And just like that...it is 2018!

Hello, strangers!

I know it seems like ages since you received a notification of a new post.  While admittedly, my goal is to lessen the number of times I clutter your inbox, I did not anticipate many months to pass without an update!

There are many reasons/excuses for the delay, but that is not important right now.  What's important is bringing you up to speed on where things stand with the County Board.

1) In September, we heard our quarterly update from the Greater Peoria EDC.  We were pleased to hear that employment rates for the County are up, compared to the state and federal averages.  We also approved the various ordinances creating the Heritage Lake Special Service Area, which requires a separate Commission to oversee the expenditure of those funds raised from Heritage Lake taxpayers for their infrastructure upgrades.

2) In October, the Board appointed a new Coroner to serve out the remainder of Dr. Baldi's term (Brian Foley of Minier).  October is also "final budget review month," and accordingly, passed the annual budget.  I cannot thank our "Finance Team" and Department heads enough for all of their effort to try and put together the best budget possible.  While not everyone voted for the budget that night, I did because I knew that even though we approved a budget with a deficit, our team is committed to investing in not only the current level of services our residents expect, but also planning for future infrastructure needs, despite the continued increase of unfunded mandates imposed on us by the state and federal governments.  To try and ease the strain, the Board implemented a temporary hiring freeze, and established a Budget Deficit Committee which will meet regularly to monitor the status of income and expenditures, as well as open the floor to Board members and Department heads on short and long-term ideas for this and future budgets.  

3) In November, the Board approved various contracts on necessary bridge and road contracts, as well as the purchase of a used vehicle for County Emergency Management. The Board also approved various intergovernmental agreements where the County will provide animal control services for numerous municipalities within our borders.

The Board did not meet in December (as is tradition), but all of our Committees are very active in anticipation of the January Board meeting this week.

As always, please contact me with any questions.

May, June, and July - Oh my!

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, I realized I had not put up a new post on the blog since the April Board meeting!  I have been posting agendas and board packets since that time, but felt it was important to send you all a brief update on a few important items:

1) As with all units of local government, we all are keeping a close eye on expenditures. The County Auditor recently provided us with a Second Quarter Financial Report.  A copy of it can be found here.

2) On a related note, the County is already actively preparing for the Budget cycle for the upcoming fiscal year.  This will include various meetings and hearings of the Finance Committee, and eventually, the full Board.  A calendar of the Budget calendar can be found here.  The public is welcome to attend any and all of these.

3) Finally, on the July Board agenda, you will see two "emergency declarations" for purchases.  The documents explaining the reasons behind the purchases are available on the "Board Packet" page of the blog, but since these involve a substantial amount of money without going out for bids (as authorized under the law in emergencies such as this), please feel free to contact me with any questions on them (or anything else you see on the agenda).

April Board Meeting

The Tazewell County Board convened at 6:00pm on April 26.

The meeting began with the recognition of retiring Board Member, Jerry Vanderheydt. Later in the meeting, Frank Sciortino was appointed to fill the remainder of Jerry's term. I enjoyed working with Jerry (and learned a lot from his level, calm temperament), and look forward to working with Frank.

We then heard from our Finance Director, Craig Peters, with his budget forecasting report for the first quarter of our fiscal year.  Craig reported that for that period (ending February 28, 2017), the total revenue was $93,000.00 over budget.  There are still some unanswered questions as to whether the state will fulfill its obligations on payments to the County, but our Finance Team will continue to monitor the situation and provide regular reports.  To see Craig's full report, click here.

In other business, the Board:

* approved the bid to replace the Wick Building at the Highway Department facility in Tremont.  This building will provide a cleaner, more efficient location to house and clean Highway Equipment, and also offer a storm shelter for the Department's employees; and

* agreed to enter into a Feasibility Study Agreement with the United States Department of the Army wherein the Army Corps of Engineers will undertake a series of tests to determine if there are better ways to protect Wagonseller Road as it crosses the Mackinaw River.