South Central Reporter

Macoupin County Board Finance Committee met May 29.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Members Present: Jon Payne, Todd Armour, Ross Adden, John Blank, Mark Dragovich, Gordon Heuer, and Bernie Kiel

Members Absent:

Officials and Department Heads Present: Pete Duncan, Amy Ashby, Christy Blank, Emily Gerl, Lori Sanson, Susan Lewis, Tom Denby, and Tom Reinhart

1. Call to Order

1.1 Roll Call

There were 7 members present.

2. Agenda Items

2.1 Tom Denby - Circuit Court

Judge Denby spoke about his budget request. Most of it was very similar to last year's budget. Most of the changes are due to bills that had previously been paid for from ARPA funds which is now no longer available to utilize. Those expenses will be required for any juries that need to be paid for as well as psych evaluations and expert witnesses. This budget is increasing by about $30,000 due to the ARPA funds no longer being available to use. The Law Library budget is decreasing slightly due to some cost cutting measures they have implemented.

2.2 Amy Ashby - Circuit Clerk

Ashby discussed her budget request which is basically flat from last year. She had budgeted for her 3% raise in her salary and had not budgeted anything for the employees as the AFSCME negotiations are still ongoing. She is hoping in the future to save on office supplies by moving to a paperless office.

2.3 Susan Lewis - Emergency Management

Lewis discussed her budget request being flat for the year. The grant funding for the EMPG is currently back to being processed, the hazard mitigation grant is currently suspended but she believes it will begin processing soon enough.

2.4 Christy Blank - Public Health

Blank discussed her budget request. The overall budget has increased by $1.8 million through new grants. Her budget is changing depending on grants awarded and expiring.

2.5 Tom Reinhart - County Highway

Reinhart said that the County Highway Fund which is the main operational fund is off by about $115,000 due to the contract getting approved. Those numbers will need to be updated and he is concerned he does not have the revenue to handle that additional money.

2.6 Emily Gerl - Animal Control

Gerl discussed her budget request. She was hoping to add in more hours for one of her part time cleaners and add in an additional part time employee at about four hours a week. This would still be under budget for personnel compared to the current year. Overall the Animal Control budget was mainly remaining the same.

3. Adjournment

3.1 Adjourn Meeting

Motion by Heuer, seconded by Adden to adjourn at 6:09 pm. All in favor. Motion carried.

https://macoupincountyil.diligent.community/document/5434a5d8-57e8-4157-81f8-095b2805d6f7/