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Currently, all board members receive $35 per diem and mileage to
attend meetings, plus health insurance and retirement benefits. Per
diem is per day; consecutive meetings are one meeting, one per diem.
Committees are set with two or three meeting on the same days, back
to back. Most committees meeting on a given evening are assigned the
same members, with five members, plus the county board chairman
attends all committees.
Discussion was initiated a couple of years ago when the county
had Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance that would not cover future
board members as part-time employees. The board indicated then that
it would likely not be offering health insurance to future board
members beginning with the 10-year reset.
When the finance committee met earlier this month, chairman Chuck
Ruben had some figures for comparison on what other Illinois
counties our size are doing. He also had in hand current board
costs.
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Montgomery County
-- $60 per diem; no insurance
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Ogle County --
$150 covers the first four meetings, additional at $50 a meeting
thereafter
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Mason County --
$70 for chairman, $60 for other board members
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Livingston County -- $80 for chairman,
$45 for other board members
Ruben and Farmer both heard from another county's board member
that they get a flat $350 a month.
Ruben told committee members: "I think we need to stay just where
we're at. With the current conditions, I can't see spending more
money for per diems than we're currently spending."
Assuming that insurance would be dropped, he took the $40,000
budgeted for the current year -- broken down with $7,000 per year
for mileage costs, leaving $33,000 for per diem; added $28,800 per
year for health insurance for six board members, the number
participating at last count; then redistributed that sum toward a
per diem with an average 1,000 meeting payouts per year and got
$68,800 per year.
That calculates to $61.80 per diem plus mileage for 12 board
members.
Current benefits of dental, health or life insurance that are now
made available and paid by the county would be dropped.
The restructure is comparable to what other counties have done.
Finance committeeman David Hepler suggested looking at committee
sizes as well to help with the overall cost to the county. He
suggested that each committee does not have to have six people; if a
three-person committee would work, it could help with costs.
Quorum standards would complicate smaller committees. It was
questioned if three members would create a legally recognized
committee, but also, what if one member couldn't be there? Then
would two people present be legal by government meeting standards?
Also to be considered, committee sessions would require that a
higher number of members be in attendance to meet quorum; and if two
committee members met outside of a meeting time, any discussion
would be considered illegal.
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An additional thought thrown in was that a larger-sized committee
provides better representation in deciding matters that would go
before the board for approval.
Jan Schumacher said she met this week with county board members
from like-sized counties that had 24 to 28 people, even 32. Bob
Farmer interjected that this would cost much more in per diems.
Everyone agreed that Logan County's board is the right size for
our county, with each board member representing about 2,000 people.
Ruben proposed that $60 per diem, mileage and no benefits be put
to the full board. Hepler was the only committeeman in opposition.
When Ruben brought the motion before the board last Thursday,
there was considerable discussion that resulted in a number of
proposed amendments.
The first suggested amendment came from Pat O'Neill, who
suggested raising the per diem from $35 to $45, eliminating mileage
and insurance.
Jan Schumacher, Bill Martin, Terry Carlton, Ruben and others
opposed eliminating mileage, saying it was inequitable to board
members who drive larger distances. The drive costs them in time as
well as transportation costs.
The suggestion failed a straw vote.
Ruben projected that if you took the Consumer Price Index and
applied it to the current $35 pay that was set in 1972, 40 years
ago, it would have doubled by now.
Schumacher proposed an amendment of $45 per diem, mileage and no
health insurance. The resulting verbal straw vote was uncertain if
this amendment would pass on Tuesday night.
The board meets for its adjourned session at the Logan County
Courthouse at 7 this evening (Tuesday).
[By
JAN YOUNGQUIST] |
