Carbondale Reporter

Jackson County Executive Committee met Nov. 9.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

Call to Order (5:00 PM)

Members Present: Endres, Erbes, Hunter, J.S. Rendleman, Larkin, Nehring and Peterson

Also Present: Susie Kilquist, Josh Barringer, Michelle Tweedy

Approval of Minutes

I. 17-2887 September 7, 2017 Minutes

A motion was made by Peterson, seconded by Erbes, to approve the September 7, 2017 minutes as presented. The motion carried by unanimous vote

Chairman's Remarks

Chairman Rendleman began by informing the committee that the Public Building Commission has held their first couple of meetings. All but one of the appointed members has been sworn in. He reminded the committee that until they are able to do it on their own the County Board will be funding them. The committee discussed whether there was funding specifically set aside in the FY18 budget for the building commission. The Chairman also reviewed the graduate assistant's hours and work she has been doing.

Internal Office Matters

II. 17-2888 Worker's Compensation Staffing

Tweedy spoke to the committee about Miles and the work that is being done. She informed the committee that Miles has been working from home via email. The committee discussed making a plan for the future for someone to take over the duties, to have a contact person at the county, and who should be in charge of work comp. Several committee members complimented how well Miles is and has been doing on the work comp. Hunter commented that this is one of the duties that the County Administrator could be responsible for. This item will remain on the agenda for the December meeting.

III. 17-2889 County Board Administration

The committee discussed the need and responsibilities for a County Administrator. Rendleman commented that Hunter has taken on a lot of responsibility over the last couple of years, Tweedy is over taxed, and the board seems to be reactive and could be more proactive with the assistance of a County Administrator. He went on to say that the decision behind amount of the salary is to be able to find someone with the education and experience need for the position and to provide credibility among the courthouse to be taken seriously. The person hired as the County Administrator would be an Executive who would need to be able to assert authority and know what decisions can and cannot be made. The committee discussed that currently the Chairman is acting as the administrator and that it take it's toll on the person on the position of chair. Larkin pointed out that it can be a taxing part-time job but the members can not "just pass the buck" to an administrator who will control what and when the board see's things and there is no good way around that. Hunter responded that it would be the responsibility of the board chair and members to create a conduit to work well with the administrator. Larkin also commented that there should still be institutional knowledge kept with the board members. This lead to a discussion of the length of time that a County Administrator would be employed and whether an ordinance or contract should be done for the position. Erbes pointed out that in his research he has found that even with County Administrators the Board Chair is still the CEO and the administrator would still answer to the County Board. The consensus of the committee is to have Hunter, Endres, and Tweedy work on the County Administrator job description and have it ready by the December Executive Committee meeting.

IV. 17-2895 Staff Compensatory Time Payout

The committee reviewed the memo from Tweedy regarding employee compensatory time totals and the amount to buyout the time. The committee discussed how and why some of the compensatory time is earned. A motion was made by Larkin, seconded by Peterson, to authorize payment of employee compensatory time buyouts. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

Computing Services Update

Barringer reported that there have been no major issues in the last month; a server at the Sheriff's office went down and caused some minor issues, it has been fixed. The committee asked about equipment at Annex and Barringer informed them that there is n o county equipment at the Annex.

V. 17-2892 Sheriff's Office Surplus Property

A motion was made by Larkin, seconded by Erbes, to authorize the request, from the Sheriff's office, to declare some property as surplus property. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

Appointments

VI. 17-2893 Open Appointments November 2017 {3}

1. Jackson County Housing Authority (1)

2. Jackson/Union Regional Port Authority (1)*

3. SIMPO (1)*

The committee reviewed the application from Barrett for the Jackson/Union Regional Port Authority and the reappointment of Peterson to SIMPO.

New Business

VII. 17-2890 Electronic Participation at Meetings

This item will be considered again when Mueller is able to attend a meeting.

VIII. 17-2891 Resolution Concerning Electronic Filing

Rendleman explained to the committee how the online filing with the Circuit Clerks office is done and how the current programs are not able to communicate with each other. Judge Schwartz has asked the board to ratify his decision to use some of the law library funds to purchase a program to allow communication between the online filing systems. A motion was made by Larkin, seconded by Hunter, to approve Resolution 2017-29 Concerning Electronic Filing. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

IX. 17-2896 IMRF Authorized Agent

Appointment The committee discussed the recent IMRF audit, the various issues gathering data over the past three years, and who the board wants to designate as the IMRF agent. The committee discussed how the information and duties are more in line with the Accounting Coordinators job, making her responsible for the IMRF reports and audit as well as giving her access to the payroll information so she can complete the reports. This item will remain on the agenda for the December meeting.

Old Business

X. 17-2894 Opioid Litigation

The committee discussed joining in on the opioid litigation, the politics of the issue, the benefits to the county and the responsibilities and work that would be involved.

A motion was made by Larkin, seconded by Erbes, to approve entering into the opioid class action lawsuit and move the discussion to the full board. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

Executive Session

Larkin moved and Erbes seconded to adjourn, motion withdrawn.

Larkin moved and Hunter seconded to enter into Executive Session under 2 (c) 1 to discuss personnel. Roll Call Vote: Peterson-Yes, Larkin-Yes, Endres-Yes, Erbes-Yes, Nehring-Yes, Hunter-Yes, Rendleman-Yes Larkin moved and Erbes seconded to leave Executive Session, motion carried.

Adjourn (6:37 PM)

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