BCJ: Letters to Editor supporting re-election of M. Courier

 

 

 

BCJ: Editorial on taxation and PSB Sales Tax

Above is from the October 23, 2015 Boone County Journal which is available free of cost at merchants across the county and on-line at:  http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/news/2015/Boone-County-News-10-23-15.pdf#page=1

Tough Times Ahead For Boone County Government

BCJ articles are available on line at:  http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/news/2015/Boone-County-News-09-25-15.pdf#page=1

By James Middleton

The “high water” mark in municipal revenue
collections for Boone County was reached in 2007 and
2008 before the bottom fell out in 2009. However, after
that point, revenue coming into the county needed for all
county funding requirements, saw that revenue decline
and revenue has not yet returned. Revenue collections
from all sources coming into Boone County has yet to
return to those levels and in the current budget preparations
for Fiscal Year 2016, the reductions in revenue are being
felt even more so than in previous years.
The years of 2009 through 2011 have been referred to
by county officials as the “Great Recession” when revenues
passed through a serious reduction that led county officials
to impose a variety of cost saving steps to control spending.
Many of those cost cutting steps had included voluntary
pay reductions and voluntary unpaid days off work. Others
had agreed to voluntary pay freezes and other forms of
employee salary controls and reductions.
Individuals have also left county employment and those
vacancies have not always been refilled with new hires.
Some of those vacancies remain even today including two
deputies and one secretary unfilled in the Boone County
Sheriff’s Department. An administrative clerk has retired
from the probation department, a county clerk has been
laid off and one deputy clerk in the treasurer’s office had
their hours reduced. One custodian has been laid off in
the administration building, one animal control worker has
retired and one dispatcher in the 911 center has left county
employ. In each of these instances, employees are no
longer working with the county and their vacancies have
not been refilled.
The need for this policy has hampered the overall
efficiency of county government with the loss of personnel
and the county deciding that those vacancies would not be
refilled. These facts and others were laid out in a special
meeting of the Boone County Board finance committee
meeting that occurred this week.
Boone County administrator Ken Terrinoni dedicated

part of the meeting to presenting to the committee members
the history that has led to this point, how this point was
reached and what the current situation holds for the new
Fiscal Year 2016 in Boone County government.
The chairman of the Boone County Board Bob
Walberg (District 1) was at the meeting and he described
the event as one in which preliminary information was
given regarding the potential new budget. It is likely
that far more information will follow in another special
finance committee meeting scheduled to occur on Monday
evening, September 30.

It should be noted that in the current budget for Fiscal
year 2015 that is just nearing its conclusion, members of
the County Board agreed to allow $150,000 to be available
for use to manage some of the expenses associated with
law enforcement activities in the county. That funding
came from the annual surplus of collected revenue that
comes to the county in the form of the public safety sales
tax that was approved a decade ago when county voters
agreed to erect the new Boone County Jail and to pay off
the bonds created to fund that construction through the use
of a half-cent public safety sales tax.
In the meeting this week, the finance committee
members heard from County representative Paul Larson
(District 2) who said that the county in Fiscal Year 2016
might need to access revenue from the same source to the
extent of from $300,000 to $400,000 to erase a potential
deficit. Mr. Larson is a past chairman of the County Board
finance committee. The possible use of that money was not
approved and really no aspects of what could become the
final budget was approved but these points and others were
brought for discussion purposes.
Mr. Terrinoni said after the meeting, “There are two
primary reasons for the possible deficit in the new budget
and that is first caused by the inability to provide jail space
to neighboring municipalities to house their detainees and
the second reason is the rapidly increasing self-insured,
healthcare costs for the county.” Last year the county ran
near a deficit due to a number of serious healthcare claims
from county employees that were not expected. This year,
because many of the available jail cells in the County Jail
are occupied by local detainees, that cell space cannot be
used by other municipalities to hold their detainees. When
the jail was being considered for construction, one of the
selling features was that the county could lease jail space
to neighboring municipalities and the federal government
to hold their detainees waiting for trial.
Mr. Terrinoni also said that at this point, the county
could be looking at a potential $1.1 million deficit for
Fiscal Year 2016. Part of the reason for that deficit is also
due to the state not paying some salaries that they share
with the county. The state’s attorney’s salary and that of
the probation workers and other salaries are not being paid
by the state. Mr. Terrinoni said, “If the state’s makes up
those salaries, and we expect that they will, the deficit
could drop to $800,000.”
Sources outside the
county have indicated
that the state is paying
some of their day-to-day
expenses by not making
payments to municipalities
that they are mandated to
make. Further, the state
is also using this money
earmarked for municipal
governments and avoiding
either approving a new
budget or enacting
appropriation measures.
It should also be noted
that a municipal budget is
a framework that identifies
paths by which revenue
can be spent to manage the

municipality. At this point, many ideas are being discussed
to manage what likely will be a budget deficit in one
amount or another. Though every department that makes
up Boone County will propose potential initiatives or new
ways to spend their funding, very few of those proposed
initiatives will likely be approved.
Mr. Walberg and Mr. Terrinoni both indicated after
the special meeting that there is very little likelihood that
any of those initiatives will be approved. A few might be
included in the budget but no one is, as yet, certain which
initiatives could be approved.
The special meeting of the Boone County Board finance
committee is scheduled to occur next Monday, September
30 at 6 p.m. It is possible that by that meeting, a clearer
picture of the new budget for Fiscal Year 2016 will be
better defined but leading to that meeting, negotiations and
discussions continue.

Letter to Editor: County Board & Animal Service Building

BCJ: The VAC Returns to the County Board

 

The story shown below is from the March 13, 2015 Boone County Journal which is available free of cost at many Boone County merchants or on line at:  http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/news/2015/Boone-County-News-03-13-15.pdf#page=1

BCJ Editorial on Boone County Board Chairman and his “Pals”

 

Local Papers Oppose Rep Sosnowski’s legislation on public notices

 

 

 

 

Meet John Doe: Keep public notices in print | The Rock River Times

By Paul Gorski
Columnist

According to “Sosnowski calls for public notices to be pulled from papers” by Shane Nicholson, State Representative Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford/Belvidere) wants to “end the publication of public and government notices in newspapers.”

I strongly oppose that ill-advised plan. Public, especially government, notices of meetings, hearings and other important events should be posted in local newspapers as it is in the public interest to do so. We cannot have a free, open, deliberative government unless we know when our public bodies are meeting to discuss important issues.

As Nicholson’s article points out, many governments do not properly post public notices online, and the public does not appear to go to the sites that have these notices. One sure way of hiding or burying a public notice is to publish it only online.

One benefit of having notices posted in newspapers is that each newspaper prints public notices in a consistent manner; readers do not have to learn how to navigate the newspaper to find the notices, like they might have to do with a variety of different government websites.

Sosnowski states his plan is “Just trying to move us into the 20th century. Internet has been around for a while. Maybe next year we can work on the 21st.” I do not buy that argument at all. By that reasoning, people should stop buying printed Bibles and read the good book on their Kindles. While some people may prefer an e-reading device for this use, I’m pretty sure printed Bible sales are still strong. I am also fairly certain that most churches prefer printed Bibles. Get important information out in as many ways as you can.

People are divided on how they consume news and information. Many people still read print newspapers and books; other read the same content on websites. Others only frequent social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook. More and more people are using their smartphones and tablets as their primary Internet-access device, and many government websites are not mobile friendly. You might save money on printing costs, but then pay big bucks for updating your website, and then be forced to pay staff to monitor, post, and reply to posts on social media outlets.

Sosnowski’s plan to stop printing public notices in newspapers is shortsighted. Newspapers provide a standard, portable format for sharing government information. If budgets allow, post the same information on websites and social media. Sharing public information on more, rather than fewer, media outlets is in the public interest and critical to encouraging the public to engage government.

Paul Gorski (paul@paulgorski.com) is a Cherry Valley Township resident who also authors the Tech-Friendly column seen in this newspaper.

The above is from:  Meet John Doe: Keep public notices in print | The Rock River Times

Editorial:

News Coverage:

 

BCJ Editorial on Boone County “ad hoc” subcommittee

An easier to read copy is shown after the photocopy.

 

When a “Duck” Is a “Duck”

Since the Illinois Department of Agriculture examined the Boone County animal shelter a few years ago, the
place has been an embarrassment. Members of the Boone County Board, residents of the county and some from
adjoining counties are outraged that county government would treat feral animals in such a way. The same people
are also angered at the inability of county government to define or to outlaw “puppy mills.”

In response to this failure, members of county government created an “Ad-Hoc Committee for Boarding and
Breeding Facilities.” This path is dangerous because the group is closely allied with county government, the group
wants to amend county code sheltered from public “interference” and they are near to violating the Illinois Open
Meetings Act.

Creation of the Committee occurred when the chairman of the County Board appointed people to serve without
County Board approval. To her credit, the county state’s attorney advised the founders of the Committee to abide
by the open meetings act and to provide public notice of their meetings. However, material obtained by The
Journal suggests that open meetings and public disclosure was not their intention.

The document obtained arose over the name, Denny Ellingson, a District #1 legislator on the Boone County
Board. The date of this document is January 7, 2015.

In the second paragraph, the author wrote:
“Please remember, this is an advisory ad-hoc committee which means we do not have to post public agendas or
open our meetings for the public to attend. Please do not tell others about where or when these meetings are set
forth so that we can meet without interference. When we get our work done the public will get a chance to review
our thoughts and decisions as our proposed ordinances will back through the ZBA (Zoning Board of Appeals) and
the PZB (Planning, Zoning and Building committee of the Boone County Board) before the County Board gets as
chance to adopt them.”

These are stunning admissions. The number of questionable and potentially illegal admissions noted here
reaches double digits.

The author said the group was advisory but without guidelines to govern the group it is questionable just what
the Committee is, other than an extension of county government. The conclusion that the group does not need to
conform to provide notice of their meetings is contrary to an opinion offered by the state’s attorney. This advice in
the letter violates the “spirit” of the law but we have often noted, ethics are for losers. If the Committee does not
need to provide formal notice of their meetings they then might conclude that they need not conform to the Open
Meetings Act. This could be problematic because the County Board chairman appointed the members to serve and
also because of the Committee’s tight connection to county government.

Further, the author asked that members, “Please do not tell others where or when these meetings are set.”
Really? It is an arguable point but, is not this a request of the members to violate Illinois law? This language
appearing over the signature of an elected official is a damaging admission that requires explanation.

There’s more. The author continues claiming, because of this conclusion, the Committee can avoid the
“interference” that the public might create. It is presumed the author would include the press as an objectionable
“interference.” Asking members not to tell anyone of future meetings to avoid “interference” is an insult.

The author assumes that any activity to emerge from their meetings will be blindly approved by the ZBA and
the PZB as a prelude to being lamely enacted by the County Board. This level of confidence is enhanced by moves
made by County Board leadership to pack the panel with those that are like-minded. The hubris of this policy is
beyond belief and should be of concern to all who voted for these “alleged” legislators.

It is uncertain if any members of the Committee voiced concern over what was written and it would be
disappointing if no one questioned the policy. But, perhaps this egotism is to be expected when people are
appointed to serve the needs of the community without needing any further approval.

This activity confirms a position voiced in a previous Editorial presented here. Some elected officials believe
that their view and views of their friends are the only views that need to be heard. Some leaders appoint friends to
do their bidding and to run a government to please a singular view while ignoring anyone with a different point-of-
view.

It appears the current leader sees the Board as an extension of himself and he has appointed those to committees
that compliment his singular view.

The effort of this ad-hoc committee is not designed to resolve a problem in county government through greater
openness, the stated goal is to keep their activity out of public sight. It is apparent that an open vision of public
policy is sorely lacking in Boone County government. But for a couple members, the current County Board is
populated by “yes-men” who are willing to do the bidding of the leader.

Another example of the impact of this closed policy was found in a recent change in position expressed by the
Boone County regional planning commission regarding a proposed text amendment. This change did not occur
because of amended language or altered intent, the change occurred because of a change in membership on the
commission. Is anyone truly surprised?

The Boone County Journal is available free of cost at merchants across the county and on line at:  http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/news/2015/Boone-County-News-02-20-15.pdf#page=1

 

To read the email quoted in the editorial, go to the bottom of the following Boone County Watchdog posting:  http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/02/did-boone-countys-ad-hoc-committee.html

BCJ: Postponement of Wind Text Amendment

Boone County Journal is available free of cost at merchants across the county.  It is also available on line at: http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/news/2015/Boone-County-News-01-30-15.pdf#page=1

 

 

 

 

 

Mainstream’s four page letter is available on this blog at: http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/01/mainstream-details-their-opposition-to.html

The”old” proposed text amendment is available on this blog at: http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/01/another-text-amendment-on-winda-half.html

BCJ: Letter to Editor on Mr. Walberg’s appointment

 

Because of questions regarding appointments--the resumes and letters requesting appointment were requested under the Freedom on Information Act.  See the FOIA request and results below: 

 

To

Ken Terrinoni

CC

Bob Walberg

 

Jan 26 at 3:58 PM

Chairman Walberg did not supply to the County Board all the resumes and application letters for the appointments approved on January 21, 2015. How can the board “advise” the chairman without this information. Mr. Walberg’s majority may blindly vote for his appointments but that does not mitigate board responsibilities.  If in the future all applications are supplied to board perhaps they will comply with their advisory responsibilities.

If the board is not interested in the qualification of appointees I know the public may be.

Under the Freedom of Information Act please supply all application letters and resumes for all applicants to the appointments listed below:

Boone County Regional Planning Commission, Housing Authority of the County of Boone, Capron Cemetery Association, Capron Cemetery Association

This information may be posted on my inter net blog which is free of advertisement. This information has no commercial value to me.

BILL PYSSON

 

The following is the information received:

 

BCJ Criticizes Lack of Accounting Audit in Circuit Court Clerk Office Crime

 

 

The Boone County Journal is available free of cost at merchants across the county and on-line at:  http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/news/2015/Boone-County-News-01-09-15.pdf#page=1

THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT REGARDING  THIS EDITORIAL WAS PUBLISHED BY THE BOONE COUNTY JOURNAL on January 16, 2015.

Above is from:  http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/news/2015/Boone-County-News-01-16-15.pdf#page=1