AGENDA: Boone County Board 2-16-2011

February 16, 2011
1212 Logan Avenue – County Board Room
1. CALL TO ORDER 6:30PM
2. ROLL CALL
3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
5. APPOINTMENTS & RECOGNITION
6. PUBLIC COMMENT
7. REPORT FROM COMMUNITY AGENCIES
a. Extension & Education
b. Growth Dimensions
c. Council on Aging
d. Court Appointed Special Advocate
e. Other
8. STANDING COMMITTEES: Reports & Motions
PLANNING, ZONING & BUILDING
No motions.
FINANCE, TAXATION & SALARIES
a. Motion to approve claims.
b. Motion to approve Ordinance 11-07 offering a Voluntary Retirement Incentive
program for eligible County employees.
ROADS & CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
a. Motion to approve Resolution 11-05 appropriating $750,000.00 from the Motor
Fuel Tax Fund to pay for County maintenance projects in 2011.
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
a. Motion to approve Ordinance 11-08 amending Health Department fees charged
to for-profit entities using the services of the Department.
ADMINISTRATIVE & LEGISLATIVE
a. Motion to approve raffle applications (See consent agenda)
Note: A proposal to settle the collective bargaining agreement with the FOP
representing the Deputy Unit

CITY-COUNTY COORDINATING
a. Motion to approve, contingent upon a like vote of the Belvidere City Council,
low bid from PDC Laboratories for groundwater testing at Landfill #2 in the
amount of $87,266.84 (43,633.42/year) (budgeted).
PUBLIC SAFETY
a. Motion to approve amended contract for a Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Plan
through Southern Illinois University (no cost to County).
b. Thank the first responder volunteers and all County employees who worked or
volunteered above and beyond during the snowstorm on February 2, 2011.
GENERAL CONSENT ITEMS
9. SPECIAL COMMITTEE REPORTS:
a. Board of Health
b. Workforce Investment Board
c. Community Building
d. UCCI (United Counties Council of Illinois)
e. Citizens Corps
f. Farmland Protection Committee
g. 911 Board
h. Other committees
10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
11. NEW BUSINESS
12. SCHEDULING OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS
13. EXECUTIVE SESSION
a. Collective Bargaining
14. ADJOURNMENT

Boone County Board to vote on Retirement Incentive

This Wednesday at 6:30 the Boone County Board will vote on a retirement incentive program.   Will it really be to the taxpayers advantage?  The incentive is 36 months of individual health benefit ($286.62 X 36).  The one page analysis shown below is all that I received from the Administrator when I ask for the analysis.  You will note that six of seven interested parties were from the Sheriff/Public Safety Building.  In the case of PSB those costs are all shared 50-50 with the city, so should the city be participating in this decision? I attended the last city/county meeting on February 9 and the aldermen I talked with were unaware of the retirement incentive proposal.  If any of the PSB workers are dispatchers, previous discussion indicated that a considerable amount of training is involved in replacement.  For weeks if not months both the new and the old dispatcher would have to work, that would appear to be a great deal of costs.

Click on the photocopy to enlarge:

Accompanying the copy of the above analysis which the County Administrator prepared for the Finance Committee the Administrator stated the following: 

Per your request is the spreadsheet showing the possible cost/benefit of the proposed retirement incentive program.  Please note a few items;

1.  I am preparing for the board a revised savings analysis with a more conservative approach assuming all three employees are replaced.

2.  The payout assumes the employee takes the health insurance option which is worth $286.62 times 36 months  (employer's share of single coverage for three years).

3.  The potential savings depends on which employees actually enroll and whether or not they must be replaced.  Even just replacing will bring about savings from the difference between the retiring wage and the entry level wage.

I have the following additional questions which really involve decisions from the County Board: 

1.  Will the budgets for the Sheriff, PSB and County Clerk’s offices be actually lower to reflect the projected savings?  If so, will there be an adjustment down for the current 2011 budget.

2.  There appear to be upfront costs.   From what budget will they be allocated?  Will the department's budget pay for the incentives?  Or any additional costs?