Chambana Sun

Champaign County Committee of the Whole met Jan. 10.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

I. Call to Order 

Chair Patterson called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m.

II. Roll Call 

Roll call was taken, and a quorum was declared present.

III. Approval of Agenda/Addenda 

MOTION by Ms. Straub to approve the agenda; seconded by Mr. Esry. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

IV. Approval of Minutes 

A. November 9, 2022 – Regular Meeting

MOTION by Mr. Ingram to approve the minutes of November 9, 2022; seconded by Ms. Carter. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

V. Public Participation 

None

VI. Communications 

Mr. Stohr gave the information for the Martin Luther King Celebration.

VII. Finance 

A. Budget Amendments/Transfers

1. Budget Amendment BUA 2022/12/224

Fund 1080 General Corporate / Dept 026 Treasurer

Increased Appropriations: $1,355

Increased Revenue: $0

Reason: Additional funds required to cover shortage in full-time employee line and to cover the increased for the Treasurer’s salary that was approved in Resolution No. 2022-117 on May 19, 2022.

MOTION by Ms. Carter to recommend County Board approval of a resolution approving budget amendment BUA 2022/12/224; seconded by Ms. Taylor. Discussion followed to ensure the salary has been updated for the FY2023 budget. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

2. Budget Amendment BUA 2022/12/362

Fund 1080 General Corporate / Dept 031 Circuit Court

Increased Appropriations: $2,600

Increased Revenue: $0

Reason: Amendment for increased appropriations is requested to cover increases in personnel expenditures associated with staff turnover.

MOTION by Ms. Straub to recommend County Board approval of a resolution approving budget amendment BUA 2022/12/362; seconded by Ms. Lokshin. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

3. Budget Amendment BUA 2022/12/632

Fund 2092 Law Library / Dept 074 Law Library

Increased Appropriations: $2,500

Increased Revenue: $2,500

Reason: One vendor has significantly increased their fees for 2022, causing a shortage in the Books, Periodicals and Manuals line.

MOTION by Ms. Michaels to recommend County Board approval of a resolution approving budget amendment BUA 2022/12/632; seconded by Ms. Cowart. Discussion followed explaining the increase in costs for 2022, the requirement to have hardcopies of this specific publication and that the funds are coming from a special revenue fund not the general fund. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

4. Budget Amendment BUA 2022/12/740

Fund 1080 General Corporate / Dept 042 Coroner

Increased Appropriations: $36,050

Increased Revenue: $ 38,812

Reason: To cover increased autopsy and toxicology expenses incurred for death investigations surpassing the original FY22 budgeted amounts.

MOTION by Mr. Ingram to recommend County Board approval of a resolution approving budget amendment BUA 2022/12/740; seconded by Ms. Michaels. Ms. Fortado explained that the Coroner has received more than $96,000 in revenue that covers this expense. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

5. Budget Amendment BUA 2022/12/784

Fund 1080 General Corporate / Dept 041 State’s Attorney

Increased Appropriations: $37,682

Increased Revenue: $2,865

Reason: Increased appropriation required to cover three benefit time payouts and the match for the COLA increase given to state’s attorneys state-wide.

Ms. Fortado pointed everyone’s attention to the memo from the State’s Attorney’s Office with updated figures for this budget amendment. MOTION by Mr. Esry to recommend County Board approval of a resolution approving budget amendment BUA 2022/12/784 with increased appropriations of $40,582 and increased revenue of $15,301; seconded by Mr. Thorsland. Discussion followed explaining the U.S. Marshall Service’s reimbursement was to pay for overtime incurred while completing work for their office not services from their office. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

6. Budget Transfer BUA 2022/12/585

Fund 1080 General Corporate / Dept 036 Public Defender & 031 Circuit Court

Amount: $150,000

Reason: To transfer unused personnel funds from the Public Defender’s budget to defray the cost to the Court’s budget for compensating private counsel required to assist with the Public Defender’s case load.

MOTION by Mr. Ingram to recommend County Board approval of a resolution approving budget amendment BUA 2022/12/585; seconded by Ms. Locke Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

B. Treasurer

1. Monthly Report – May, June & July 2022 – Reports are available on the Treasurer’s webpage at: https://www.co.champaign.il.us/treasurer/reports.php

Received and placed on file – Mr. Wilson asked the treasurer why there hasn’t been a report since July of 2022. Ms. Johnson explained their office has been working diligently to catch up since their busy season has ended and that her office could benefit from additional staff.

2. Resolution authorizing the County Executive to assign a mobile home tax sale certificate of purchase, permanent parcel number 15-025-0056

MOTION by Ms. Michaels to recommend County Board approval of a resolution authorizing the County Executive to assign a mobile home tax sale certificate of purchase; seconded by Ms. Straub. Discussion followed regarding the disparity of financial totals in the resolution. Treasurer Johnson explained a new increase in charges for title changes and she has asked the tax agent, who prepares the forms, to update that amount. She also explained some other miscellaneous fees that are occasionally required. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

C. Auditor

1. Monthly Report – October & November 2022 – Reports are available on the Auditor’s webpage at: http://www.co.champaign.il.us/auditor/countyboardreports.php

Received and placed on file

D. Other Business

None

E. Chair’s Report

Ms. Fortado informed the Board that they will be taking advantage of the study session date in January regarding financial 101 for new members and welcomed all board members to join.

F. Designation of Items to be Placed on the Consent Agenda

VII. A. 1-6, B. 2

VIII. Policy, Personnel, & Appointments 

A. County Executive

1. Monthly HR Report – November & December 2022

Received and placed on file – Mr. Stohr called attention to the vacant position listing and stated the County is looking for approximately 10% of their workforce. He encouraged Board members to refer their constituents that might be interested in working for the County. Mr. Wilson had some questions about information included on the report and Mr. Summers explained that he would speak with staff and get back to him with the information. Mr. Wilson also asked who was responsible for hiring within the departments. Mr. Ingram explained that the department heads are responsible for hiring within their departments. Ms. Fortado explained how this long list of vacancies has been an ongoing problem in the County and that it must be addressed.

2. Request for Job Content Evaluation Committee to review a Finance Specialist position for the Administrative Services Department

MOTION by Ms. Cowart to send the Finance Specialist position to the Job Content Evaluation Committee for review; seconded by Ms. Taylor. Discussion followed regarding this position having to backup multiple other positions in the office. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

3. Appointments/Reappointments (italics indicates incumbent) 

a. Resolution Appointing Robert Kolakowski to the Tolono Fire Protection District, unexpired term ending 4/30/2024

MOTION by Mr. Ingram to recommend County Board approval of a resolution appointing Robert Kolakowski to the Tolono Fire Protection District; seconded by Ms. Straub. Discussion followed regarding the dates on the application and Mr. Summers explained that he selected this candidate from the applicants that had applied for the previous opening on this board and this position will begin immediately after approved by the County Board. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

b. Resolution Appointing County Board Liaisons

MOTION by Mr. Esry to recommend County Board approval of a resolution appointing County Board Liaisons; seconded by Mr. Thorsland. Discussion followed regarding filling these positions. Ms. Taylor stated she would be willing to serve on the Developmental Disabilities Board and she was added to the list. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.

c. Currently vacant appointments – full list and information is available on the County’s website at: http://www.co.champaign.il.us/CountyExecutive/appointments/CurrentVacantOpenings.pdf

Information only

d. 2023 Annual Listing of Expiring Appointments

Information only – Mr. Stohr listed the upcoming appointments and encouraged the Board Members to reach out to their constituents to find people that are interested in serving on some of these commissions.

e. Applications for open appointments

Information only

B. County Clerk

1. Monthly Reports – November & December 2022

2. Semi-Annual Report – July-December 2022

Received and placed on file

C. Other Business

None

D. Chair’s Report

Mr. Stohr asked for anyone that is interested in participating in reviewing the workforce study documents to contact him.

E. Designation of Items to be Placed on the Consent Agenda

VIII. A. 3. a-b

IX. Justice and Social Services 

A. Monthly Reports – All reports are available on each department’s webpage through the department reports page at: http://www.co.champaign.il.us/CountyBoard/Reports.php

• Probation & Court Services – October & November 2022

• Public Defender – November 2022

• Animal Control – November 2022

• Emergency Management Agency – September & October 2022

Received and placed on file – Mr. Wilson had a few questions about the information provided in the Probation and Emergency Management Agency reports and Ms. Taylor stated she would investigate and get back to him with that information.

B. Rosecrance Re-Entry Financial Report – October & November 2022

Information only – Mr. Stohr requested to have Rosecrance come to speak to the Board.

C. Public Defender

1. Office update and requests

Ms. Pollock spoke to the County Board about her background what she has learned as the newly appointed Champaign County Public Defender. She gave a breakdown of the office’s greatest needs; they have no electronic files, using free pdf viewer, no ability to track caseload, no way to manage the electronic discovery and there are no training manuals. She has made several improvements; procured Adobe Acrobat DC Pro licenses, hired four new employees, explored the possibility of an externship program with the College of Law to begin in the fall, mandated the creation of electronic files and their office is now accepting murder cases.

She has two requests for the County Board. The first request is to purchase a program called Justice Text and it is used to view electronic discovery. She explained the details of how the program works, how that will assist her office and the cost. Discussion followed with Board members to ensure that other counties in Illinois use this program, that the attorneys can still watch the videos as they have done traditionally, and to clarify that this will be an annual cost. Ms. Fortado suggested they use ARPA funds for this expenditure in 2023-2024 and has a more extensive memo that will be in the ARPA section of the January County Board meeting.

The second request is for additional secretarial position. This is a position that was eliminated approximately a decade ago. She gave some background to indicate why this position is so desperately needed. She looked into filling this on a temporary basis, but the union was not willing to approve this. The Board discussed the process of this request and since this is an existing job description, they would only need to vote to add the position to the organizational chart. Ms. Fortado also requested that the Public Defender and the Director of Finance do a budget analysis to show their current cost savings for the February meeting.

D. Other Business

None

E. Chair’s Report

None

F. Designation of Items to be Placed on the Consent Agenda

None

X. Other Business 

Ms. Fortado informed the Board that Brad Uken, from the Farm Bureau, has taken a position out-of-state, will greatly missed from the Broadband Committee and publicly thanked him for the work that he did in regard to using ARPA funds for broadband in Champaign County.

XI. Adjournment 

Chair Patterson adjourned the meeting at 8:24 p.m.

https://www.co.champaign.il.us/CountyBoard/Committee_Of_The_Whole/2023/230110_Meeting/230110Minutes.pdf