Logan County Board Regular Meeting
Board approves four percent wage increase and paying $200 per month for health insurance for non-union employees

 

[October 21, 2024] 

On Tuesday, October 15th, the Logan County Board met for their monthly regular board meeting. This meeting was held in the usual location, that being the first-floor courtroom of the Logan County Courthouse. Those in attendance included chairman Michael DeRoss, vice chairman Dale Nelson, JR Glenn, Keenan Leesman, Jim Wessbecher, Kathy Schmidt, Gil Turner, Bob Sanders, Hannah Fitzpatrick, and Joseph Kuhlman. Board members Emily Davenport and Julie Bobell were not in attendance.

DeRoss started the meeting by requesting a moment of silence and prayer for former board member Phil Mahler, who passed away on October 12th.

DeRoss then transitioned the meeting to public comments. Several volunteers with United Sovereign Americans were present to discuss the upcoming national elections. The individuals present included Teresa Armstrong of Peoria County, Debbie and Don Mayo of Macon County, Tim Hargrove of Sangamon County, and Joe Bridge of Tazewell County. DeRoss limited each speaker to two minutes a piece. Each volunteer read as much as they could from a script before their two minutes was up. While some were able to make it through, others were cut off early.

The primary issue addressed during these speeches included an alleged inaccuracy in the 2022 election. Hargrove stated that there were over 500,000 votes cast by “ineligible or uncertain registrations.” It was stated that the 2022 Illinois general election could be “invalid” because of the election laws the speakers say were broken. A list of solutions was shared with the board. Some of these solutions included requiring proof of citizenship and eligibility in order to register to vote, a certified accurate voter roll that is available for public viewing, hand-marked ballots, and ensuring facilities and technologies for voting be up to date with current laws to prevent fraud. When Bridge spoke, he requested to have their suggestions added to the agenda for the evening, or as soon as they could, and to invite the individuals back for when they are voted on/discussed.

DeRoss informed the group that, because of Logan County Board policy, the suggestions would have to go through a committee before they were able to be voted on by the larger board. Turner then asked the volunteers if there was a county that was the worst in regard to this particular issue. Hargrove responded that he was not given the numbers and if there was, he was not informed. He reiterated that the numbers were state-wide but stated that if he had to take an educated guess, the worst would likely be “somewhere north of I-80.” This concluded the public comments, and the board began to go from committee to committee discussing items they brought for full board consideration.

Executive and Personnel, Building and Grounds, and Transportation all had nothing to vote on. Zoning and Economic Development had two items. The first was a vote on approving the wind zoning ordinance that this committee had just had a special committee meeting before this regular board meeting. The ordinance was passed unanimously. The board then voted on Pivot Energy’s solar decommissioning plan. That also passed unanimously.

Finance was the busiest committee of the night, having several items they brought forward for board consideration. The first was a tax sale for Leonard Harmon. This was approved unanimously. The second issue discussed was the per diem/mileage change in the board’s policy. Per the law, the board would have to put this in the hands of board members for thirty days before they could vote and would require a two-thirds board vote for approval. Wessbecher stated that the compensation board members get should be for mileage, not reimbursement for gas. The board discussed what this amount would be, with $0.67 per mile being the common number brought up. It was ultimately decided to re-agenda this issue for next month’s meeting.

The next issue addressed was approving the next fiscal year’s tax levies. Turner asked if any of the amounts were changed from the Workshop meeting the previous week. Nelson informed him that none of the amounts were changed. It was decided that the levies would need to be approved one at a time.

Each levy was approved unanimously and were as follows with their amounts:

• General Fund tax levy from December 1st, 2024, through November 30th, 2025 ($2,282,472)

• Liability Insurance ($201,094)

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund ($676,238)

• County Highway Funds ($569,305)

• County Bridge Funds ($250,978)

• Highways Matching Tax Fund ($319,786)

• Ambulance Service Fund ($296,302)

• Tuberculosis Sanitarium Fund ($49,155)

• Senior Citizen Tax Fund ($80,602)

• Cooperative Extension Service Fund ($140,896)

• Veterans Assistance Commission Tax Fund ($221,042)

• Health Department ($231,233)

For the Tuberculosis Sanitarium Fund item, DeRoss shared that he talked to the Director of Health on why a tuberculosis sanitarium fund is needed. He looked at the numbers and there is a reserve fund for this currently as well. The director came back and stated that a single case of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis would deplete their reserves for everything they would need to do to take care of the patient.

Non-Union Wage increases

Once all of the tax levies were voted on, the board moved to the issue of non-union salary increases. A three percent increase was the initial increase proposed. This amount would cost $56,047 more than what is currently being contributed to non-union salaries. Turner suggested a four percent increase, which would be about an additional $18,000. This was seconded by Glenn but challenged by Leesman. Turner argued that, since union employees are getting a five percent raise, and their average salaries are much higher than those of non-union employees, it would take a ten percent raise for non-union employees to make a “dollar-for-dollar.” Leesman argued that Turner’s logic did not make sense, asking him if he was comparing a union position to a position that does not exist. “You can’t compare a Sheriff’s department to a non-Sheriff’s department,” Leesman argued. “They’re different jobs,” Leesman continued. “Do you have a deputy salary that’s non-union compared to a deputy salary that is union?” Turner admitted that he was comparing “apples to oranges,” but stated he was more looking at the dollar amounts.

Glenn also brought up that, since the next item to be discussed was paying for non-union health insurance, that this could also be more money in non-union employee’s pockets. It currently costs non-union employees $256 per month for individual health coverage through the county’s plan. Once all arguments and points were made, a final vote was taken, and the four percent salary increase passed with a vote of 9-1. Wessbecher was the only one to vote no.

Non-union Health Insurance

The last issue to discuss was, as previously stated, paying the full cost of non-union, individual health insurance coverage. This issue was also a bit contentious, with arguments being made on both sides. Some said that they disagreed with paying the full amount based on the mid-year update the board was given during this month’s Finance Committee meeting. At that meeting, it was stated that the cost of health insurance for the county could go up around nine percent when it is time to renew in the middle of next year. Setting a dollar amount seemed like a safer bet to the board, as they could plan for that amount, rather than hoping the insurance would not go up by too much and being responsible for paying whatever the increase was. Sanders suggested a $200 per month increase to the current amount, leaving non-union employees with a $56 per month contribution to insurance. This was a more popular sentiment and was approved unanimously.

Just before the end of the meeting, DeRoss gave his chairman’s report. It was decided that the board would meet for a special regular board meeting next Thursday, October 24th at 6:30 pm to approve the posting of the budget. This budget must be posted for fifteen days before the board can vote on it. It would then be voted on for final approval in November’s regular board meeting.

[Matt Boutcher]