Sangamon Sun

Hancock County Finance Committee met Dec. 12

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

The meeting was called to order by chairman Wayne Bollin at 8:56 a.m. Members in attendance included Harry Douglas, Dennis Castlebury, Alex Blythe, Steve Lucie, Lee Ann Lambert, Joe Boyles, and Mark Menn. Visitors included Kris Pilkington, Keara Weber, Michael McVey, Holly Wilde-Tillman, Josh Smith, and Travis Duffy.

Mr. Bollin welcomed the new members of finance, we learn a lot each year, we have great department heads who are conservative and try to keep their budgets as low as possible.

Mr. McVey spoke about the CAMA software. This is an appraisal software that hooks up with the DEVNET system.   The township assessors are using cost manuals from 2000. This makes their job faster, keeps track of depreciation, assess everything separately including porches, sheds, garages, etc. Mr. Lucie was worried about property taxes going up. Ms. Wilde-Tillman stated this is something that the previous Supervisor of Assessments had wanted to implement. Mr. Bollin stated we would table this for a month, have the States’ Attorney go over the contract, and see where the funds would come out of.

Ms. Weber passed out her financial report. She has $2.3 million in outstanding fines. She talked about how fines are estimate and the different schedules of the fines. The guidelines are set by the state. There is no consequence for not paying fines.

Ms. Pilkington went over the treasurer reports for the ambulance. They received their final distribution the day after Thanksgiving. There are new line items. She questioned the line item for law library and law library fund. Mr. Bollin stated we could dismantle those. There was discussion regarding the retention grant for the sheriff’s department.   Motion to remove $50,000 in revenue from the sheriff’s grant and move it to the general fund was made by Mr. Blythe, seconded by Mr. Castlebury. A roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion carried. 

Further discussion ensued. Josh Smith was called on the phone and arrived at the meeting to discuss the sheriff’s retention and recruitment grant. There was discussion regarding if they needed to be certified to get the grant payout. Mr. Smith stated it was also for recruitment.

Mr. Lucie moved to approve a credit card in the amount of $5000 for Michael McVey. Mr. Boyles seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion carried.

Ms. Wilde-Tillman stated there are a lot of surplus items and she is in the process of cleaning up the courthouse for the bicentennial celebration on January 13. A list will be made of the surplus items. Motion to approve the surplus items be disposed of was made by Mr. Blythe, seconded by Mr. Lucie. All members present voted aye.

The union negotiations for the FOP are underway. The county is needing to hire a labor attorney. Mr. Lucie motioned to allow the states’ attorney to retain a labor attorney for the negotiations. Mr. Blythe seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion carried. Bellwether will be asked to send a list of attorneys.

Motion to pay $50,000 between 9 or 10 officers was made by Ms. Lambert and seconded by Mr. Boyles. A roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion carried.

It was asked if Mr. Smith is paid hourly or salary, he is paid hourly.

The ambulance transfer contract is still in negotiations. Mr. Blythe made a motion to extend the current contract for 3 months with Mr. Boyles seconding the motion. A roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion carried.

The Link Media Billboard lease is up on January 25, 2025. We are already in this lease but it just needs to be renewed. This billboard is in Niota in the flood plain. The county receives $500/year for this billboard. Motion to renew this contract was made by Mr. Castlebury, Mr. Douglas seconded. All members present voted aye.

Ms. Wilde-Tillman stated that the GIS funds cannot be used for the CAMA software. Mr. Menn stated that they will ask Justin from Bellwether. Ms. Wilde-Tillman received a check from insurance for the wrecked explorer. This has been given to Ms. Pilkington and put in the sheriff’s vehicle replacement fund.

There was discussion about where the veteran’s administration office will be placed after the EMS building lease is up. Ms. Lambert suggested the Outreach Center in Carthage.

Maggie Harrel is paid yearly and Megan Dickerson turns in an invoice for her pay. It was questioned if this needs to go through payroll. This will be discussed with Ms. James.

January 13 is the bicentennial celebration. Flag raising is at 8:45.

Ms. Wilde-Tillman reminded the board about needing to get their sexual harassment training turned in. She has spoken with the insurance company about the health department being on the cusp of hiring a dentist and if they would be covered by malpractice. Mr. Ramsey stated they that would be. Also they have a community servant who is doing a lot of jobs around the courthouse, and she was wondering if he would be covered if he hurt his back or fell, etc.

Caucuses are over. Filing is December 17 through December 23. Ms. Wilde-Tillman held training classes for the clerks in August for the causes. Only a few showed up for the classes.

The building commission had a preplanning meeting with the architect and site manager. The work will start the end of January/first of February and is scheduled be completed by May 25, 2025. Mr. Boyles stated he sits on the VA commission and was wondering if that is a conflict. He was told to speak with the States’ Attorney.

It was asked what the holdup is for the sheriff’s retention checks being dispersed. It needs to go through full board for approval to pay. The checks will be sent out December 18. It was asked if it could be dispersed on December 1 for the next times? Justin from Bellwether will be asked.

Mr. Bollin left the meeting.

Claims were gone over. Motion to approve the claims was made by Mr. Blythe and seconded by Mr. Castlebury. All members present voted aye. Motion to recess was made by Ms. Lambert. Mr. Castlebury seconded. All members present voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 11:12 a.m.

https://hancockcounty-il.gov/finance-minutes-dec-2024/