Quincy Reporter

Adams County Board met Dec. 13.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The County Board of Adams County, Illinois met at the Courthouse, Quincy, Illinois, on Tuesday, December 13th, 2023 at 7:00 P.M., pursuant to recess.

PRESENT: Kent Snider, Chairman

Ryan Niekamp, County Clerk

Mr. Mark Sorensen gave the invocation which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

Chairman Snider called the meeting to order.

The County Clerk called the roll and the following members were present: Jon McCoy, Tim Finlay, Robert Reich, Brad Poulter, David McCleary, Les Post, Theresa Bockhold, Brent Fischer, Todd Duesterhaus, Bret Austin, Keith Callaway, Mark Sorensen, Barbara Fletcher, Ryan Hinkamper, Dave Bellis, Marvin Kerkhoff, Mark Dietrich, Steve McQueen, Travis Cooley and Kent Snider.

Total Present: 20 Absent: 1

Absent was: Joe Zanger

Chairman Snider declared a quorum present.

Officeholders, department heads, and/or their representatives also present were: Georgene Zimmerman- Supervisor of Assessments, Lori Geschwandner-Circuit Clerk, Anthony Foster- Director of Court Services, Todd Nelson- Public Defender, Jessica Douglas- Director of 9-1-1, John Simon-EMA & Ambulance Director, Jim Frankenhoff County Engineer, David Hochgraber-Director of IT, Lowell Klassert- Director of HR and Sheriff Tony Grootens.

Mr. Duesterhaus moved to approve the minutes of the November 15th, 2022 and December 5th, 2022 county board meetings as printed and distributed. Mrs. Fletcher seconded the motion.

Motion to approve the minutes of the November 15th, 2022 and December 5th, 2022 county board meetings as printed was adopted.

Transportation, Building & Technology

Committee Report (Mr. Bellis)

Bills – The committee met on Tuesday, December 13th to review the bills for the Highway Department, the Maintenance Department, and the Technology Department. All the bills were in order.

Reports

Mr. Bellis stated that there was a camera system presented to them that needs to be turned over to Finance Committee. Mr. Hinkamper broke down the bids that were presented. Mr. Austin asked about recurring costs. Mr. Hinkamper stated that he believes, based off what our IT suggests, stated that the Verikota Solution would give us the most bang for our buck. Mr. Austin asked Mr. Hochgraber what the overall scope of the project would. Mr. Hochgraber stated this would replace the door key pads and the camera system throughout the county. He stated it would include every building in the county. He stated many of the systems are failing, currently. He stated we would be getting rid of a $15,000 yearly contract, but it was up the beginning of this month. Mr. Austin asked for a ballpark amount of cost. Mr. Hochgraber stated that the idea was the Verikota bid was $580,000 plus Mac Electric would be about $700,000. He reported that no matter what bid we take, Mac electric still has to do the $120,000 worth of wiring. Mr. Austin asked what the scope of replacing is and if we will own it or lease it. Mr. Hochgraber stated we would own it. The 10-year plan comes with the warranty for the entire time. Mr. Austin asked what the lifespan of the technology is. Mr. Hochgraber stated that if it comes with a 10-year warranty, he expects it will work for at least that long, but it’s normal for after 10 years to need to be replaced. Mr. Post stated that this bid is only being held until December 31st and then the pricing will expire for the Verikota bid. Mr. Austin stated that we do not have the money and we will need to find it. He stated it will have to be through a loan-system. He asked how long install will take. Mr. Hochgraber stated it would be a minimum of 18 weeks and there wouldn’t be a down payment. He stated there wouldn’t be a final payment until after it is all installed. He stated there would be some progress payments to be made. Mr. Austin stated that we probably have around $200,000 that could be used in the County General fund but we will have to take a loan to make it work and that loan should not be for longer than the equipment would last. Mr. Hinkamper asked which is more pressing, the doors or the cameras. Mr. Hochgraber stated that the cameras are going dark in the jail and the doors are locking people in or out, so they are both a high priority. The board discussed that this was not on the agenda. Mr. Hinkamper stated that this is a safety issue at this point. Mr. Austin stated we are looking at finance 25% and then get a loan. Mr. Hochgraber stated he would reach out to see if they will extend the bid into January. The Chairman stated to get these in the packets for January. Mr. Austin asked Mr. Hochgraber to make a matrix of these bids for the full board so they can get a better picture. Mr. McQueen stated that if there is a RFQ document that they could see as well.

Resolutions

There were resolutions to discuss.

New Business

a. Review and approve bids for County Board Room Sound System Mr. Bellis stated that they accepted the low bid from the 3 bids that they received two months ago. He reported that, at the time, some members didn’t realize that the County’s IT Director owns one of the businesses that bid. He stated Mr. Hochgraber had his employee do the bidding and the maintenance supervisor took the bids. Mr. Hinkamper stated that he doesn’t think the board is prepared to vote on it because they do not have copies of the bids.

Mr. Bellis stated they would be tabling this bid for next month to give the full board a chance to review it.

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for January 10th, 2023.

Legislative & Judicial

Committee Report (Mr. Reich)

Bills – The committee met on December 13th, 2022 to review the bills from the circuit Clerk, Juvenile Detention Center, Probation Department, Public Defender, State’s Attorney, and the Supervisor of Assessments. All of the bills were in order.

Resolutions

a. Resolution Number 2022-12-401-003- Resolution Adopting the Collection of County Matching Funds for the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Program (Attachment A-1)

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. Reich made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. Bockhold seconded the resolution.

Discussion: Mr. Reich stated this is an annual mandate from the state. Resolution 2022-12-401-003 was approved.

County Code

There was no county code issues to discuss.

Firework Permits

There were no firework permits to approve.

Liquor Licenses

There were no liquor licenses to approve.

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for January 10th, 2023. Public Health & Safety

Committee Report (Mrs. Fletcher)

Bills – The committee met on December 13th, 2022 and reviewed the bills for the Sheriff’s Office, Coroner’s Office, Emergency Management Agency and Animal Control. All of the bills were in order.

Reports

Mrs. Fletcher read the following department reports:

Coroner Scott Graham reported that there were 91 recorded deaths, 1 autopsy, 2 abandon cremations and 49 cremation permits issued in November 2022. EMA & Ambulance Director, John Simon, reported that the staffing is down by 9 EMT and paramedics which is an industry issue. The high school program is starting next month. They brought on 4 parttime staff. The call volume is up. The average is 28 a day, but with respiratory season, they get about 40+ calls a day.

Sheriff Anthony Grootens reported he is getting his reports together later due to secretarial issues. They are under a new medical contract for advanced inmate care. They are down two staff members in the jail, one deputy and one in the office.

Resolution

There were no resolutions to discuss.

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 10th, 2023. Executive Committee

Committee Report (Mr. Austin)

The committee did not meet prior to the County Board meeting

Report

Mr. Austin reported that they have had ongoing labor agreement negotiations.

Discussion and Possible Action

a. Memorandum of Understanding with PBPA- Corrections Contract for Shift Leads/Supervisors

The board did not discuss or take action on this memorandum of understanding.

b. Labor Agreement between the County of Adams – States Attorney’s Office – and the Internal Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers for December 1, 2022 through November 30, 2025. (Attachment B-1)

Mr. Austin made a motion to approve the labor agreement.

Mr. Callaway seconded the motion.

Discussion: Mr. Austin stated the raise is year by year at around 4% per year. He stated there were some inflation pressures that they needed to address. He stated the health insurance agreement remains the same. He stated the other two contracts are around the same. Mr. Finlay asked how many employees this would have. Mr. Austin stated there are 9, the Treasurers’ Office has 4 and the Jury one has 1.

The labor agreement was approved.

c. Labor Agreement between the County of Adams – Treasurer’s Office – and the Internal Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers for December 1, 2022 through November 30, 2025. (Attachment B-2)

Mr. Austin made a motion to approve the labor agreement.

Mr. Bellis seconded the motion.

The labor agreement was approved.

d. Labor Agreement between the Chief Judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit – Jury Commission Clerk, Jury Commission Coordinator and Secretaries – and the Internal Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers for December 1, 2022 through November 30, 2025. (Attachment B-3)

Mr. Austin made a motion to approve the memorandum of understanding. Mr. McCleary seconded the motion.

The labor agreement was approved.

Resolution

a. Resolution Number 2022-12-001-002- ARPA: Amended Resolution for Reimbursement to Adams County (Attachment B-4)

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. Austin made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. Bellis seconded the motion.

Discussion: Mr. Austin stated that we spent an account into the red. He reported they accidentally funded the money to County General instead of the account. He stated the money is there but it needs to be moved to the right account so it can be closed. There is no difference in money and it was just an allocation issue. The clerk stated it is recommended by the auditors to do this as well.

Resolution 2022-12-001-002 was approved.

The committee’s next meeting was moved and will be January 3rd, 2023 at 5:30 PM.

Finance

Committee Report (Mr. Austin)

Bills – The committee met on December 12th, 2022 to review the bills. All of the bills were in order.

Report

There were no additional reports.

Resolution –

a. Resolution Number 2022-12-161-001- Resolution to Increase the Annual Salary of the Supervisor of Assessments (Attachment C-1)

The clerk read the resolution by title only.

Mr. Austin made a motion to approve the resolution.

Mr. Cooley seconded the motion.

Discussion: Mr. Austin stated that this is an annual increase that is outside of union negotiations and state-relayed things. He stated this salary would be effective as a 3.5% increase as of December 1st. $71,741 He stated that this is in line with budget and actually less than other salary increases.

Resolution 2022-12-161-001 was approved.

Budget/Levy

a. Approval of Tax Levy for Tax Year 2022.

Mr. Bellis made a motion to suspend the December 13th, 2022 meeting and resume the September 13th, 2022 County Board Meeting for the purpose of setting the levy. Mrs. Fletcher. seconded the motion.

The board resumed the September 13th, 2022 county board meeting.

Mr. Austin stated reviewed the levy sheet with the board. He reported that the overall numbers have not changed, just the rates have changed because of the EAV changing. He stated 4.2% will be the EAV increase and a 3.8% increase in dollars. He stated the committee has tried to adopt a stance that we need to stay under the EAV raise so that the levy says flat or goes down. He stated that the beginning of next year’s budget year would be $669,000 of what will still be in reserves.

Mr. Austin made a motion to approve the tax levy for the 2022-2023 year. (Attachment C-2)

Mr. McCleary seconded the motion.

The tax levy for tax year 2022 was approved.

A roll call vote was taken to approve the tax levy. Those in favor were: Jon McCoy, Tim Finlay, Robert Reich, Brad Poulter, David McCleary, Les Post, Theresa Bockhold, Brent Fischer, Todd Duesterhaus, Bret Austin, Keith Callaway, Mark Sorensen, Barbara Fletcher, Ryan Hinkamper, Dave Bellis, Marvin Kerkhoff, Mark Dietrich, Steve McQueen, Travis Cooley and Kent Snider.

Total in favor was 20. Total opposed was 0. Total absent was 1.

Mr. Austin made a motion to suspend the September 13th, 2022 county board meeting and resume the December 13th, 2022 county board meeting. Mr. Post seconded the motion.

The September 13th, 2022 was suspended and the December 13th, 2023 board meeting was resumed.

Insurance

a. Health Insurance

Mr. Austin reported that we continue to struggle with health insurance as there are only 2 companies to choose from. He stated they did not move to the trust program and every year will bring challenges and battles with costs. He stated the renewal discussions come up in October.

The committee’s next meeting will be January 9th, 2023.

Unfinished Business

There was no unfinished business to discuss.

New Business

Approval of Board Member Travel Vouchers

There were no travel vouchers to approve.

Monthly Reports

Supervisor of Assessments/Board of Review, Juvenile Detention Center, the County Clerk & Recorder’s office, the Public Defender, the Circuit Clerk, Information Technology and the Treasurer’s office, Monthly check register for November 2022, and Funds Summary report for November 2022 including revenue and expenses. (Attachment D-1)

Mr. Duesterhaus made a motion to receive and file the monthly reports with the appropriate committee.

Mr. Hinkamper seconded the motion.

Motion to receive and file the monthly reports with the appropriate committee adopted.

Resignation

a. Theresa Bockhold from Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials (Attachment D-2)

The chairman entertained a motion to accept the resignation.

Mr. McCleary made a motion to accept the resignation.

Mr. Bellis seconded the motion.

The resignation was accepted.

Appointments

The Chairman entertained a motion to make the following appointments:

a. Jon Mccoy to the Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials

b. Brent Fischer to the Great River Economic Development Foundation

c. Brad Poulter to the 3-7-7 Board.

d. Bret Austin to the Revolving Loan Fund Committee

e. Tim Finlay to the County of Adams Board of Health

Mr. Post made a motion to approve the appointments.

Mrs. Fletcher seconded the motion.

The appointments were approved.

Mr. Austin asked if there was one missing. The Chairman stated there was but he does not have an appointment yet.

Report

There were no additional reports

Announcements

There were no announcements to make.

Discussion and Possible Action

There was no further discussion or possible action do discuss.

Correspondence

1) Notice of Initiation of a U.S. Cellular Tower located in Payson, IL in the County of Adams (Attachment E-1)

Mr. Duesterhaus moved to receive and file the correspondence with the appropriate committee.

Mr. Hinkamper seconded the motion.

Motion to receive and file the correspondence with the appropriate committee adopted.

The December 13th, 2023 meeting was recessed until Tuesday, January 10th, 2023

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