Rock Island County Budget Committee met Aug. 13.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
1) Call to order and roll call
Meeting called to order by Chairman Louis Moreno at 3:33pm. Roll call taken.
Members Present: Chairman Moreno, J. Deppe, D. Adams, K. Swanson, R. Simmer, L. Burns, D. Beck Members Absent: None
Others Present: Board Chairman R. Brunk, County Administrator J. Snider, P. Moreno, T. Harlow, B. Gustafson, K. Fisher, L. Ewert, S. DeYoung-Wiley, A. Palmer, T. Weikert, B. Edgeworth, J. Shimmers, K. Kinney, M. O’Brien, A. VanDaele, P. Luecke
2) County Administrator Memo:
J. Snider reported on the proposed FY22 wage increases due to wage negotiations. The highway department budget reflects the Teamster’s contract with a 3% cost of living increase (COLA) with longevity bonuses based on years of service. The AFSME 2025B (Health Department) also has a 2% COLA increase.
The FY22 Estimate IMRF rate is 15.93 (1% higher than FY21).
FY22 Estimate SLEP 22.29% (16% lower than FY21)
Elected County Officials rate is 102.81% (16% lower than FY21). The rates are down due to the stock market. The health insurance committee is in the process of finalizing the increases for this year. Some positions are eligible to be covered by ARPA funds. An example is the Executive Assistant position was laid off during the pandemic, so that position is 100% reimbursable with ARPA funds. We will be discussing other positions in the near future as to which positions are eligible for the ARPA funding.
3) Outside Agency Request :
Narratives / Departmental Worksheets
a. Mental Health Board 708 (Levy) - P. Moreno reported they received a request from the sheriff’s office to provide a mental health expert from Robert Young to assist police officers who are dispatched to a mental health crisis. The therapist will be on call 24/7. Robert Young is asking for an additional $398,205.00 (from ARPA funds) to provide these services to all law enforcement agencies within Rock Island County.
b. Veteran’s Assistance (Levy) – T. Harlow - no comment.
c. County Extension Education (Levy) – No increase requested
d. Child Advocacy Center of RIC0 (Levy) – Marcy O’Brien
e. Regional Office of Education – Jacob Shimmer
f. Soil & Water District – narrative is in the packet.
4) Proposed FY22 Position Budget Report:
Chairman L Moreno asked if there were any questions, no one responded.
5) Departmental Budget Review:
Narratives / Departmental Worksheets
a. Presentation from Sheriff Bustos – These items were discussed at Finance and Personnel. This should have been removed.
b. 01 – Auditor - April Palmer - please refer to the narrative.
c. 02 – County Board - Jim Snider - refer to the packet
d. 03 - Circuit Clerk - Tammy Weikert - Nothing additional to add to her narrative.
e. 05 – County Clerk – Karen Kinney – Revision is requesting additional $4160.00 to the Office Manager’s position, which is $2.00 more an hour.
f. 06 – Coroner – Brian Gustafson – Didn’t submit a narrative. Did have an increase in FY20 of $10,000.00 due to increases in toxicology funds, physicians fees etc.
g. 07 – Recorder – Kelly Fisher – There are some digital projects (use of ARPA funds) that would be beneficial. One, be paying off the current loan, from moving my office, which would save on the interest. The other project, the conversion of the Tract index system. This would complete the entire digitization of the office. One thing not in the narrative is the Rental Housing program, the recorders office collects $10 for every document that’s recorded, which $9.00 goes to the state of IL. She’s working with the local Housing authority to try to get more of this money back into the counties.
h. 11 – Treasurer - Louisa Ewert – Would like to purchase a laptop for the Chief Deputy with ARPA funds as she had to come in after hours to work during the pandemic. She’s also requesting a desk top for herself as she only has a laptop. Also, requesting a drive up drop box for the public.
i. 12 – Animal Control - Sam (DeYoung) Wiley – everything is in the narrative, also requested a vehicle.
6) Committee member opportunity for brief comments (no action can or will be taken based on any comments from committee members but the matter might be placed on a future agenda for consideration)
Request to have page numbers added on the pages in the packets.
D. Adams suggested that he would like to see anything ARPA funds are being used for is broken out separately. J. Snider shared this is something that we would have to discuss with Auditor April Palmer. Not sure our current system is capable of doing that. Per Ms. Palmer there are other programs that could be added to the current system. She also stated that if the departments would somehow let her office know what is being paid for with ARPA funds it would be easier for them to separate those out.
7) Meeting adjourned at 4:15pm by Chairman L. Moreno.
https://www.rockislandcounty.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=45326&libID=1000013188
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