a position at the Regional Office of Education; and

* the appointment of Terry Hillegonds to the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission.

The Board also considered and passed an emergency declaration to waive the formal bidding process to allow the Tazewell County Health Department to obtain a high speed source for internet.  This connection was required by the State of Illinois to ensure the County received continued funding in various programs (such as the Women, Infants, and Children program, or "WIC"), which now utilize high speed applications.  The emergency was declared due to time constraints, and most importantly, without this technological upgrade, over 2,000 WIC families in Tazewell County would have their nutritional assistance affected on a monthly basis.  A special thank you goes to Amy Tippey, the Administrator of the Tazewell County Health Department, and her staff for answering our questions tonight and their dedication to making sure this need was met. 

After five months...

Both before and during the July Board meeting, the members heard about and discussed many issues influencing the residents of Tazewell County.

Prior to the meeting, Chairman Zimmerman held a press conference to discuss a new program developed by Tazewell County to help lower prescription drug costs for its residents.  The plan, through ProAct, Inc., is at no cost to you or the county.  It is designed for those who do not have insurance or if something is not covered by your current insurer, and all prescription medications are covered at a discounted rate.  

If you need a card, click here for more information. 

We also heard from Vice Chairman Neuhauser about the new "Heart of Illinois 2-1-1" service.  This partnership is between the Heart of Illinois United Way and Advanced Medical Transport of Central Illinois.

While 9-1-1 remains the number for emergencies, 2-1-1 connects callers to basic needs such as food and shelter, support groups, financial assistance, protective services, and home-delivered meals for seniors.  Should an emergency arise during the course of your 2-1-1 call, you can be transferred to the 9-1-1 call center immediately.

Should you want more information on this service to share with others, you can contact Gina Edwards of the United Way at 309-674-5181 or gina.edwards@unitedway.org.

During the meeting, the Board approved numerous contracts for road repairs throughout the County, and approved annual recycling grant payments to municipalities (including East Peoria and Washington).

Other items acted upon by the Board included the acceptance of the resignation of County Engineer John Anderson, effective December 31, 2013.  John has been a tremendous asset to the County (and me personally in my role as counsel for township road districts and as a County Board member).  We all wish him well during his last several months at the County and during his retirement.

The Board also voted to discontinue its members' participation in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.  I wanted to personally thank all of the Board members for a civilized and thorough debate at our June and July meetings, and also to the many constituents who went out of their way to share their concerns with me on this issue.

The latest schedule of meetings for August is available here.

After four months...

(This month's blog has a co-author: fellow Board Member Andrew Rinehart)

With summer officially here, the County Board began addressing some "hot" topics during its meeting of June 26th.  Specifically, the Board (among other things) looked at new precincts and discussed its continued participation in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund ("IMRF") pension system.

1) New Precincts for Morton and Washington

On the "Consent Agenda," the Board was asked to (and did) approve the addition of precincts to both Morton and Washington Townships.  The hope is that these new precincts best address the growing populations in each area, and in turn, can lead to shorter lines at your polling place(s) during elections.  We greatly appreciated the fact that the Township officials in those areas were advised of the proposed changes to make sure their input was received and considered. 

For your reference, here are the "before" and "after" maps for each area (if you are unable to view them on your computer, let me know, and I can email them to you):

Morton Township

Washington Township

2) Continued Participation in Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF)

The Board also considered its continued participation in IMRF.  This is a pension system authorized by state statute for elected officials and employees of various units of government.  Presently, Tazewell County Board members have the right to participate in IMRF (although Andrew and I do not participate).  In light of the (understandably) heightened scrutiny placed on public pension systems, IMRF has begun a series of audits, and have asked government bodies to reassess their continued participation.  Essentially, the governing boards are being asked to: 1) vote to continue participation, but members be prepared to document their time and/or certify in a sworn statement that they work the requisite number of hours on official business per year (1,000 hours for Tazewell County); or 2) vote to discontinue participation.

After some spirited, yet respectful, debate at our meeting, the Board voted 11-10 to table this issue so further questions could be asked of the local IMRF representative.  Both Andrew and I were among the 10 members who were prepared to vote to discontinue participation. We feel that by voting to discontinue participation in the IMRF pension system, we could immediately put an end to the threat of an audit and any potential penalty that could arise for the County, individual board members and ultimately, the citizens of Tazewell County.  

Of course, we encourage you to let us and the other board members that represent you know how you feel about the IMRF pension system for the Tazewell County Board.