Carbondale Reporter

Jackson County Finance and Administration Committee met March 28.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Old Business

I. 19-4079 County Fee Study Bill

Burns reported that the fee study has been completed and the final reports will be available at the April Finance & Administration Committee meeting. The bill is approximately $24,000 and Burns is inquiring what fund to use to pay the bill. Tweedy reminded the committee that the Public Building Commission funding into County General Contingency. The committee asked if there is an estimate of how much additional funds could be gained by increasing all the fees to the recommended max, about $450,000 over l ast year. The consensus of the committee is to pay the fee study bill out of the Housing of Prisoner Fund.

A motion was made by S. Bost, seconded by Hunter, to approve Burns using the Housing of Prisoner Fund to purchase a new vehicle for the Sheriff's Office. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

New Business

Hunter raised an issue she thought of about the Health Insurance Taskforce (HIT) going out for bid. Does going out for bid require a vote of the full board or can the HIT do it themselves? She also reminded everyone that Dan Brenner said that health insurance does not require going out for a bid. S. Bost pointed out that going out for bid does not require the board to accept any of the bids. Also, requiring a vote of the full board will slow the process down. Hunter is concerned about HIT making decisions. The consensus of the committee is to ask the State's Attorney's Office for an official opinion.

Larkin reported that he met with Howard Danzig and Danzig is a valuable resource for Health Insurance ideas on how to better run the current county plan. Larkin suggested having him attend a HIT meeting. The committee briefly discussed what Danzig and Schermer's do for the county.

Larkin asked Patrick to speak about the recent Health Department decision to cut some programs. Patrick explained that it is due to years of not receiving funding from the State of Illinois for programs that the Health Department has continued to provide. With the current state of funding in the county Patrick believes it is the best decision to review the current programs and reassess w hat programs the Health Department can sustain. She went on to say that the Health Department is proud of the work they have been able to do but the programs that need to be cut are under water and costing the county money. Patrick explained which programs were being cut and why. She also stated that the Health Department is working on rewriting the position descriptions to make sure they are accurately reflecting the work that is being done. She concluded by mentioned that she is working with the State's Attorney's Office to ensure that everything is being handled properly.

II. 19-4080 Cash Review

Larkin began by reminding everyone that the second Finance meeting each month is going to be a time for the committee to learn about the county finances in advance of the budgeting process. This month Tweedy will be speaking about Cash Review. Tweedy began by reviewing the handouts she had put together regarding the current state of the county cash. She reminded the committee that they have seen some of these forms previously and then went through the line items. She reviewed each page and took questions as she went. She informed the committee that as things are the county could be looking at a shortfall sometime in July. She also reminded the committee that depending on how soon the new fees are adopted the amounts in some of the funds could increase prior to July. Tweedy concluded by mentioning to the committee that there are three to four large health insurance claims coming in sometime this year. Larkin stated that the second Finance meeting in April will focus on process related questions and anyone who has any should send those to Tweedy in advance of the meeting.

Adjourn (5:54 PM)

S. Bost moved and Comparato seconded to adjourn, motion carried

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