Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Finance Committee met Wednesday, April 25.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

Members Present Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, and Mr. Kinzinger Members Absent Mr. Stauffenberg, Mr. Skutt, Mr. Hildebrand, Mr. Einfeldt, Mr. Payton, Ms. Dunbar, and Mr. Ritter

In Attendance

• Board Members

Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Liehr, and Mr. Snipes Department Heads Julie Boudreau, Erich Blair, Lori Gadbois, Mark Rogers, Sandi Cianci, Bob Gessner, Jake Lee, Steve McCarty, Sheriff Mike Downey, and Tom Latham Media Present

1. Call to Order

• Roll Call

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

2. Public Comment

None

3. Presentation

None

4. Approval of Minutes: March 28, 2018

Mr. Washington made a motion to approve the minutes, and Mr. Sirois seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

5. Insurance/HR

• Staffing Levels Report Mr. Wheeler stated that there are no changes of note.

• Approval of Illinois FOP Labor Council and Kankakee County Sheriff and County of Kankakee Correctional Officers Contract (12/1/16-11/30/21) Mr. Wheeler stated that the terms were agreed to, and the contracts were distributed via email. Mr. LaGesse made a motion to approve the contract, and Mr. Mulcahy seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

• Approval of Collective Bargaining Agreement Between Teamsters Local 705 and the County of Kankakee (12/1/17-11/30/20)

Mr. Wheeler stated that the terms were agreed to, and the contracts were distributed via email.

Mr. Mulcahy made a motion to approve the contract, and Mr. Hess seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

• Setting the Per Diem for County Board Members Elected in 2018 Mr. Sirois made a motion to set the per diem for County Board members elected in 2018, and Mr. LaGesse seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

Mr. Wheeler stated that the rate is $70 per meeting, or roughly $3,000 per year if someone attends every meeting.

• Setting the Salary for the Kankakee County Board Chairman and Liquor Commissioner Mr. Hess made a motion to set the salary for the Kankakee County Board Chairman and Liquor Commissioner, and Mr. LaGesse seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Kinzinger and Mr. Wheeler.

Mr. Kinzinger stated that he noticed the County Board Chairman’s salary is reduced, and asked if the amount of reduction was consistent with earlier discussion.

Mr. Wheeler stated that the reduction is $12,000, changing the salary from $60,000 to $48,000. The Liquor Commissioner’s salary stays the same.

• Setting the Salary for the Sheriff of Kankakee County Mr. LaGesse made a motion to set the salary for the Sheriff of Kankakee County, and Mr. Hess seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

• Setting the Salary for the Kankakee County Clerk and Treasurer Mr. Mulcahy made a motion to set the salary for the Kankakee County Clerk and Treasurer, and Mr. Sirois seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

Mr. Wheeler wanted to make it clear that the current salary is $70,190.

6. Treasurer’s Office - Nick Africano

• County Treasurer’s Report - March 2018

• County Collector’s Report - March 2018

• Monthly Resolutions for May 2018 Mr. Washington made a motion to combine and approve the reports and resolutions, and Mr. Sirois seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. Africano stated that a significant problem was brought to his attention by Auditor Jake Lee, being that unclaimed money needs to be escheated to the State Treasurer on a three year basis. We have not escheated money to the State Treasurer since 2009. This comes with a significant penalty and interest. He has filed a request for a one time exemption from penalty and interest with the State Treasurer. Bradley has an ordinance that 15% of their TIF fund needs to be distributed back to their taxing bodies on a yearly basis. They just received a wire from Bradley for $886,000 that needed to be redistributed, and $256,000 of that is the County’s money.

Mr. Kinzinger asked about the escheating funds issue in 2009.

Mr. Africano stated that the State law was clear in 2009, and he knows that it is something that will not be left undone while he is in office.

Mr. Sirois asked if Mr. Africano knows if it was required before 2009.

Mr. Africano stated that he does not think that the state required it before 2009.

Mr. Wheeler stated that he doesn’t know if people understand that, by Mr. Africano’s initiative for an early distribution to be available, it directly affects our local vendors. They are the people who didn’t get paid because we didn’t have tax revenue coming in, so that is the Treasurer’s office having a direct impact on the cash flow of our local businesses. The second thing he wanted to say is that the Auditor found something that needed to be corrected and worked with the department head to get it done. Even though it cost us money, and was painful, it was the right thing to do, so he wanted to thank both of them for getting this together.

Mr. Africano wanted the committee to be aware that senior citizens’ taxes are now due on the due date, as they cannot legally offer an extension.

Mr. Washington asked why senior citizens cannot get an extension.

Mr. Africano stated that, based on the opinion of the State’s Attorney, he thought it best to have all taxes due on the same day.

7. Finance Department - Steve McCarty

• Cash Flow Update Mr. McCarty stated that the payroll for the week is ready to go, and they are anticipating an early distribution from the property taxes.

• Miscellaneous Financial Reports & Discussion Mr. McCarty reviewed and discussed the reports with the committee.

• Tax Year 2017 PTELL Report Mr. McCarty reviewed and discussed the PTELL report with the committee.

8. Sheriff’s Department - Sheriff Mike Downey

• Monthly Update Sheriff Downey reviewed and discussed the monthly update with the committee.

• New Patrol Vehicle Lease/Purchase Sheriff Downey stated that their 2012 vehicles are in need of replacement. They have spent approximately $44,000 so far this year on vehicle repair, mostly for the 2012 and 2013 vehicles.

Mr. Wheeler stated that they are at the point where he recommends that the committee approve the spending.

Mr. Hess made a motion to move the New Patrol Vehicle Lease/Purchase to the full board, and Mr. Washington seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

• Door Computer Upgrade Phase 1 & 2 Sheriff Downey stated that they brought this issue to Criminal Justice and it was then sent to this committee. The original software on this computer system for their doors at Jerome Combs is from 2003, which is when it started to be installed, and they opened in 2005. Basically, this software is 15 years old, and is really not repairable once it goes down. They reached out to the company who installed it, Accurate Controls out of Wisconsin, and they sent a price of $57,707 to upgrade that system. He is requesting that they are allowed to do this. This also includes buying their own computers, which they would purchase themselves out of their own budget. Mr. Wheeler made a motion to approve the door computer upgrade at Jerome Combs, and Mr. Sirois seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

9. Auditor’s Office - Jake Lee

• Monthly Claims Mr. Wheeler made a motion to combine and approve the monthly claims, and Mr. LaGesse seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

10. Other Business

None

11. Other Business

• CDAP Pembroke Township Loan Write-Off Mr. Wheeler stated that the outside auditors have brought up the fact that we really need to take care of the revolving loan situation with Pembroke Township. That is the last outstanding item from that revolving loan fund. The committee will remember that the state no longer participates in that or sends us money, so we need to dissolve it, but we can’t, because on July 11th of last year, the full board rejected the write-off of this fund. We loaned money to Pembroke Township so they could invest in, fix the roof of, and make available the Power Center in Hopkins Park. They were turning it into a business incubator. The money was never repaid and no attempts at paying the installments were made. There is no possibility of our getting this money, and the collateral doesn’t exist. Mr. Hess made a motion to write-off the Pembroke Township revolving loan, and Mr. Washington seconded it. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays. Voting aye were Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Vickery, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Mulcahy, Mr. Sirois, Ms. Webber, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Wheeler.

12. Adjournment

Mr. LaGesse made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:22 a.m., and Mr. Mulcahy seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Jim Vickery, Committee Vice Chairman Diane Owens, Executive Coordinator

http://www.co.kankakee.il.us/files/committees/finance_425181.pdf