Finance Committee
representative Roger Bock said the county’s revenues for the first
six months of the fiscal year that began Dec. 1, 2001, are $273,000
less than budgeted. This amounts to 12 percent less than the
anticipated income. Included in the total are shortfalls of about
$128,000 in taxes, $98,000 in fines and $47,000 in interest earned.
Not quite offsetting
the 12 percent that revenues are down, expenditures are also under
budget. Dale Voyles, also on the Finance Committee, announced that
expenditures for the first six months are 9 percent below budget
expectations. If revenues were on target, about $2.9 million would
remain to be spent.
Compounding the
problem, provisions in the state budget for the fiscal year
beginning July 1 bring more bad news on the revenue side. Finance
Committee chair Rod White said he has heard reports that the state
will quit paying counties a percentage of the photo use tax. This is
a tax on photographs developed in the county. In the 2002 budget,
the county projected income from the photo use tax of $134,000. To
date it has received only 36 percent of that, or about $48,240. If
the state stops paying a percentage of the photo use tax on July 1,
revenues for the current year will be down another $55,000.
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The final audit
report from Sikich Gardner & Co. of Springfield for fiscal year 2001
shows a general fund deficit of $257.025 with $4,168,736 in revenue.
In 2000, by comparison, revenues were $4,408,661 and positive
balance $585,752.
The county general
fund balance was $3,071,187 on Nov. 30, 2000, and $2,812,516 on Nov.
30, 2001. The May 2002 cash statement shows $1,934,444.
In the first of two
zoning matters, the county board voted 9-3 to delete a zoning
ordinance requirement that the county engineer approve the water
plans of people applying for building permits and "certify in
writing that an adequate and safe supply of water will be provided."
The provision has not been followed as stated, and deleting it
protects the county from liability.
The Logan County
Health Department, rather than the county engineer, plays a role in
assuring safe water. The department issues permits for private wells
and inspects them once they are drilled.
Board member Cliff
Sullivan was absent from the meeting. Those voting against the
deletion were Lloyd Hellman, Bock and White. White explained that he
is not in favor of allowing property owners to sell lots without a
guarantee that water is available.
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In the other zoning
issue, the petition of Darin and Deanna Crane to rezone 1.5 acres
northwest of Beason from agricultural to country homes use was
approved 10-2. The Cranes purchased the lot from his father, Donald
Crane, as a home site. Hellman and White opposed the measure.
County Engineer Tom
Hickman is in the process of prioritizing county highway projects in
a five-year plan. He listed the following 10 projects, along with
their projected costs:
• Fifth Street Road —
Rebuild the road with an asphalt overlay: $4.5 million.
• Elkhart Hill — Overlay
and replace curb on one-half mile: $150,000.
• Primm Road intersection
with the Elkhart-Mount Pulaski blacktop — Mill off asphalt, rebuild
base and overlay: $30,000.
• Cornland Road near
Illinois 54 — Mill off asphalt, rebuild base and overlay: $50,000.
• Nicholson Road near
Epperson subdivision — Pulverize and overlay three-fourths mile
section: $210,000.
• County highway between
Illinois 54 and Mount Pulaski — Pulverize and resurface: $275,000.
• Delavan blacktop north
of U.S. 136 to county line — Surface overlay: $150,000.
• County highway 3 north
of San Jose to the county line — Resurface one-half mile: $75,000.
• County highway 12 —
Triple concrete box culvert: $180,000.
• Kennedy Road in Elkhart
— Not yet costed but maybe $300,000. The county will pay half if the
village of Elkhart then takes over and maintains the road.
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In the process of
completing the five-year plan, other projects may be added to the
list, and the order may change.
In other business the
board voted to renew airport liability coverage with Facer Insurance
for a premium of $4,160. Board member Jim Griffin opposed the
measure because the insurance was not bid out.
Gerald Gehrke of Lincoln was unanimously
reappointed to the Board of Appeals.
[Lynn
Shearer Spellman]
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Available assistance includes:
• Disaster housing grants
to cover temporary rent or make essential repairs to damaged homes.
• U.S. Small Business
Administration loans to repair homes, replace personal property and
assist businesses.
• Grants for serious needs
not met by other programs.
To receive assistance available under
the presidential disaster declaration signed on May 21, you need to
apply. This may be done by calling the toll-free registration
number, (800) 621-FEMA (3362). For callers who use TTY, the number
is (800) 432-7585. These numbers are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Monday through Saturday.
Before you register, it helps to have
the following information ready:
• Your Social Security
number.
• A list of damages and
losses you suffered.
• The name of your
insurance company and your policy number.
• For direct deposit, your
bank information as indicated on a deposit stub.
If you have insurance, please call your
agent prior to making application.
Disaster recovery assistance is
available to any individual without regard to sex, religion,
national origin, age, disability or economic status. If you or
someone you know has been discriminated against, you should contact
the FEMA number above.
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Disaster assistance program
information
Individuals and small business owners
who suffered damages may be eligible for assistance from FEMA, other
federal agencies, the state of Illinois and voluntary agencies.
These assistance programs are available to those located in the
counties that were designated major disaster areas by President Bush
on May 21.
Federal
Emergency Management Agency programs
Disaster housing assistance:
Housing assistance to individuals and families whose permanent homes
were damaged or destroyed by the storm. Types of aid include grants
for alternate rental housing, emergency repairs needed to make a
residence habitable, and mortgage or rental assistance in cases
where the disaster has caused extreme economic hardship. Funds are
also available for mitigation measures to minimize the effects of
future disasters.
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this article]
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Individual and family grant program:
Grants to individuals and families to meet serious disaster-related
needs and necessary expenses not covered by insurance or other
federal, state or voluntary agency disaster assistance programs.
Disaster unemployment assistance:
Weekly benefits to individuals out of work due to the disaster,
including self-employed people, farm owners and others not covered
under regular unemployment benefits.
Small
Business Administration programs
Home and personal property disaster
loans: Disaster loans to homeowners and renters for restoring or
replacing underinsured or uninsured disaster-damaged real and
personal property. Funds are also available for mitigation measures
to minimize the effects of future disasters. (Available in declared
counties.)
Business disaster loans:
Disaster loans to repair or replace destroyed or damaged business
facilities, inventory, machinery, equipment, etc. not covered by
insurance. (Available to large and small businesses in declared
counties.) Loans also may be available to small businesses for
working capital to assist them during the disaster recovery period.
(Available in declared and contiguous counties.)
Other
agency programs
Tax assistance (federal):
Allowable deductions on income tax returns for underinsured or
uninsured casualty losses that were suffered on home, personal
property and household goods. Amended returns may be filed for a
previous year’s filing so that disaster victims can receive a tax
refund. Call the IRS at (800) 829-1040 for more information.
Farm
assistance: Emergency loans or grants to farmers who were
operating and managing a farm at the time of the disaster. Loans are
limited to the amount necessary to compensate for actual losses to
essential property and production capacity.
[News release]
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