Chambana Sun

Champaign County Board met Oct. 19.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The County Board of Champaign County, Illinois met at a Regular Meeting, Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 6:31 PM in the Shields-Carter Meeting Room, Brookens Administrative Center, 1776 East Washington Street, Urbana, Illinois, with County Executive Steve Summers presiding and Grant Chassy as Clerk of the meeting.

ROLL CALL 

Roll call showed the following members present: Thorsland, Vanichtheeranont, Wilson, Carter, Esry, Farney, Fortado, Hanauer-Friedman, Ingram, Lokshin, Michaels, Peugh, Rodriguez, Rogers, Sexton, Stohr, Patterson – 17; absent: Taylor, Cowart, Locke, Straub – 4. County Executive Summers declared a quorum present and the Board competent to conduct business.

PRAYER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 

County Executive Summers read a prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was recited.

READ NOTICE OF MEETING 

The Clerk read the Notice of the Meeting, said Notice having been published in the News Gazette on October 8, October 12, and October 18.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA/ADDENDA 

Board Member Michaels offered a motion to approve the Agenda/Addenda; Board Member Ingram seconded. The motion as amended carried by unanimous voice vote.

ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION NO. 2023-256 

Board Member Wilson offered a motion to adopt Resolution No. 2023-212 appointing Mike Smith as county Board Member in District 1 to fill Jim Goss’s unexpired term ending November 30, 2024; Board Member Sexton seconded. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

ADMINISTRATION OF OATH OF OFFICE BY CHIEF DEPUTY COUNTY CLERK 

Chief Deputy County Clerk Angela Patton administered the Oath of Office to newly appointed Board Member Mike Smith, and both signed the official oath.

DATE/TIME OF NEXT MEETINGS  

Standing Committees: 

A. Highway and Transportation Committee

Friday, November 3, 2023 at 9:00 AM

1605 E Main Street, Urbana

B. County Facilities Committee

Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 6:30 PM

Shields-Carter Meeting Room

C. Environment & Land Use Committee

Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 6:30 PM

Shields-Carter Meeting Room

Committee of the Whole: 

A. Justice and Social Services; Policy, Personnel and Appointments; and Finance 

Tuesday, November 14, 2023 at 6:30 PM

Shields-Carter Meeting Room

County Board: 

A. Regular Meeting

Tuesday, November 21, 2023 at 6:30 PM

Shields-Carter Meeting Room

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 

Justin Leerkamp, of unincorporated Sidney, urged the County Board to oppose zoning Ordinance No. 2023-16.

Darrell Rice, of Mahomet, urged the County Board to oppose zoning Ordinance No. 2023-16.

Jim Goss, of Mahomet, urged the County Board to oppose zoning Ordinance No. 2023- 16.

Ted Hartke, of unincorporated Sidney, urged the County Board to oppose zoning Ordinance No. 2023-16.

CONSENT AGENDA 

Board Member Lokshin offered a motion to approve the Consent Agenda; Board Member Esry seconded. The motion comprising 17 resolutions (Nos. 2023-239, 2023- 240, 2023-241, 2023-242, 2023-243, 2023-244, 2023-245, 2023-246, 2023-247, 2023- 248, 2023-249, 2023-250, 2023-251, 2023-252, 2023-253, 2023-254, and 2023-255) carried by unanimous roll-call vote.

Yeas: Thorsland, Vanichtheeranont, Wilson, Carter, Esry, Farney, Fortado, Hanauer-Friedman, Ingram, Lokshin, Michaels, Peugh, Rodriguez, Rogers, Sexton, Smith, Stohr, Patterson – 18

Nays: none

FY2022 AUDIT PRESENTATION 

County Auditor George Danos and CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) presented the clean audit results. Board Member Fortado asks if reconciliation procedures comport with the audit report; CLA confirmed it did. Board Member Farney complimented the auditors work on utilizing private auditing service to promote transparency.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES 

Board Member Vanichtheeranont offered a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of the county board of September 21, 2023; Board Member Ingram seconded. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

STANDING COMMITTEES 

Board Member Thorsland offered a motion to table Ordinance No. 2023-16 until the November Regular Meeting of the County Board; Board Member Rodriguez seconded. Board Member Thorsland noted he wanted more information on the issue, the absence of four board members, and one new board member. Board Members Michaels, Wilson, and Sexton offered their opposition, insisting that the county board vote that evening. Board Member Esry requested a roll call vote on the motion. The motion to move consideration of Ordinance No. 2023-16 carried by roll-call vote.

Yeas: Thorsland, Vanichtheeranont, Carter, Farney, Fortado, Hanauer-Friedman, Ingram, Lokshin, Peugh, Rodriguez, Rogers, Stohr, and Patterson – 13 Nays: Wilson, Esry, Michaels, Sexton, and Smith – 5

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY 

Board Member Fortado offered a motion to adopt Resolution No. 2023-257 approving Budget Amendment BUA 2023/9/457 for wage adjustments for several court clerks for the remainder of FY2023; Board Chair Patterson seconded. Board Members Fortado and Farney expressed concern that approval might set a precedent for intermittent county employee pay request. Board Member Farney further expressed concern that department heads are ignoring the plan adopted by County Administration. Board Member Fortado noted her opposition to the process but expressed hope that the resolution would pass. The motion failed by roll-call vote.

Yeas: Thorsland, Vanichtheeranont, Wilson, Carter, Hanauer-Friedman, Ingram, Lokshin, Peugh, Rodriguez, Rogers, Stohr, and Patterson – 12

Nays: Esry, Farney, Fortado, Michaels, Sexton, and Smith – 6

Following the failure of Resolution No. 2023-257 various Board Members expressed they were unaware of any voter threshold beyond simple majority as the Agenda Packet did not indicate the resolution required a 15-vote majority for adoption. Various Board Members and County Executive Summers discussed the vote threshold required for approval of a Budget Amendment. Board Member Fortado offered a motion to immediately reconsider Resolution No. 2023-257; Board Member Michaels seconded. Member Ingram noted his concern with the intermittent consideration of employee pay requests but urged the Board to vote again. The motion to reconsider the resolution carried by voice vote. The motion to adopt the resolution carried by roll-call vote.

Yeas: Thorsland, Vanichtheeranont, Wilson, Carter, Fortado, Hanauer-Friedman, Ingram, Lokshin, Michaels, Peugh, Rodriguez, Rogers, Smith, Stohr, and Patterson – 15

Nays: Esry, Farney, and Sexton – 3

NEW BUSINESS 

Board Member Patterson offered a motion to adopt Resolution No. 2023-258 authorizing payment of claims; Board Member Vanichtheeranont seconded. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Board Member Smith offered a motion to adopt Resolution No. 2023-259 accepting a grant from the Illinois Housing Development Authority’s Strong Communities Program; Board Member Ingram seconded. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Board Member Thorsland offered an omnibus motion to adopt Resolution No. 2023-260 appointing Aaron Esry to the Litigation Committee and Resolution No. 2023-261 appointing John Farney to the Environment and Land Use committee; Board Member Michaels seconded. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

OTHER BUSINESS 

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT

ARPA Project Manager Kathy Larson provided a brief update on ARPA projects and offered to answer questions. Board Member Fortado asked why microphones for county board meetings were not replaced per the previous vote to authorize that purchase; Director of Administration Michelle Jett was invited to join the discussion; she noted that the remaining $5k in ARPA money for 2023 could be used to purchase microphones for county board meetings. Board Member Fortado suggested that the county purchase what they can now, replace any remaining older microphones in the future. Director Jett confirmed the county would purchase four microphones. Board Member Rodriguez noted that functioning microphones are an issue of accessibility and a basic function of government.

Board Member Wilson asked what happens to unallocated ARPA funds. Director Jett explained that the funds remain in the county’s designated ARPA account.

Board Member Farney asked if County Plaza would offer a different microphone and speaker accommodation for county board meetings; Director Jett explained that the new county board meeting space would feature a combination of new and old equipment consisting of both portable and integrated sound.

RECESS 

County Executive Summers recessed the meeting at 7:36 PM.

https://www.co.champaign.il.us/CountyBoard/CB/2023/231019_Meeting/231019Minutes.pdf