Sangamon Sun

Hancock County Finance, Fees and Salaries Committee met Sept. 11

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

The meeting was called to order by committee chair Wayne Bollin at 9:00 a.m. Members in attendance included Mark Menn, Harry Douglas, Dennis Castlebury, Joe Boyles, Lee Ann Lambert, and Alex Blythe. Steve Lucie was absent. Visitors included Keara Weber, Kris Pilkington, and Keith Krohe.

Ms. Weber passed out her financial totals. Her office has collected over $1000 in 1 week of past fines. No one wants to come to a hearing so they are paying their fines. Her office is hiring again.

Mr. Krohe went over the 9-month health plan comparison to last year. The claims are higher this year. There are usually 70-75 employees on the insurance, now we have 94 employees. Expected claims for other counties with reinsurance is at 80%, our plan is at 83%.

Ms. Pilkington stated the second distribution will go into the bank tomorrow. Chris Brimmer with Devnet will be here Tuesday, September 16 to discuss a new server and what they can do for the county. A few line items are in the red. The 911 sign budget will need to be increased for next year.

Jeff McPherson with Gray, Hunter & Stenn has a few of the credit card bills with receipts and invoices. This does not include all expenditures. There are some meals from local restaurants, extravagant hotel bills, late fees, and interest on the bills. Mr. Douglas made a motion to cancel the 2 credit cards of the sheriff with Marine Bank due to inconsistent voucher and receipt compliance effect September 17, 2025.  Mr. Blythe seconded. A roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion carried.

Doing a forensic audit on the credit cards of the sheriff was discussed. It should be done before a new sheriff takes over in November 2026. Mr. Castlebury made a motion to explore the possibility of a forensic audit of the sheriff’s credit cards, seconded by Mr. Douglas. There was discussion regarding the new sheriff’s office vehicle. Which vehicle was used on trade-in, and who purchased the trade-in? A roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion carried.

Motion to approve the proposed 2026 holiday schedule for Hancock County was made by Mr. Blythe. Ms. Lambert seconded the motion. All members present voted aye.

The ambulance was approved to purchase 3 Starcom radios in May with the opioid fund. Mr. Wilde-Tillman has an IPRF grant for $10,985 which will purchase a fourth radio. Motion to approve the fourth radio to be purchased with the IPRF grant was made by Mr. Boyles, seconded by Mr. Blythe.  A roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion carried.

Motion to approve the resolutions for taxing districts was made by Mr. Douglas, seconded by Mr. Castlebury.  All members present voted aye.

A preliminary budget is done by Justin Greeley. He will meet with the office holders next Tuesday, September 16 starting at 9 a.m. Mr. Boyles, Mr. Bollin, and Mr. Menn will be in attendance. The first budget meeting will be after the full board meeting on September 16.

There was discussion regarding the future of IT at the courthouse. Devnet will be here on Tuesday.  Ms. Wilde-Tillman called in to discuss the elections office and make sure that whoever does IT will be able to take care of all software for offices, not just Devnet.

Michael McVey texted Mr. Menn stating that his daughter is sick. His office is in good shape. He has a letter from Michael Thompson recommending Maureen Crawford to the Board of Review.

Mr. Bollin approved to pay the GFL bill before the meeting on Tuesday, September 16.

Claims were gone over. Motion to approve the claims was made by Mr. Douglas, seconded by Mr. Boyles. A roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion carried.

Motion to recess until September 16 after the full board meeting was made by Ms. Lambert. Mr. Blythe seconded. All members present voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 10:51 a.m.

https://hancockcounty-il.gov/finance-minutes-sept-2025/