Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Community Services Committee met September 19.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

Members Present:

Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Stauffenberg, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Snipes, Mr. Payton, Ms. Evans, Mr. Payton, Ms. Peters, Ms. Dunbar, and Ms. Parker

Members Absent:

Mr. Tholen, Ms. Polk, Mr. Hildebrand, and Mr. Einfeldt

In Attendance:

• Board Members

Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Liehr

• Department Heads

Lori Gadbois, Bruce Clark, Julie Boudreau, Erich Blair, and Delbert Skimerhorn

• Media

None

1.Call to Order/Roll Call

The meeting was called to order by the Committee Chairman, Mr. Sirois, at 9:00 a.m. Quorum present.

2. Public Comment

None

3. Approval of Minutes: August 15, 2017

Mr. Payton made a motion to approve the minutes, and Ms. Dunbar seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

4. Animal Control: Julie Boudreau

• Monthly Report

Ms. Evans made a motion to approve the report, and Ms. Parker seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Ms. Boudreau reviewed and discussed the report with the committee.

5. Recorder: Lori Gadbois

• Monthly Report

Ms. Dunbar made a motion to approve the report, and Mr. Stauffenberg seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Ms. Gadbois reviewed and discussed the report with the committee.

• Introducing Predictable Fees – Recorder’s Legislation

Ms. Gadbois stated that the Governor signed this legislation into law before the deadline. There are some steps that need to be taken before it can officially happen according to the legislation. After this committee, it will go to the County Board next month. It will be on public notice for 30 days and, according to the way the Bill reads, it would be enacted 60 days after the Board approves the resolution. That date would be December 11th; however, in order to enact this properly and not have a lot of confusion, we will be enacting it on January 1, 2018. She provided the committee with a copy of the new fee schedule. This schedule reflects the cost study that was done and refreshed in November of 2016. The new statute allows a cost study that was done within the last three years.

Mr. Wheeler made a motion to put the Recorder’s rates on display as of today, and Ms. Dunbar seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

6. Assessor: Erich Blair

• Monthly Report

Ms. Peters made a motion to approve the report, and Mr. Vickery seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote. Mr. Blair reviewed and discussed the report with the committee.

Mr. Liehr asked Mr. Blair to explain the senior freeze as it relates to assessments.

Mr. Blair reports the Senior Freeze income threshold for 2018 will be $65,000, which is a $10,000 yearly increase.

Mr. Snipes reports he has not received an assessment notice in a few years and asked if the senior freeze is reoccurring once it is filed.

Mr. Blair reports an assessment notice will only be generated if there is a change to the value of the property or if it is the property’s quad, or general assessment year, which is every four years. He also explained the freeze, because it is income based, does have to be applied for yearly; however, should one forget to file, and the individual is eligible, the assessor may file a certificate of error to correct the bill to ensure the senior does get the benefit of the freeze.

7. County Clerk: Bruce Clark

• Monthly Report

Ms. Peters made a motion to approve the report, and Ms. Dunbar seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. Clark reviewed and discussed the report with the committee.

• County Board Records

Mr. Clark stated that the County Clerk’s office has been microfilming County Board documents dated from December 1979 to the present. The images have been transferred to the County Clerk’s website. Dan Hendrickson gave a PowerPoint presentation on how the search engine works. He reported that there were 94,563 images uploaded which spanned over 560 months.

Mr. Wheeler asked if this project satisfies OMA requirements for posting, or do we still have to maintain the dual system with the County. He stated that, at present, County Administration also posts Board documents online, with the exception of the roll call.

Mr. Clark stated that this is intended to be an archived record system, but that would be up to the Board if they wanted to keep posting both.

8. Old Business None

9. New Business

• Letter of Commendation – Erich Blair

Mr. Sirois read a letter to the committee from Gary Twist, Chief County Assessment Officer from Tazewell County. The letter commended Erich Blair for his work in Kankakee County and the State of Illinois.

• Kankakee County Animal Welfare Advisory Committee Meeting on Tuesday, September 26, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., or Following the Executive Committee Meeting

Ms. Parker stated that she and Mr. Wheeler met last week to put together an agenda for the first meeting. The committee will be setting their foundation and, hopefully, their outcomes and goals for the year, as well as future meeting dates.

10. Adjournment

Ms. Peters made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:42 a.m., and Ms. Dunbar seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

http://www.co.kankakee.il.us/files/committees/comm_services_91917.pdf