The Belvidere Daily Republican Featured News
Omitted property discovery yields $578,005 in new taxes
Nov. 14, 2013
By Bob Balgemann
Reporter
BELVIDERE - During her tenure as Belvidere Township assessor, Diann Helnore and her deputy assessors discovered residential property with a market value of more than $17 million that was not being assessed.
She said that generated $578,005 in new property tax dollars to a number of taxing bodies in Boone County. The list includes Belvidere Township itself, the city of Belvidere, county government, Belvidere Community Unit School District 100, Belvidere Park District, public library district and the villages of Poplar Grove and Cherry Valley.
More than 50 percent of that new money went to the school district.
"That is over half-a-million dollars that they (taxing bodies) will continue to see each year in their tax coffers that they otherwise would not have had," she said.
The previous administration, from 2006-09, generated an additional $60,852 in new taxes during a time when the equalized assessed value increased an average of 19.8 percent.
A report shows the assessed value of omitted property found from 2006-09 was $866,572 compared with $5.872 million on omitted property discovered from 2010-13.
Market value of the 2005-09 omitted property was $2.213 million. From 2010-13, the market value of omitted property was $17.615 million.
The township's assessed value from 2006-09 increased from $518 million to $610 million, but it declined by $41 million in 2008, start of what has been referred to as the Great Recession. In 2010-13, the assessed value decreased from $564 million to $425 million.
County Treasurer Curt Newport said which taxing bodies received the additional money would depend on where the omitted property was located.
While the additional revenue doesn't amount to all that much in places such as the township or village of Poplar Grove, he joined Helnore in saying it's extra money all of the affected taxing bodies will be receiving into the future.
Address numbers important
POPLAR GROVE - Capron Rescue Squad officials are continuing to make the rounds of places it serves, encouraging homeowners and business owners to have visible street address numbers on their buildings.
The first stop was the village of Poplar Grove and as a follow-up, Village Administrator Mark Lynch has used the village's website to remind residents and business owners about the importance of being found quickly during an emergency.
First he reminded about the requirement in the village code that buildings shall "have approved address numbers placed in a position to be plainly legible and visible from the street or road fronting the property."
Then he got into the common sense side of wanting to be found - and quickly - when there is an emergency.
Currently, he stated, emergency responders "are reporting that they frequently have trouble locating homes due to poor markings. Please help us help you when you have an emergency by complying with these simple safety rules."
Address questions or concerns to Lynch by calling (815) 765-3201 or e-mailing him at pgadministrator@foxvalley.net.
U of I Extension announces upcoming programs
Nov. 14, 2013
BELVIDERE – The University of Illinois Extension office will present three programs in the near future. All events will take place at the U of I Extension Conference Room, 205 Cadillac Ct., Unit #5, Belvidere. Registration for next week’s programs may be completed by calling the Boone County Extension Office at (815) 544-3710 or online or at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/bdo.
Winter Bird Feeding
3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19
Feeding birds in the winter can be a wonderful pastime for the entire family. As fall transitions into winter, this can be a strenuous time for our native wildlife. Peggy Doty, U of I Extension energy & environmental stewardship educator, offers a Winter Bird Feeding program to help guide people on their quest to provide appropriate winter food for our feathered friends. The cost is $5 and everyone is welcome.
Managing Diabetes through the Holidays
6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21
Tantalizing treats are an inevitable part of the holiday season. Many people try to avoid over indulging during this festive time of year, only to find it a challenge. For people with diabetes it can be especially difficult to deal with the traditions and temptations of the season without negatively affecting diabetes control. As a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator, Marilyn Csernus offers this program to help those with diabetes both enjoy the traditions of the holidays and manage diabetes. The cost is $5 and everyone is welcome.
Master Gardener Training 2014
The training for the Master Gardener program will begin on Wed., Jan.15 and end on Wed. April 2, 2014. It is a 12-week course that takes place on Wednesdays. The time is from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The Master Gardener program, sponsored by University of Illinois Extension, provides training for adult volunteers who help disseminate up-to-date, research-based horticulture information to home gardeners. As a Master Gardener, you’ll learn about environmentally sound and practical gardening techniques specific to your growing area. You’ll also play an important role in sharing that information with others in your community. During the training you will learn many different facets of indoor and outdoor gardening. A combination of classroom instruction and demonstrations are used to present information about topics such as: botany, soil, fertilizers, houseplants, vegetables, fruit, landscaping, turf, and plant propagation.
In-person training costs $175, which includes the Master Gardener manual filled with helpful resources and covers other materials. Applications for this program are now being accepted. For more information on this program, please contact Judy Hodge at 815-544-3710, or check out our website at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/bdo.
Flora Grange dinner kicks off new year of fund-raisers
Nov. 14, 2013
By Bob Balgemann
BELVIDERE - One year is winding down and that means it's time for non-profit organizations in Boone County to begin thinking about the next year.
Flora Grange started the looking ahead process Sunday, Nov. 10 with the second of its annual roast beef dinners at Grange Hall.
Another big crowd turned out for two servings, one late in the morning and one early in the afternoon, which featured the main attraction plus a diverse salad bar. "Been a good day," was the primary observation from members of the Grange, which turned 100 a couple of years ago.
There is one more community outreach before 2013 comes to a close and that is providing a Christmas tree for a deserving family. That's done by Flora Grange in conjunction with the annual Hometown Christmas celebration coming up in December.
"The 4-H will choose a family for us," said Tom Ratcliffe, president of Flora Grange.
There will be another roast beef dinner in April, also at Grange Hall. But before that Flora Grange will have its equally popular buffet breakfasts in January and March at the Moose Lodge off Beloit Road.
All of that money goes back into the community for such projects as Safety Town, held in June, and the Boone County Fair, coming up in August.
Safety Town will be in its 13th year at the fairgrounds. It is a special time for youngsters 5-8 years of age that has evolved from its origin in 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio, when the primary goal was to prompt bicycle safety. Now the four-day event focuses on being safe around the house, on the farm and around electricity, taking care of pets and more.
Flora Grange's version of the national program was developed by Emalee Colver and Laurel Ratcliffe.
The fairgrounds off Illinois 76 is owned by Pomona Grange with the fair being put on there by the seven Granges in the county. They actually began running the fair in 1957 when it was in Spencer Park.
This year's fair marked the 50th anniversary of it being located at the fairgrounds. Overall, the fair has been around since the 1850s, starting at Big Thunder Park in Belvidere.
"It was a good fair," said Ratcliffe, a member of the fair association board. The week was blessed by spring-like weather in the 70s, no rain and an abundance of popular entertainment.
Attendance was 195,000, ranking in the Top 5 all-time, 20,000 under the record of 215,000. A report on the financial side of the event will be coming soon.
Committee action a topic
A big supporter of church and Grange fund-raisers, Boone County Board member Ron Wait, was at the roast beef dinner and talking about action from the recent health and human services committee meeting, a standing committee of the county board.
The committee, of which he is a member, recommended a change in the food code so organizations no longer will have to obtain a permit for giving away or selling pre-packaged candy and bottled water. That emerged as a controversy during this year's fair when the health department required booth operators to obtain a $75 permit to give away pre-packaged candy and water.
As discussion continued into the fall, health department officials said they were merely following what was in the county code. Their position was if county officials didn't like what was in the code, they should change it.
So county officials are moving toward making a change.
First, Bill Hatfield, director of environmental health, proposed a revision that would continue to require the permit but not charge for it.
More recently, the health and human services committee recommended Nov. 7 that the requirement for a permit be waived. That is allowed by state law, said Wait, who prior to his election to the county board served in the General Assembly for 26 years.
"It's all a matter of using common sense," he said Sunday, reiterating what he's been saying since the controversy erupted three months ago.
Committee recommends another change to food code
Nov. 14, 2013
By Bob Balgemann
BOONE COUNTY - The Boone County Food Code may undergo more changes in an effort to resolve the issue of pre-packaged candy and bottled water being given away or sold.
There has been plenty of discussion about the code since August, when it was learned the Boone County Health Department was requiring some booth occupants at the annual county fair to acquire a $75 permit to give away pre-packaged candy and bottled water.
While some county board members criticized the health department for doing that, health department officials said they were just following what was in the code. If county board members didn't like what was in the code, it was suggested that they change it.
Before that could start Bill Hatfield, environmental health director, recommended a revision to the code. His proposal left the requirement for a permit in place, but eliminated the $75 charge.
Now the health and human services committee, a standing committee of the county board, has offered a change that would eliminate the need for a permit, because state law allows that requirement to be waived.
Committee member Ron Wait, a former state legislator, said he discovered the waiver possibility while researching state statutes.
Winnebago County does not require such a permit, But Cynthia Frank, Boone County Health Department administrator, said she was told by an official of the Illinois Department of Public Health that Winnebago County was wrong.
Wait didn't agree with that, saying the Winnebago County Health Department administrator was a stickler for doing things by the book.
It was Wait who offered the additional revision during the committee's Nov. 7 meeting.
After authoring a motion to that effect he looked to county state's attorney Michelle Courier for concurrence. She replied that she had just seen the proposed change that night.
Committee Chairman Paul Larson said he thought the health department should weigh in on the proposal before it goes to the full county board.
Committee member Marion Thornberry, who seconded Wait's motion, asked why the revision needed to go back to the health department?
Larson said he thought there would be reaction of some kind from the board of health, which oversees the health department.
"This is the first of many steps," Thornberry said. "The health department is not here tonight for a reason."
Frank and Hatfield usually attend the committee meetings and present a written report of the department's activities in the past month. But neither was able to be there Nov. 7 for various reasons.
Still, Thornberry said he would "like to move it forward" and Wait's motion was approved, 5-0, with additional support from Larson, Vice Chairman Bill Pysson and member Kenny Freeman.
The next board of health meeting is at noon Dec. 2.
Ramps reopen from State Street to Illinois Tollway
Nov. 13, 2013
ROCKFORD – The Illinois Tollway reopened the Business U.S. Route 20/State Street exit and entrance ramps to the eastbound Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) in Rockford, Saturday. Work will continue to complete the reconstruction of all the interchange ramps in time for the holiday shopping season.
“We understand the importance of this interchange to Rockford businesses and residents and appreciate their continued patience as we work to complete the project,” Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur said.
Following the reopening of the ramps, work to complete removal of detour signage on local roads, continued. Once detour signage has been removed, the lane shift and temporary second left-turn lane at Harrison Road/Perryville Road will be removed and is expected to be completed by the end of the week.
The ramps at Business U.S. Route 20/State Street carrying traffic to from Wisconsin and to Chicago on I-90 were closed in September for reconstruction work while the adjacent ramps carrying traffic to and from westbound I-90 remained open and under construction. In addition to providing a safe work zone for construction workers and drivers, closure of the ramps allowed the work to be completed in half the time.
The $5 million Business U.S. Route 20/State Street Interchange Project is rebuilding all four ramps at the full-access interchange by removing the existing pavement and building new asphalt ramps to extend the life of the interchange and provide a smooth, new roadway surface for drivers. All ramps will remain open as the remaining reconstruction work is completed, and the Tollway will use traffic shifts and shoulders to keep lanes open to traffic.
Awareness of BCAS conditions reaches Staten Island
Nov. 13, 2013
By Troy A. Bruzewski
Editor
BELVIDERE – Judging by the other items on this page, I’d say more people are aware of the current conditions at the Boone County Animal Services building.
Though I’m sure the gentleman who wrote the letter to the editor, has been well aware for a long period of time; I highly doubt anyone on the east coast was following the situation. But now, even a few folks in Staten Island are aware the place needs help.
As you read on the front page, the cast members and creators of TruTv’s Impractical Jokers are donating items that will be auctioned, with all the proceeds benefitting the BCAS and its urgent need to relocate to another facility.
One of those cast members – Brian Quinn – recently acquired his third feline, after stopping traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge to catch a stray and save it from being struck by a car, but also from a probable life of misery. However, the kitten now called “Brooklyn” may have wanted to try its fortunes on the street, rather than relying on being adopted from an underfunded shelter.
As reported in a recent edition, employees at Boone County’s shelter reported contracting multiple illnesses while working in the poorly-ventilated building at 1230 S. Appleton Rd. Employees have contracted ringworm, roundworm and coccidian – a disease that causes weight loss, dehydration and sometimes hemorrhaging.
Employees have had to purchase their own uniforms, office supplies and even had to provide their own portable animal cages and leashes. They say they highly doubt the building would pass a fire inspection and has poor water quality. If not for a departed area citizen leaving thousands in her will for BCAS, the dogs up for adoption wouldn’t even have a roof over their head.
While a new building has been needed for years, the process has been delayed several times. Within the past few months, the county’s health department has received raises up to 50 percent and the Public Safety Building was approved for $60,000 in new carpet.
Now, the county’s decisions are known to a greater number of people. The audience is seated and they’re waiting for the show, Boone County.
Bear irony
Growing up in Michigan, I was a fan of all Detroit teams but the Lions. Since the team was owned by Ford and my dad worked for General Motors, my motto was: “if they’d sell the team to GM, at least it would run worth a damn.” Which I developed despite my dad being a Lion fan.
But since they’ve become more like the Detroit Pistons’ “Bad Boys” than prior Lion teams, I don’t mind them as much.
The Bears lost to the Lions for the second time this season and in an instance of irony, the Bears were denied a touchdown when receiver Alshon Jeffrey was unable to maintain possession as he fell out of the end zone. Chicago fans booed the decision to uphold the no-catch call and nearly everyone recalled the Calvin Johnson catch that occurred during a previous meeting.
Johnson was ruled to have not maintained possession throughout the catch, despite holding the ball until he was on the white chalk at the back of the end zone.
Don’t boo Bear fans. You know in order for it to be a catch at Soldier Field, you must maintain possession through the end zone, to the tunnel, into the parking lot and have one foot on the bus.
Donation to BCAS: So others can find a ‘Brooklyn’
Nov. 13, 2013
By Troy A. Bruzewski
Editor
BELVIDERE – Brian Quinn used an impractical method to adopt a kitten this summer and it’s no joke.
Quinn, a cast member and co-creator of TruTV’s Impractical Jokers, was en route to the set this May and in an effort to maintain phone reception and save time, he chose to use the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. As he chatted about details of the show, he noticed what he initially thought was a plastic bag drifting across the three-lane expressway. However, the closer he got to the apparent wind-blown bag, he realized this discarded item was alive.
“As I got closer, I was shocked to see it was a kitten,” Quinn said. “She was scared out of her mind, trying to get across to the other side, thinking there was safety.”
But the kitten’s path was anything but safe. Commuters were speeding by and Quinn saw it was likely headed for an untimely end. So the man used to pulling public pranks with his pals, again did something shocking. Quinn stopped his car on the expressway and begin a rescue attempt. Though on the busy expressway, it was nearly he who needed rescuing.
“Cars were zooming by at 60 mph; I almost got into a car accident and I started stopping speeding cars to save the kitten,” he said.
The cat darted through traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge and sought shelter under a food truck, climbing up through the vehicles undercarriage. Quinn already had stopped traffic on a New York expressway and chased a kitten across multiple lanes; he wasn’t about to end the effort.
“I had the guy put the truck in park and I reached into the engine,” he said. “Her paws were burning on parts of the engine and I pulled her out and brought her to the set.”
Quinn was now the proud owner of a third kitten and he took the black-and-gray feline to work with him. Well, at least he thought that was the cat’s colors. After taking the kitten to the veterinarian for a checkup, Quinn learned he had a black-and-white cat.
“The kitten wasn’t partially gray, it was just so dirty that its white fur looked gray,” he said.
After Quinn made a trip to California for work, he contacted the vet to get an update.
“When I called the vet, he told me I had the single sweetest cat in the world and that I’d fall in love with her,” he said. “The vet was right, I did fall in love with her.”
Brooklyn – the kitten named after the bridge she was saved on – became Quinn’s third pet and provided another life-changing story of animal adoption.
In hopes that residents of Boone County need not stop expressway traffic to make an adoption, Quinn and the other members of the show are making a donation of items to be auctioned, benefitting the Boone County Animal Shelter. The cast is touring and Friday, make an appearance at Rockford’s Coronado Performing Arts Center.
“We’re glad to be able to help and promote animal adoption,” he said. “Without having to stop traffic.”
County seeks more money for housing federal prisoners
Nov. 13, 2013
By Bob Balgemann
BELVIDERE - The Boone County Jail houses prisoners from the U.S. Marshals Service and DeKalb County.
During the month of October, the county was paid $41,730 for taking care of federal detainees on 642 days. That comes to a per diem of $65.
Now, a Washington, D.C.-based consultant is proposing to negotiate a new rate with the U.S. Marshals Service. A letter from Joseph Summerill, representing the Summerill Group LLC, states he believes that rate can be increased to $79.12.
The goal is a three-year contract with the $79.12 rate that would increase the county's revenue to $519,818 a year, or $1.559 million over the life of the agreement.
Boone County currently houses an average of 20 federal inmates per day. If that number could be increased to 28, Summerill said the annual income would be $808,606, or $2.426 million over the three-year life of the agreement.
Summerill's services would cost to the county $40,000.
According to the proposal negotiations with the U.S. Marshals Service are expected to begin in January 2014, with a new intergovernmental being struck in February.
Members of the county's public safety committee agreed Thursday night (Nov. 7) the proposal should move on to the finance, taxation and salaries committee, before being presented to the full county board.
Retired Ogle County Sheriff Greg Beitel and Boone County sheriff's Lt. John Hare, the jail commander, brought the discussion to the committee.
As explained, Summerill is a former chief contracts attorney for the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Prisons. He currently assists sheriffs across the country in negotiating intergovernmental agreements with the U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Prisons, Department of Homeland Security and Bureau of Immigration and Custom Enforcement.
Beitel said Ogle County, which has housed federal prisoners since 1995, retained Summerill and received a 20 percent increase in its per diem.
While he said he didn't know if there was an overabundance of federal detainees out there, he added, "I don't see any downturn in the number."
Turns down prisoners
Boone County Sheriff Duane Wirth said he had been turning down federal prisoners because he didn't have the personnel to take care of them. "I think this program can work," he said. "We're up to 20 (detainees) now."
Hare said the county had a good working relationship with the U.S. Marshals Office in Rockford. Officials there like Boone County's proximity to Chicago and to the federal courthouse in Rockford.
He offered the following revenue figures for housing federal inmates: $178,407 during the 2010-11 fiscal year; $176,402 in 2011-12; and $337,818 so far this year. There are three weeks left in the 2012-13 fiscal year, which ends Nov. 30.
County Administrator Ken Terrinoni said the county has to look at unorthodox methods of bringing in more money. "This is one of them," he said. "Our budget issues aren't going to go away."
Jail revenue so far this year is $134,842.39 in excess of what it was in 2011-12. Income through Oct. 31, primarily from housing federal and DeKalb County prisoners, is at $593,958.39 compared with $459,086 through Oct. 31, 2012.
During the month of October there was a total of 85 inmates, 73 men and 12 women. Of that number, 20 were federal detainees with eight from DeKalb County.
The monthly income of $61,568 was divided as follows: $41,730 from the federal government; $18,720 from DeKalb County; and $1,118 for federal reimbursement for transportation, manpower and medical expenses.
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