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Finance Committee chair Rod White
explained that in 1988, when the cemetery district was formed, the
county board gave it maintenance equipment for $1 and loaned
start-up money. Before voters established the cemetery district, the
county had maintained cemeteries, and the money was collected for
that purpose. The district levies its own taxes but needed money to
begin operations. For two years the cemetery district paid 3½
percent interest on the $100,000 loan, but White said no interest
has been received since 1991.
The county board has written off the
loan in the treasurer’s books, but auditors from Sikich Gardner in
Springfield recommend formally forgiving it as well. Jonathan Wright
of the state’s attorney’s office is preparing a resolution for the
Nov. 19 voting session.
Dick Logan, a member of the Finance
Committee, is not so ready to dismiss the loan, saying, "I think we
need to make them show us that they can’t repay that loan before we
forgive it." He said the current cemetery district budget estimates
$16,000 in interest on endowments, though with current low interest
rates the figure is probably down.
White said the endowment money is for
perpetual care, and the cemetery district can use the interest but
not the principal. To become part of the district, a cemetery must
give up endowment interest but keep the endowment itself.
From the beginning the cemetery
district levied the maximum tax. It projects a shortfall for the
fiscal year ending Nov. 30. Still, at Friday morning’s Finance
Committee meeting, members said they need to know cemetery district
fund balances before they can vote on forgiving the loan. White will
obtain that information by Tuesday.
Another issue that turned out not to be
simple is the 2003 holiday schedule. Chief Circuit Judge John P.
Freese submitted a schedule with 13 holidays, including Casimir
Pulaski Day. Insurance and Legislative Committee chair Dale Voyles
said half his committee prefer dropping the Pulaski holiday and
giving Dec. 26 instead. In 2003 Christmas falls on Sunday and the
original day off is Friday the 23rd. Three of six committee members
prefer to give a four-day Christmas weekend.
To get the issue on the table, Voyles
made the motion to accept the Freese schedule but announced that he
would vote against it. In the straw vote, 11 board members joined
him, leaving Rod White as the sole affirmative. Lloyd Hellman was
absent from the meeting. White said he had voted against a similar
schedule some years ago but found that too many factors were already
in place for it to be feasible to change the schedule. He asked to
know the impact on collective bargaining contracts before Tuesday’s
vote.
In the first of several financial
commitments, the board gave tentative approval for the purchase of a
hydraulic lift for the highway department. County Highway
Superintendent Tom Hickman said the current lift was bought about
1965 and has a bad cylinder. Of three bids received, the Road &
Bridge Committee voted to accept the $37,569 bid from Misco Service
& Supply. Misco plans to use the existing power unit, which is old
but in good shape. The lift has a 35,000-pound capacity, which can
be increased to 50,000 pounds with a new power unit.
Hickman also said he is researching
digital aerial photography with good enough resolution to allow for
parcel mapping as well as for highway department facilities
management. Purchase of the equipment may qualify for an Illinois
Department of Transportation grant. IDOT is offering 80 percent
matching grants of up to $100,000 per county for Geographic
Information System initiatives related to highways. To receive the
maximum grant, the county would pay $20,000 for a $120,000 project.
The board voted tentatively to commit
$13,530 toward buying a truck with snow blade for Logan County
Airport and improving the road from the entrance to the parking lot.
Both projects are slated for 2004. Total cost is estimated at
$210,600, with federal and state governments picking up $197,070 as
part of a program called Transportation Improvement Projects. The
2005 TIPS project is to expand the ramp and long-term parking area
for $320,000, with the county portion being $16,000.
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this article]
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In other airport news, the board
indicated its intention to renew the management contract with
Heritage in Flight for one year. Since the contract was
inadvertently allowed to lapse, it is being made retroactive to
April 27. Heritage in Flight is paid $1 per year to manage the
airport.
The Airport/Farm Committee is also
drawing up formal agreements with Darrell Paige, who has farmed the
airport ground for 15 years and the county farm for 10. Jonathan
Wright is preparing a one-year
renewable crop share contract for the farm and a one-year renewable
licensing agreement for the airport. In straw votes the board
approved both agreements.
The county has negotiated a tentative
three-year contract with the Logan County Paramedic Association,
whose current contract expires Nov. 30. The county board will vote
on the contract on Tuesday. If approved it will then go to the LCPA.
The tentative contract provides for an
ambulance mileage increase from $4 to $6 per loaded mile, the figure
which Medicare covers. Otherwise, there are to be no rate increases
and no subsidy in the first contract year. For the second and third
years (2004-5), LCPA can request rate increases or subsidies by
Sept. 1, subject to approval by the county board.
The contract requires the paramedic
association to replace consumables at its own expense and to pay for
parts and repairs up to $500. In the first year the county must set
aside $13,500 for repairs over $500. In the second and third years
the association can request an increase in the funds provided by the
county, again subject to board approval.
At the beginning of the board meeting,
Logan County Emergency Services Disaster Agency Director Dan
Fulscher was recognized for being one of the inaugural class of nine
to earn certification as Illinois Professional Emergency Managers.
The award, developed by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and
the Illinois Emergency Services Management Association, sets a
standard of professionalism to strengthen the emergency management
system in the state. The 12 training requirements include 24 hours
of course work. In addition, the candidate must command a functional
or full-scale exercise and submit a paper for peer review.
ESDA employees Terry Storer and Diane
Ruff presented the award. Storer has completed the first level of
requirements toward professional emergency manager, termed
Professional Development Skills. Ruff is entering the PDS program.
Law Enforcement/ESDA Committee chair Doug Dutz said, "It’s very
encouraging to see Terry, Diane and Dan seeking all the education
they can get."
On an issue that arises annually, the
board indicated that on Tuesday it will appoint Lester Thomson as
animal control administrator and Sheila Farmer as animal control
warden for fiscal year 2003. Jim Griffin, a member of the Animal
Control Committee, noted an extended executive session for
discussing personnel matters. "I’ve never been in a two-hour
executive session," he said, "and I’ll be voting no" on Farmer’s
appointment.
In another straw vote the board
tentatively approved a petition from Ronald Rohlfs to rezone three
acres from agricultural to country homes use. The tract is part of
the 18.68 acres Rohlfs owns near Grand Oaks Estates in Chester
Township. Zoning officer Bud Miller said that Rohlfs has met legal
requirements. The three lots front on a dead-end road used by one
farmer. They are next to but not in a flood plain. The Regional
Planning Commission previously gave the petition unanimous approval,
and the Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-1 to OK it.
Following
Tuesday night’s voting session there will be a reception for the six
retiring county board members in the first floor rotunda area of the
courthouse.
[Lynn
Spellman]
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