Chambana Sun

Vermilion County Finance & Personnel Committee met March 6.

Here is the agenda provided by the Committee:

Agenda Item 1 - Call to Order and Roll Call 

Vice Chairman Wes Bieritz called the Finance/Personnel meeting to order at 5:15 PM. Upon the call of the roll, the following members were present; Wes Bieritz, Darren Duncan, Todd Johnson, Becky Stark and Bruce Stark. Robert Boyd and Steve Fourez were absent and excused. Also in attendance was Bill Wright, Vermilion County Auditor; Chief Deputy Auditor Alexis Berlin; Bill Donahue, Vermilion County Assistant State's Attorney; Doug Toole, Director of the Vermilion County Health Department; Jim Russell, Mental Health 708 Board Executive Director; and Michael Marron, Vermilion County Board Chairman.

Agenda Item 2 - Adoption/Amendments to the Agenda 

Bruce Stark moved, Seconded by Duncan, to adopt the amended agenda. Motion passed by acclamation.

Agenda Item 3 - Approval of Minutes - January 9, 2017 

Johnson moved, seconded by Bruce Stark, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion passed by acclamation.

Agenda Item 4 - Audience Comments 

None

Agenda tem 5 - Financial Update 

Mr. Bayard distributed a financial update on departmental spending that covered the first three months of the fiscal year. Mr. Bayard indicated that he removed previously reported "pass through" accounts which are often budgeted at Obecause they receive and dispense funds as needed, thus making it confusing to track. Board Chairman Mike Marron utilized the online reporting tool to explain an apparent revenue increase that was the result of being reimbursed by the Public Building Commission earlier than in previous years. In addition, Marron pointed to an ostensible decline in revenue that seemed to have occurred in the previous fiscal year, but cautioned that adjusting entries could change the results upon review by an external auditor. Bieritz indicated that he wanted the committee to utilize the online open gov application more.

Agenda Item 6 - Employee of the Month Award 

Vice Chairman Bieritz invited the committee to consider two nominees for the Employee of the Month Award submitted from the Health Department and the Probation Department. Johnson, commented on the difficulty of selecting the winner. Marron discussed and passed out a proposed selection form that could guide future decisions. The form would provide a scoring system based on how the nominating director responded to generalized descriptions of work performance. Marron and Bieritz requested that the Committee review the form and provide feedback acknowledging that it was too late to utilize the form for the current selection. Bayard added that the form was designed to make it easier for nominating an individual, stressing that it could be filled in and returned onscreen. He also stated that the Scoring attempted to be fair by generalizing work qualities to avoid comparing dissimilar work against others.

Johnson moved, seconded by Becky Stark, to select Patrick Kelly as the employee of the month. Motion passed by acclamation.

Agenda Item 7- Ordinance - Mental Health 

Johnson moved, seconded by Bruce Stark to approve the line item transfer for the Mental Health budget.

Vice Chairman Bieritz called on Mike Marron to offer comments. Marron expressed support for the measure and invited Jim Russell, Vermilion County Mental Health 708 Board (VCMHB) Executive Director to provide background information on the reasons for requesting the line item transfer that would create a new position. Russell explained that after contracting with Barbara Chatman who provided services a Complex Services Planner, she retired on November 30, 2016. As a result, the WCMHB voted at its January 23, 2017 meeting to create a new position by modifying an existing position in the WCMHB office. Mr. Russel explained that the position would be funded to support a salary of $32,210 and an additional $6,200 for extensive travelling which would be required of the position. Russell added that the line item transfer would not increase the overall VCMHB current year budget. He also indicated that in subsequent years the VCMHB budget would reflect the salary and travel for a full year,

Upon the call of the roll the following members voted yes to approve the ordinance to wit: Wes Bieritz, Darren Duncan, Todd Johnson, Becky Stark and Bruce Stark, 5 yes, 2 absent.

Agenda Item 8 - Reciprocal Agreement 

Johnson moved seconded by Becky Stark, to approve authorization to enter into an agreement with the Illinois Department of Revenue. 

Board Chairman Marron discussed a proposed Reciprocal Agreement with the Illinois Department of Revenue which the committee would consider authorizing. Marron explained that by signing the Reciprocal Agreement, it would allow the Illinois Department of Revenue to share financial information with local governments. He added that it would make sense for the Chief Executive Officer to serve as the point of contact for obtaining information covered by the Reciprocal Agreement since they are instrumental in the financial and economic development activities of their jurisdiction.

Upon the call of the roll the following members voted yes to approve the ordinance to wit: Wes Bieritz, Darren Duncan, Todd Johnson, Becky Stark and Bruce Stark. 5 yes, 2 absent,

Agenda Item 9 - Executive Session

Not necessary

Agenda Item 10 - Items of Information

Marron announced an upcoming joint meeting with the Vermilion County Property and Executive Committee. He also announced that the video project had been launched. Marronmentioned a meeting attended by himself and the Auditor's office with Premiere, a technology consulting company that was assisting the County in selecting the most useful accounting system. He added that the meeting was productive and that they were close to selecting a software package. Bieritz asked about the level of security. Marron explained that County must create a unified system to handle the Cyber security demands of using a new system. Vermilion County Auditor Bill Wright and Marron both extolled the opportunities the software presented for streamlining work which would affect various functions of the County.

Agenda Item 12 - Adjournment 

Bieritz adjourned the meeting at 6:15 PM.

http://countyboard.vercounty.org/meeting%20minutes/Finance%20Personnel%20Minutes%2003_06_17.pdf