Logan County Board
CAPCIL request for funding merits further consideration

 

[February 24, 2025] 

On Tuesday, February 18th, the Logan County Board met for their monthly regular board meeting. One of the items on the board’s agenda, was the request by Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois (CAPCIL) for $7,500.

At this meeting, the main issue discussed by the board regarding the CAPCIL request was whether or not the request should be “grandfathered in.” Board member Kathy Schmidt started off by defending the need for the board to approve the request. She called the amount of time CAPCIL has been waiting for their request to be approved or denied “extreme.” Breann Titus, Chief Visionary Officer at CAPCIL, was told to apply for funding from Logan County’s Community Benefit Fund by former board chairman Emily Davenport. Davenport stepped down from the board last September.

Board member Bob Sanders brought up the fact that the previous Finance committee set a $500 limit on any donations from the Community Benefit Fund until guidelines could be created to help guide the board in approving or denying future applications. This is something the board is still working on, having sent the current guidelines back to committee at their workshop meeting on February 13th. Board member Lance Conahan also brought up the fact that the previous Finance committee placed that $500 limit after Titus submitted her application. Board member Dale Nelson stated that he would be okay approving CAPCIL’s request based on this information.

Sanders brought up the question of if a new committee could overrule what a previous committee had done. Chairman JR Glenn then asked the members of the Finance committee if they had voted to revoke the $500 limit at their committee meeting in February. When it was revealed that they had not, Glenn posed another question: should the request be grandfathered in since it was submitted before the $500 limit was imposed, or should the Finance committee be required to revoke the limit first? The members were unsure, with no clear answers being given. Schmidt ultimately decided to retract her motion and send it back to committee. This was the easier option versus pushing it forward for a vote and potentially having it rejected.

There are many strong opinions and feelings from board members as well as CAPCIL regarding this issue. Why is the level of frustration so high and why has this request persisted for so long?

Here is a brief overview of CAPCIL’s request thus far:

Back in September, 2024, Titus submitted her application for funding regarding a roof replacement that was needed for their Lincoln building. After CAPCIL’s insurance paid their portion, there was still a $21,000 bill that needed to be paid. CAPCIL, being a non-profit organization, is almost entirely grant funded. Grants have strict restrictions on how that money is to be spent. Capital improvements, such as a new roof, are not covered by any of the grants CAPCIL currently receives.

CAPCIL approached both the county board as well as the Lincoln City Council. The city council approved $7,500. CAPCIL asked the Logan County Board if they could match that amount. The application came before the Finance committee in October, the same month the board was talking about needing guidelines for the Community Benefit Fund. At the October meeting, the committee decided to place a $500 limit on donations made by the Community Benefit Fund until the guidelines were set. Titus was present at this meeting, explaining the need for more than $500. The committee decided to table the discussion on the matter, not approving it, but not denying it either.

Over the next several months, the Finance committee tried to get guidelines set for the Community Benefit Fund. The primary issue was how to define ‘community benefit.’ The CAPCIL request was often brought up during these discussions, with some members of the board not being sure if paying for a new roof would qualify as community benefit, even though no one argued against CAPCIL’s benefit to the community itself.

Some committee members were concerned that, should they approve the amount, other people would come forward with requests for capital improvements. This could potentially drain that fund fairly quickly and keep the board from giving that money to things such as community events. A separate possible request for a splash pad was even discussed at one point, with committee members considering how and if that would fall under “community benefit.”

These discussions persisted through December, with a new Finance committee being selected in January, 2025. The committee, with almost entirely new members, had to get their bearings, deciding in January that they would come back in February with some ideas on how to define ‘community benefit.’ The committee came to an agreement in February, with an official application for the Community Benefit Fund being sent to the workshop meeting for the board to consider.

Titus, who had not been present at any of the meetings since the Finance committee meeting in October, was present once again at February’s workshop meeting. Here, she stated that she understood the board’s hesitation to accept her application, as it could cause a domino effect. The board also mentioned that, since roofs are not permanent, CAPCIL (or others) may come back every so many years to get funding when their roof needs to be replaced again.

Titus also pushed back on the board’s hesitation a bit, stating that she did not understand why she was being held to standards and decisions that were not being considered or in place when she submitted her application. Board member Keenan Leesman stated that he would be okay funding a program that CAPCIL provides for the community that may have been impacted by having to pay for the roof replacement, but not the roof itself. Titus explained that the money had to come out of their operating budget, which is used for things such as paying rent and their employees. None of their programs were impacted directly because, as stated earlier, their grant money is not able to be used in such a way. These comments by Titus were the primary fuel for the ‘grandfathering in’ discussion that was had by the board at February’s regular board meeting.

Keep an eye on LDN for future updates regarding CAPCIL’s request and whether or not it is approved.

[Matt Boutcher]

Other stories from the February 18th Regular Board Meeting

Logan County Board Regular Meeting
Logan County Jail Expansion, Logan County tourism Bureau, and staff termination in the Zoning Office
https://archives.lincolndailynews.com/
2025/Feb/21/NEWS/today_county.shtml

Logan County Board Recognizes County Clerk Theresa Moore
https://archives.lincolndailynews.com/
2025/Feb/22/NEWS/today_MOORE.shtml 

Logan County Board to Apply for Inflation Reduction Act Refund
https://archives.lincolndailynews.com/
2025/Feb/24/NEWS/today_COUNTY.shtml