Quincy Reporter

Adams County Board Executive Committee met July 6.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Chairman Snider called the meeting to order at 5:30PM.

Members Present: R. Kent Snider, Bret Austin, Les Post, Barney Bier

Members Absent: Rebecca Weed

Others Present: Ryan Niekamp, Gary Farha, Kevin Broemmer, Valetta Frank, Jeremy Crave, and Brandon Riley.

1) Approval of Prior Minutes

a. Mr. Austin made a motion to accept the minutes from the May 4th meeting without any additions or corrections. Mr. Bier seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as written.

2) Executive Session

a. Mr. Post made a motion to go into Executive Session for the purpose of Personnel Issue as the Labor Committee of Adams County. Mr. Austin seconded the motion. The Committee voted to go into Executive Session at 5:31PM.

b. Mr. Austin made a motion to go back into regular session. Mr. Post seconded the motion. The Labor Committee went back into regular session at 5:55PM.

3) Speaker

a. There were no speakers.

4) Reports

5) Resolutions –

a. No resolutions were submitted and/or purposed. 

6) New Business

Mrs. Weed attended the meeting at 6:00PM via telephone.

a. Downstate Stabilization Program Applications

i. Mr. Austin read all of the applications we have on file (JJ’s Catering, Quincy Gems, Schmidt Tent Rental, and Terstriep Tree Service). Mr. Austin stated that he and Mr. Niekamp went to the public hearing and they were the only two members that attended the public hearings. Mr. Austin wanted to make it clear that everyone understood that these were funded by DCEO and not the County / Two Rivers and once they were approved by the County Board, they would move to the DCEO for final approval.

ii. Mr. Bier made a motion to approve all four applications. Mr. Post seconded the motion. The committee approved all the applications.

b. Review / Approve 2020-2021 County Board Goals

i. Mr. Austin stated that he wanted to make sure everyone had input on this item. There will be a zero percent budget growth budget request sent out in August to department heads along with a request for a capital expense budget for each department. Mr. Austin went over all of the goals outlined on the County Board Goal List. Mr. Austin made mention that part of the goal is to develop a 60-day reserve fund; however, during this current pandemic it may be tough but we will continue to be good stewards of taxpayer’s money. The technology portion of the goals is something we need to move towards according to Mr. Austin – the county can continue to look at getting iPads for the board members, and other electronic devices. Another aspect of the technology goals would be to continue to promote and utilize Paycom so there is more transparency between the office holders, employees and the county board.

ii. The Committee made a recommendation to move the goals to the Finance Committee. No member voiced any concern and thought the overall goals looks good and sufficient. The Goals will be moving to the full Board for a vote on Tuesday, July 14th.

c. Nationwide 457(b) Plan

i. Tabled until the next committee meeting.

d. Special Event Permit

i. Mr. Austin shared details about the special permitting for Adams County. Mr. Post stated that he could only recall the county closing one street during his entire tenure on the County Board. Mr. Farha mentioned the bi- centennial in 2025 might be a special event to be looking at in the future. Mr. Austin made note that he doubted we would get an updated formal policy for the county. Mr. Austin mentioned that perhaps we could develop a form that would be approved/denied by the Emergency Management Director, John Simon which would then be bounced to the city or county websites. Mr. Simon mentioned that we should at least be looking at working with the public for events to be proactive.

e. IT Department

i. No discussion.

f. Election Day – State Holiday

i. Mr. Bier stated that the cost would be $28 thousand. Mr. Bier stated that the offices could be closed to the public, but staff still work. He heard some staff would rather work than to be off. Mr. Austin, mentioned we could switch out a holiday; however, that would then create the county needing to re-negotiate the contracts. Mr. Bier stated that years ago employees did get election day off; however, they later changed it to Christmas Eve instead of Election Day. Mr. Bier suggested that we could offer, to any employee who wanted to help, could work in the County Clerk’s office on election day. The committee tabled the discussion until its August meeting.

g. DEVNET Software Agreement

i. Mr. Niekamp shared information regarding the Devnet Software Agreement. It is a five-year term at a slightly higher cost than the current agreement. Mr. Austin asked if the County is happy with the vendor and Mr. Niekamp stated that the programs works, it is able to generate the reports that we need and the customer service is very good. Mr. Austin asked Mr. Niekamp if he [Mr. Niekamp] has looked at any other vendors just to make sure the county is receiving competitive pricing and terms; however, given the short nature of the turnaround period there may not be any chance we could look at other vendors this term, but going forward we could start looking at other options just to ensure the competitive bid. 

7) Executive Session (if Needed)

a. Personnel Issues

i. Mr. Austin made a motion to go into Executive Session at 6:25PM to discuss a personnel issue. Mr. Post seconded the motion. The committee approved to go into Executive Session.

ii. The Committee came out of Executive Session at 6:59PM.

b. Legal

The Committee adjourned at 7:00PM.

https://www.co.adams.il.us/home/showdocument?id=4843