There was quite a bit going on this month with the County Board for political wonks. The upcoming Committee of the Whole doesn't have much in the way of fireworks on the agenda (video now available here), though perhaps there will be more arguments about food reimbursement rules (more on that below). But this past month or so had a lot of news on the fight over how an Executive Form of County Government should be run, ARPA funding for cover crops through the Environment and Land Use Committee and some Animal Control safety rules to prevent any more euthanasia mistakes and tragedies.
There was some possible legislative solutions to the ongoing legal dispute on the appointment power under our new Executive Form of County government. From the News-Gazette:
That bill (SB 1015) would effectively impact only the two counties in Illinois that have a county-executive form of government, Champaign and Will. But it could affect any others that adopt that form of government in the future.
The bill states that in counties “other than Champaign County operating under the county-executive form of government,” a vacancy is to be filled by appointment of the county executive, with the advice and consent of the county board.
Specifically in Champaign County, it states, the elected county board chair makes the appointment with the advice and consent of the full board.
That full article here. It goes on to explain that Will County would like to continue its tradition of appointment via their County Executive. The Champaign case is currently being appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court after the Board's latest victory in the courts. If they ultimately prevail through the courts or more uniform legislation in their favor, I'm not sure where that will leave Will County's options.
The local coverage in Will County suggests they may be more concerned about how the language may still impact them (e.g. on how the Executive's office is organized) in articles here and here (it appears to have a paywall with zero free articles, but a cheaper trial option). From the latest article:
Will County Board members voiced specific concerns about legislation pushed by County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant which could change the way county government functions.
During a meeting on Tuesday, members of the Legislative & Judicial Committee discussed aj amendment to SB 1015, which has already passed the Illinois Senate to the surprise of many county officials on Feb. 24. The bill still needs to pass the House of Representatives to become law...
[Mitch Schaben, Bertino-Tarrant’s chief of staff] also addressed the proposed change to give the county executive control over the “internal operations of the county executive’s office and procure the necessary equipment, materials and services to perform the duties of the office.” Schaben said it’s the same language used for the duties of other countywide elected officials, though board members have argued the executive doesn’t have the same authority as a treasurer or sheriff.
That full article here. A few days prior, there was an article that delved more into the nitty gritty of the Will County Board's concerns about the legislation and the process in both parties.
There was some discussion about the various rules on paying for meals, using a county credit card, and a new Board of Review member's charges (since reimbursed). From the News-Gazette:
But for [Champaign County Auditor George Danos], these purchases — along with some county board members’ recent chastising of the county’s Board of Review chairman for using a county credit card to purchase two staff meals — demonstrate a need for the county to rewrite what he calls an “incomplete and outdated” purchasing policy....
What is clear is if a county department has a line item in its budget for employee recognition expenses, the expenses are permitted, according to Kloeppel.
For departments that don’t have a line item for that purpose, as is the case with the Board of Review, the purchases aren’t permitted, she said.
That full article here. The incident that started this discussion was reported on by the News-Gazette last month here. A quick overview noted that the County was reimbursed as soon as the new Review Board member was made aware of the rule:
The purchases, one for $18.63 from Jimmy John’s and the other for $140 for a year-end celebratory meal from Biaggi’s, were made with the supervisor of assessment’s county credit card.
At Thursday’s county board meeting, Bergee said he reimbursed the county before the credit-card bill arrived after speaking to County Executive Darlene Kloeppel, who told him it was against policy to use a county credit card for meals.
The Environment and Land Use Committee will be considering using some of the County's ARPA funds towards incentivizing cover crop planting locally to help with various related agricultural issues. More from the
News-Gazette last month. The minutes from the February ELUC meeting had an overview of the discussion on
page 2 and 3 of the latest meeting's Agenda Packet. Excerpt:
It was felt that this needs to go back to the caucuses for discussion and then come back to ELUC in March and then take to the full County Board after that. There were some unanswered questions from tonight that we should let Mr. Uken and the Farm Bureau do some research and come back as an agenda item again next month to discuss in more detail. It would also give the rural districts time to discuss the various water projects and what they may want to fund.
The discussion continued in the March meeting a couple days ago (available on the County's YouTube page here around the 10:33 minute mark). By the end of that discussion there appeared to be some technical changes (dates and total funding) to fit within the ARPA guidelines left to resolve for the next ELUC meeting.
There was also an update to the County's Animal Control Ordinance on euthanasia decisions. The rule follows a widely publicized mistake at Animal Control over the holidays the year before. From the News-Gazette:
More than a year after a dog was accidentally euthanized while being detained in Champaign County’s animal-control facility, the county board is poised to vote on a resolution in which a double-check safety procedure is named after the deceased dog.
“Dada’s Rule” would require that two animal-control officers sign off on any euthanasia before proceeding — a practice County Executive Darlene Kloeppel said has already been in effect for many months.
More at the full article here. The resolution text is available on page 68 of the Agenda Packet and passed at the February 24th meeting.
