County Board discusses salaries and hears a few committee updates

[April 19, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

On Tuesday, April 17, 2018, the Logan County Board held its Regular meeting, voting on several motions and hearing committee updates. One focus of discussion was salaries for the treasurer, county clerk, and sheriff.

Board members present were Kevin Bateman, Dave Blankenship, Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, David Hepler, Gloria Luster, Gene Rohlfs, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch.

Finance Committee update

The Finance Committee discussed salaries for the treasurer, county clerk, and sheriff at their meeting last Tuesday and the following motions were brought forward:

County Treasurer

Kevin Bateman motioned that the treasurer’s salary be set at $65,000 for the first, second, and third years [of the term] and $67,500 for the fourth year.

The current salary for the treasurer is $65,500. The current person filling the position is Penny Thomas. Thomas was appointed by the board when former Treasurer Vicky Dugan retired before her term was up. Thomas worked in the office for several years and was Dugan's recommendation.

Board member Gloria Luster said she does not want to decrease the salary for someone with so much experience.

Board member Annette Welch amended the motion to set the treasurer’s salary at $67,500 for all four years, but the amendment failed 7-2-3. Dave Blankenship, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, David Hepler, Gene Rohlfs, Bob Sanders and Scott Schaffenacker voted no. Kevin Bateman and Annette Welch voted yes. Emily Davenport, Gloria Luster and Chuck Ruben abstained.

Scott Schaffenacker’s motion to send the salary back to committee passed 6-4-2. Kevin Bateman, Janet Estill, David Hepler, Gloria Luster, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch voted yes. Dave Blankenship, Bob Farmer, Gene Rohlfs, and Bob Sanders voted no. Emily Davenport and Chuck Ruben abstained.

County Clerk

Gene Rohlfs motioned that the county clerk’s salary be set at $65,000 for the first, second, and third years [of the term] and $67,500 for the fourth year.

Kevin Bateman amended that motion to send the salary back to the Finance Committee for more discussion.

Bateman’s motion passed 5-4-2. Kevin Bateman, Janet Estill, David Hepler, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch voted yes. Dave Blankenship, Bob Farmer, Gene Rohlfs and Bob Sanders voted no. Emily Davenport, Gloria Luster and Chuck Ruben abstained.

County Sheriff

Gene Rohlfs motioned that the sheriff’s salary be set at $82,500 for the first, second, and third years [of the term] and $85,000 for the fourth year.

Bateman motioned to send the salary back to the Finance Committee failed due to a tie vote. Dave Blankenship, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, Gloria Luster, Gene Rohlfs and Bob Sanders voted no. Kevin Bateman, David Hepler, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch voted yes. Emily Davenport and Chuck Ruben abstained.

Rohlfs motioned to amend the main motion to set the sheriff’s salary at $80,000 for the first three years and $82,500 for the fourth year.

Hepler asked current Sheriff Steve Nichols to comment on the salary motion.

Nichols said he would like to see a salary of $82,500 for all four years because the sheriff has a lot of responsibility.

Rohlf’s amendment passed 7-3-2. Kevin Bateman, Dave Blankenship, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, Gene Rohlfs, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch voted yes. David Hepler, Gloria Luster, Bob Sanders voted no. Emily Davenport and Chuck Ruben abstained.

The main motion as amended to set the sheriff’s salary at $80,000 for the first three years and $82,500 for the fourth year passed 6-4-2. Dave Blankenship, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, Gene Rohlfs, Scott Schaffenacker, and Annette Welch voted yes. Kevin Bateman, David Hepler, Gloria Luster, Bob Sanders voted no.

Other motions from the Finance Committee were unanimously approved including:

County Assessor resignation

Hepler’s motion to accept the assessor’s resignation letter.

In the letter, Logan County Assessor Denise Martinek said she has chosen not to seek reappointment when her term expires. Martinek said she has enjoyed her time serving as assessor for the last six years. Martinek said she is proud of accomplishments such as receiving a state multiplier of one over the past four years, updated the software system, has the property records online, and has a current level of assessments at 33.16.

Martinek said she is “particularly proud of the staff at the Logan County Assessment Office” and is lucky to have individuals who are professional, courteous and knowledgeable.

Board Chairman Chuck Ruben said he appreciated how Martinek did with the quadrennial assessments, which had not been completed for a while in the past.

Motion to test for assessor

The board then approved Hepler’s motion to ask the Department of Revenue to test for assessor. Hepler said he is sending the Department of Revenue a letter asking them to call for the test.

Annual Auditor’s Report approved

The board also approved a motion to accept the Auditor’s Report from Clifton, Larson, Allen. Clifton, Larson, and Allen representative Lindsay Samp said her firm issued an “unmodified or clean opinion on the financial statements, which is the best opinion they can give.” She briefly reviewed their findings with the board.

Other updates

Executive and Personnel

The board unanimously approved Executive and Personnel Chairman Emily Davenport’s motion to expend $12,500 from the farm account for the sheriff to use to hire an architect. The architect will be working on designs for the jail expansion.

There was some brief discussion before the vote.

Gene Rohlfs asked about who would be doing the designs and what they would provide.

Sheriff Nichols said designs will be done by a group from Peoria who has already reviewed the Safety Complex and Logan County Courthouse. They will be doing drawings and other things recommended. The expansion will be attached to the Safety Complex to make it more functional and the architect’s study will help them figure out the best way to do that.

Building and Grounds

The board unanimously approved two motions from Building and Grounds Chairman Kevin Bateman.
These motions included:

A motion to approve the annual KONE Agreement in the amount of $1,679.06

A motion to donate a desk to the Tourism Bureau.

Bateman also made a motion to approve a donation for $1,500 out of the Community Support Fund for the “Dock Dogs” event in conjunction with Pigs and Swigs. At Thursday’s workshop, Bateman said the Dock Dogs is a canine aquatics competition that is part of a traveling circuit and brings in thousands of people to their events. The event is family friendly.

Bateman said he expects about 40 entries. This year, he asked the city, the tourism board, and a few financial institutions to help financially support the event. Bateman said if this year goes well, he will ask more businesses for support next year.

Rohlfs asked about the county’s advantage in supporting the event.

Welch said there will be a loss of revenue without the balloon festival this year and this event will hopefully help generate some revenue.

The motion for the donation passed with Dave Blankenship, Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, Gloria Luster, Gene Rohlfs, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch voting yes. Kevin Bateman and David Hepler abstained from the vote.

As part of the consent agenda, the board also approved motions from the Buildings and Grounds Committee for the use of the rotunda at the courthouse on May 3, 2018 for the Annual National Day of Prayer, the use of Latham Park on April 21, 2018 for a City-Wide Garbage clean-up, and the motions to allow purple ribbons to be put up on the lamps around the courthouse square for Relay for Life.

Animal Control

The board unanimously approved Animal Control Chairman Bob Sander’s motion to send out annual Animal Control Contracts to all municipalities using the same fees as the previous year, except increasing the city of Lincoln to $42,000 per year.

Planning and Zoning Committee

The board unanimously approved two motions from Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman Scott Schaffenacker:

A motion to set the in-ground swimming pool permit fee at $20.00. It will be a one-time fee.

A motion to authorize the chairman to sign Hilltopper Windfarm’s Letter of Credit for the Decommissioning Agreement pending approval from the state’s attorney.

Road and Bridge

The board unanimously approved Road and Bridge Chairman Bob Farmer’s motion to approve a Resolution to award a contract for sealcoat work on county highways and various township road districts.

The next Regular Board meeting will be Tuesday, May 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the Logan County Courthouse.

[Angela Reiners]