Jackson County Finance and Administration Committee met December 10.
Here is the minutes as provided by the committee:
Call to Order (5:05 PM)
Members Present: Comparato, D. Bost, Endres, Erbes, Hunter and S. Bost
Members Absent: Peterson
Also Present: Tamiko Mueller, Mike Carr, Sharon Harris-Johnson, Josh Barringer, Kenton Schafer, Susie Kilquist, Mary Varner, Michelle Tweedy, Ed Ford
Approval of Minutes
I. 18-3844 November 15, 2018 Minutes
A motion was made by Comparato, seconded by Erbes, to approve the November 15, 2018 minutes as presented. The motion carried by unanimous vote.
Chair's Report
Insurance
A. Worker's Compensation Update
B. Payment of Health Insurance Claims
C. Health Insurance Update
A. This item was moved to executive session.
B. Tweedy reviewed the November and December health insurance numbers. Comparato moved and S. Bost seconded to pay Health Insurance claims in the amount of $6,772.55, motion carried.
C. None
II. 18-3845 Health Savings Account
Hunter began by explaining that there was a good faith mistake with the health savings accounts. Due to the low deductible on the county health insurance plan health savings accounts are not legally allowed. The health savings accounts were agreed to during negotiations. Larkin recommends offering employees a flex spending account with the same match that was agreed to during negotiations, $500 for AFSCME Courthouse and $250 for nonbargaining employees. Tweedy reminded the committee that the enrollment has to be completed by Wednesday at noon. Hunter inquired about how this would affect current negotiations. Comparato asked if anyone was aware of this prior to this meeting. Kilquist asked for clarification on who this will affect. All employees are eligible to sign up for a flex spending account but only AFSCME Courthouse and non-bargaining employees are eligible for the match from the county.
A motion was made by D. Bost, seconded by Endres, to approve recommendation to replace the Health Savings Account with a Flexible Spending Account with the $500 match for AFSCME Courthouse and $250 match for non-bargaining employees. The motion carried by unanimous vote.
III. 18-3863 Health Insurance Sub-Committee
Hunter informed the committee that she wants to get the Health Insurance Task Force going. Her plan is to meet monthly to discuss different insurance plans and options for funding health insurance. She would like for representatives from the bargaining units, the board and each office to attend the meetings. Hunter will chair the task force and Erbes said he would be interested in being on it. Hunter asked anyone else who is interested to contact her.
Finance
A. Payment of County Monthly Claims
B. Payment of Board Member Travel Expenses
A. Erbes moved and S. Bost seconded to pay the county monthly claims in the amount of $368,796.47, motion carried.
B. Comparato moved and Endres seconded to pay the board members travel in the amount of $3,0324.18, motion carried.
IV. 18-3846 Financial Statement Review
i. Bonds Update
Hunter asked Tweedy to put together information on the bonds so the committee can review them and keep them in mind when making financial decisions. Tweedy informed the committee that the county is getting close to being able to pay off the bonds in 2020. The bond payments are made in June and December each year. Although the county does get a subsidy to help offset the cost of the interest on the bonds it is not as much as was originally expected. The revenue for the bonds comes from the housing of Union County and Federal prisoners. The committee discussed that the revenue has been decreasing and the expenses have been going up. The committee briefly touched on the pros and cons of paying off the bonds and how that would affect cash flow for the county. This item will be kept on the agenda.
V. 18-3847 Budget Adjustment Requests
A motion was made by S. Bost, seconded by Endres, to approve approve the Courts line item adjustments as presented. The motion carried by unanimous vote.
VI. 18-3848 Court Security Funding
Hunter informed the committee that due to a reduction in the fines and fees from courts there is a shortage in the Court Security budget. In an effort to save some money the committee meetings will be held in the courtroom at the Sheriff's Office beginning in January. The regular County Board meetings will still be held in the Courthouse. Tweedy spoke about the possibility of being able to increase the court fees if a fee study is completed. Hunter said she would sit down with Judge Solverson and Sheriff Burns to discuss a fee study. This item will remain on the agenda.
A motion was made by Endres, seconded by Comparato, to authorize taking $10,000 from contingency to be used to pay Court Security payroll. The motion carried by unanimous vote.
VII. 18-3849 UCCI 2019 Dues
Hunter and Erbes spoke about how important UCCI is and Erbes indicated that he will continue to attend the meetings.
A motion was made by Comparato, seconded by S. Bost, to authorize payment of the UCCI dues in the amount of $600. The motion carried by unanimous vote.
VIII. 18-3850 Property Tax, CAMA and wEdge Software License Maintenance & Support
This was discussed at the Executive meeting.
IX. 18-3851 Petitioning State Government-Not for Profit Hospitals
S. Bost stated that he brought this up to the Chairman. Hospitals are technically nonprofits but they are required to off set their property taxes by donating the amount they would pay in taxes to charity. The committee would like to see if there is a way to find out more information about this and to see if other counties are doing anything about this issue. Erbes said he would contact UCCI and the Champaign County Chair to see if they have any information. This item will remain on the agenda.
Labor
X. 8-3852 Assessment Receptionist Position
This is for informational purposes.
Old Business
New Business
Endres mentioned the property tax relief grant that Graff spoke about. She encouraged board members to contact superintendents and encourage them to apply for the grant. The committee coordinator will reach out to ROE to get the contact information for the superintendents in Jackson County.
Executive Session
Comparato moved and Endres seconded to enter into Executive Session under 2 (c) 1 of the open meetings act to discuss personnel. Roll Call Vote: Hunter-Yes, Erbes-Yes, Endres-Yes, S. Bost-Yes, D. Bost-Yes, Comparato-Yes. Motion carried.
Adjourn
Comparato moved and Endres seconded to adjourn, motion carried.
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