Logan County Board makes appointments
Cemetery District, Housing Authority, Board of Review, Farmland Assessment Review, Regional EDD, CEDS and Higher Education Committees, and Supervisor of Assessments

[July 07, 2014]  LINCOLN - On Tuesday, June 17, the Logan County Board held its regular monthly meeting that included voting matters. All 12 members were present -- Chairman Robert Farmer, Vice-chairman David Hepler, Andy Anderson, Rick Aylesworth, Kevin Bateman, David Blankenship, Emily Davenport, Andy Meister, Pat O’Neill, Chuck Ruben, Gene Rohlfs and Jan Schumacher.

Eight board appointments to four committees were approved unanimously.

Board Appointments:

To the Logan County Cemetery District:
Ron Ritchhart, Darrel White

To the Housing Authority of the County of Logan:
Harley Petri, Judy Emrick

To the Board of Review:
Gerald Gehrke

Logan County Supervisor of Assessments, Roseanne Brosamer, came to the meeting to explain the purpose of a new group and process ordered by the state of Illinois, the Farmland Assessment Review Committee.

Brosamer said that for farmland assessments, the state has required that each county establish a committee of five members consisting of the supervisor of assessments, the chairman of the Board of Review, and three farmers.

She explained that once a year this committee will meet and the supervisor of assessments will present the state farmland criticized values for the next assessment year. The committee would help interpret those and see to the application. A public hearing is then held in the supervisor's office to either concur with the findings or to object to the Department of Revenue.

Logan County Farmland Assessment Review Committee appointments:
Michael Litterly, Rodney White and David Sasse

Chairman's appointments

During the meeting, the board also unanimously approved three recommendations for appointment made by Board Chairman Robert Farmer:

• Bill Thomas to Economic Development District (EDD)¸a committee of the Council
   
• Bill Thomas to the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Committee, a subcommittee of the EDD
   
• David Hepler to the Higher Education Committee, a subcommittee of the CEDS Committee

Today, communities need solid transportation and communications infrastructure to retain and entice business, and remain competitive in a global market. Participation with a region provides and edge lending strength and opportunities to all its members.

Logan County joined the Economic Development Council of Central Illinois through its CEDS. A committee of the Council is the Economic Development District. With Logan County's membership it has a place on the EDD.

The EDD structure and mechanism improve opportunities to acquire federal aid needed for projects with the support of a regional request.

The CEDS is a subcommittee of the EDD. The CEDS documentation identifies specific needs and goals that will move a community toward healthier economy. The document also provides a vehicle for measureable accountability for fund requests and use.

A subcommittee to the CEDS is the Higher Education Committee.

Other participating counties in the EDD include Peoria, Woodford, Tazewell and Mason County.

Supervisor of Assessments

The board also voted 11 yes, and one abstain by Andy Anderson, to hire Denise Martinek for the office of Supervisor of Assessments. Martinek has already been working in that office for a couple of years. She begins her position on Aug 1, 2014 as current supervisor, Roseanne Brosamer, begins her retirement.

Brosamer has been with the county more than 36 years, and said she is looking forward to spending some time with her grandchildren.

[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]