The End of 2014

It is hard to believe we are less than three weeks from the start of 2015!  Over the last two months, the Tazewell County Board met at regular and special meetings to address numerous items, including:

-  Passing the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget (October 29th Meeting)

-  Approving the purchase of a storm siren replacement (Oct. 29)

-  Approving a new County Administrator Employment Agreement (Oct. 29)* 

-  Receiving an update on the status of the Pekin Landfill Cap (November 19th Meeting)

-  Receiving a presentation from NOAA certifying the County as "Storm Ready" (Nov. 19)

-  Passing a Resolution Supporting New State Transportation Capital Program (Nov. 19) 

On December 1, the Board gathered at the special time of 9:00am for its re-organizational meeting.  This meeting is required to seat those members elected at the November 4, 2014, General Election.  At that meeting, new County Board Member Mary Jo Holford of Washington was seated along with several of us who were on the previous Board, but were up for election.  I greatly look forward to working with her.

Last night, the County Board gathered to (among other things) hear a report on the safety of the Arcade Building in Pekin.  This report is related to a study the Board commissioned on the County's space needs.  The Board agreed that an immediate plan for the continued safety of the public and the tenants will take a priority while staff will look at the preservation of County records housed in the basement of the building.

* We welcomed Wendy Ferrill as our new County Administrator at our meeting on December 10, as she started on December 8.

Mid October 2014 - Budget Update

On October 14, the Tazewell County Board held a hearing on the tentative budget for Fiscal Year 2015.  As noted on my last post, this hearing was an opportunity for Board members to ask specific questions about the upcoming year's budget.  

After discussion, the Board approved a revised, tentative budget.  The latest version will be presented for final approval on October 29, 2014, and is available for your review now. 

If you have any questions about the tentative budget, please do not hesitate to contact me between now and the 29th.

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In other news:

1) Early voting begins soon in Tazewell County for the November 4, 2014, general election.  Click here to find locations near you.

2) In addition to voting for various local, state, and federal offices, you are also being asked to vote on amendments and an addition to the Illinois Constitution.  If you have not seen one of the blue mailers sent out by the Secretary of State explaining the proposed Constitutional changes, an online version is available here. 

July, August, and September...oh my!

My apologies for letting three months go by without updating you from the latest proceedings of the Tazewell County Board.

The agendas from those meetings are on the county's website (here), but here is a brief rundown of a few of the major items at issue:

July

Resolution HS-14-17 was approved after prior passage out of the Health Services Committee.  This Resolution approved the bid for the Pekin Landfill project.  I personally want to thank the members of the Health Department, Landfill Subcommittee, Health Services Committee, and Board of Health who took the time to talk with me about this situation.

August

Resolutions P-14-23 and P-14-24 were approved after prior passage out of the Property Committee.  These Resolutions approved the bid for the demolition of the structure on Elizabeth Street and for a new HVAC unit for the Health Department.

September

Resolutions E-14-97 and E-14-98 were approved after prior passage out of the Executive Committee.  These Resolutions call for the abatement of real estate taxes for new improvements within what could become two new enterprise zones in Tazewell and Woodford Counties.  These Resolutions were required before applications for these two new zones were submitted to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.  To learn more about enterprise zones, feel free to contact me or go the DCEO's website.    

Looking ahead to October, the Board will review and act on its annual budget.  I still consider myself new (enough) to the Board that it is hard to fully appreciate how much work goes into this process.  Between the countywide office holders (especially our Auditor Vicki Grashoff), staff, Finance Committee, and countless others who put these figures together, discuss and debate the various levels, and then present them all to the full Board, I cannot begin to adequately express my gratitude.

If you are interested in reviewing the Tentative Budget for Fiscal Year 2015, you can view it here.