Kankakee County Finance Committee met May 29

By Michael Abella

Aug 12, 2019

Kankakee County Finance Committee met May 29.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Members Present

Mr. Liehr, Mr. Washington, Mr. Olthoff, Mr. Lagesse, Mr. Hess, Mr. Payton, Mr. Kinzinger, Mr. Byrne, Ms.

Webber, Ms. Haas, Mr. Dunnill, Ms. Zuccollo and Mr. Zenz

Members Absent

Ms. Parker and Mr. Swanson

In Attendance

 Board Members

Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Sirois

Department Heads

Erich Blair, Anita Speckman, Nick Africano, Ken McCabe, Steve McCarty, Eric Cavender, Ben Wilson, Lori Gadbois and Jake Lee

Media

None

1. Call to Order

 Roll Call

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

2. Public Comment

No Public Comment

3. Presentation

None

4. Approval of Minutes: May 29, 2019

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

5. Finance Department – Steve McCarty

• Miscellaneous Financial Reports & Discussion

Mr. McCarty reviewed and discussed the reports with the committee.

There were no questions from the committee.

• Cash Flow Update

Mr. McCarty reviewed the cash flow update with the committee.

Mr. McCarty advised that the county is through the most difficult part of the cash flow.

Mr. Wheeler stated that the Highway payback figures are taking a good chunk out of that repayment.

• Claims Recommended/Not Recommended for Approval

Mr. Liehr advised that there were four items that the auditor stated he would not endorse. Each of the items is within the budget of the department. Mr. Liehr asked if there was a motion to recommend approval.

Mr. Dunnill made a motion to recommend approval of the claims, and Mr. Kinzinger seconded it.

Mr. Byrne stated that the claims seem to come from the same department over and over again. Is the auditor communicating with the department before it comes to committee? Looking at the Coroners claim for uniforms, they are a law enforcement agency and need to be identified. They require identifiable attire and this claim for uniforms seems appropriate. I would like to know if the auditor inquired with the coroner’s office before rejecting it.

Mr. Wheeler stated that uniforms are part of the contract with many of the agreements with law enforcement, so to question this claim is difficult to understand.

Motion carried with a Roll Call Vote of 14-0. Voting aye were: Mr. Liehr, Mr. Olthoff, Mr. Lagesse, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hess, Mr. Payton, Mr. Kinzinger, Mr. Byrne, Ms. Webber, Ms. Haas, Mr. Dunnill, Ms. Zuccollo, Mr. Zenz and Mr. Wheeler

Mr. Liehr advised there is also a claim for the auditor to be reimbursed for his travels.

Ms. Zuccollo made a motion approve the auditors claim, and Mr. Payton seconded it.

There were no further questions for Mr. McCarty from the committee.

6. Treasurer’s Office – Nick Africano

• County Treasurer’s Report – April 2019

• County Collector’s Report – April 2019

• Monthly Resolutions for June 2019

Mr. Zenz made a motion to combine and approve the reports, and Mr. Byrne seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. Africano stated it feels good for the county to be bettering the financial situation; he thanked the committee for their efforts.

Mr. Africano reviewed and discussed the reports with the committee.

Mr. Sirois asked about the distribution of the taxes and how that process works.

Mr. Africano updated the committee on the distribution process. Mr. Africano stated that this year, they are anticipating about $300,000 in interest.

Mr. Africano added that accepting the partial payments has proved to be beneficial for the taxpayers and the county.

Mr. McCarty thanked Mr. Africano for working with the county and assisting in the cash flow.

7. Sheriff’s Department – Chief Ken McCabe

 Monthly Update

There were no questions from the committee regarding the monthly update.

Chief McCabe wanted to touch on the claim for payment that was denied.

Chief McCabe educated the committee on the software system that the Sheriff’s Department uses to communicate with different areas. This allows them to pull information on someone from multiple areas, which is beneficial to law enforcement. Currently, they are updating their software to include the fire department. The software representative advised Chief McCabe that we are the first County within the United States to do that. The advantage is huge to taxpayers and the agencies.

Part of that commitment is keeping the department trained, and Trent Bukowski who is the IT Director does a terrific job. Mr. Bukowski is on call 24/7 and takes calls to assist no matter where he is or what he is doing.

Mr. Bukowski attends conferences and trainings and request that he is there a day earlier than the conference and he assists. They will cover all of his conference fees, which is upwards to $2,000.

Today, New World is updating our system and adding the new program, which would cost about $5,000. However, because of the relationships that have been built, this new program is costing our taxpayers zero dollars.

Chief McCabe advised that any claims could be easily resolved by a phone call, rather than waste time and money.

There were no questions ono the update from Chief McCabe.

Chief McCabe advised the committee that with the legalization of Marijuana, he warned of the dangerous effects that it will have on our community.

8. Auditor’s Office – Jake Lee

Mr. Kinzinger made a motion to approve the monthly claims report and Mr. Dunnill seconded it. There were no questions from the committee.

 Monthly Claims

Mr. Lee reviewed and discussed the monthly report with the committee.

Mr. Lee stated that he wasn’t present at the beginning of the meeting, but knowing the comments that are generally made when there are questions about a claim, Mr. Lee advised that emails are sent when his office has questions about things.

Mr. Sirois requested details on the publication or newspaper subscription that was not approved.

Mr. Lee advised the committee that when notices are published in the paper, they will send a certified document showing that the notice was published.

10. Other Business

 Plans for filling the Public Defender Position

Mr. Wheeler advised the committee that this is an extension of a discussion from the Criminal Justice meeting; Judge Kramer had notified the committee that the Circuit Courts would hire a full time public defender. In the past, it has always been part time.

The case load and types of cases that the courts have requires this position. Mr. Wheeler advises that this committee doesn’t need to take any action, but that would come later with a budget adjustment if they were to hire someone before December.

Mr. Wheeler and Judge Kramer wanted to be certain that the committee was aware of the change.

Mr. Olthoff asked what the percentage was that the state contributes to the full time public defender position. Mr. Wheeler advised he wasn’t sure of the exact percentage, but it was the majority.

 Declaration of Surplus Vehicles from the Coroner’s Office

Mr. Liehr read the details of the two vehicles being declared as surplus.

Mr. Cavender was present at the meeting and advised the Tahoe was just less than 100,000 miles and the Escape has about 86,000 miles with mechanical issues and significant rust.

Mr. Wheeler asked if the vehicles were going to the auction.

Mr. Cavender advised that the vehicles were used as a trade in for the newer vehicles.

Mr. Hess made a motion to approve, and Ms. Zuccollo seconded it.

11. Old Business/New Business

None

12. Adjournment

Mr. LaGesse made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:34 a.m., and Mr. Hess seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote. Meeting Adjourned

http://www.co.kankakee.il.us/files/committees/finance_62619.pdf

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