Daily Chronicle | County Board contemplates transparency

Note:  Boone County received a similar score.

recent D-minus grade in transparency given to DeKalb County by the Illinois Policy Institute did not sit well with some County Board members and officials, and changes could be coming.

The county had low scores in categories such as employee salary and benefit information and Freedom of Information Act standards. Although salary and FOIA information is available on the county’s website, the IPI said the site should list salary and benefits on an individual basis and have clearer information on how to contact FOIA officers…..

new state statute will require counties to list the salaries and benefits of individuals making more than $75,000, so Charles Foster, R-Shabbona, said the county might as well list every employee….

seemed open to the idea of listing the few lobbying agencies to which the county belongs, as well as those agencies that lobby the county. Statements of economic interest also could be published on the website in the future

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  Daily Chronicle | County Board contemplates transparency

Economy responsible for new ‘ghost towns’

Is Boone County thinking about this?

How quickly they rebound will be directly linked to the reasons the development stalled in the first place,” he said. “There’s a big difference between a development that sits 90 minutes outside a metropolitan area whose pool of buyers dried up, and a very desirable, well-located piece of land being developed by someone who got in over his head financially.

“If the project made great sense because of its amenities, location and price, it will make great sense again,” Rice predicted. “If it was a project located just another exit or two farther from the city than the last project that was built, well, I think those developments may be slower to recover — and it’s possible they may never be completed. We’ve actually seen that with some Detroit developments, where they’ve just pushed dirt over the poured foundations. They’re done

Click on the following to read his entire piece:  Northwest Herald | Economy responsible for new ‘ghost towns’

Belvidere Township’s Governance in the news again

 

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Belvidere Township attorney, resident disagree over accusations

Written by Bob Balgemann

Belvidere Township resident Max Newport believes the township board of trustees has violated state statutes.

Township attorney Keri-Lynn Krafthefer disagrees, saying there is no proof of that.

They exchanged those views at the board’s July 24 meeting during the public comments portion of the agenda. And the public’s ability to address the board also was criticized by Newport.

Read all of the BDR article by clicking on the following:  Belvidere Township attorney, resident disagree over accusations | Belvidere Daily Republican

 

Belvidere Township’s legal fees have skyrocketed 383 percent from five years ago.

By Jennifer Wheeler

The township has been scrutinized for months with residents filing lengthy Freedom of Information Act requests and writing memos that require legal responses. People have questioned the township’s budget, public comment process and whether the government body should even exist.

Click on the following for all of this story:  http://www.rrstar.com/news/x417563755/Belvidere-Township-legal-fees-spike-leaders-blame-public-scrutinynity

Boone County reconsiders electrical aggregation vote - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

By Jennifer Wheeler

Walberg speculated that the referendum failed because residents felt uninformed on the issue, did not trust the government to negotiate rates or believed they were voting on smart meters

Click on the following for more details:  Boone County reconsiders electrical aggregation vote - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Proposed Wind Farm Ordinance for Boone County

As of the posting of this document Boone County has not posted the proposed ordinance as it awaits imput from the townships and other government entities. 

UPDATED 8-17-2012

The staff recommendation as well as the proposed ordinance change is now available at:    http://www.boonecountyil.org/sites/default/files/Boone%20County%20RegionalPlanning%20Commission%20August%2021,%202012.pdf Or you may view the abbreviated staff recommendation at: http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/08/staff-recommendations-requests-more.html

Click on the photocopy to enlarge:

Please remember the following typing symbols use to differentiate.:  current ordinance, deletion and addition to wording.

First the definitions:

Click on the photocopy to enlarge:

The beginning of the changes:

For information on various other county’s wind farm ordinances go to Boone County Zoning’s information at:  http://www.boonecountyil.org/page/wind-farm-information

Rockford Register Star : Boone County files complaint against mulch pile land caretakers

POPLAR GROVE — Boone County filed a complaint Wednesday against Michael Coil and Norma Gesell for using land illegally to stockpile mulch that eventually resulted in a five-day Poplar Grove fire.
After providing the defendants 10 days to remove the mulch, Boone County State’s Attorney Michelle Courier filed a complaint for a preliminary and permanent injunction for violating the Boone County Zoning Ordinance.
According to the complaint, Jim Schumacher had obtained a special-use permit in 2007 to allow property in Poplar Grove to house a nursery and horticulture supply store. However, that land was divided in May 2011 without notification to the Boone County Planning Department.
Since the land became a new piece of property, Coil, who purchased and controlled the property, and Gesell, who is the property’s legal owner, needed to ask for a special-use permit to store the mulch. They ultimately did not and began to stockpile mulch in an agricultural conservation district, which is illegal, according to the complaint.
“(Individuals who refuse) to comply with or resist the enforcement of any of the provisions in this ordinance, shall upon conviction, be fined no more than $500 plus the cost of the prosecution of each offense. Each day that a violation continues to exist shall constitute a separate offense,” the county zoning ordinance states.
The complaint requests that Coil and Gesell be prohibited from bringing more mulch on the property and be forced to remove the material there now.
In addition to the mulch complaint, Courier alleges that if the newly divided land had been covered by Schumacher’s special-use permit, Coil and Gesell had been violating several fire codes since May 2012.
Those violations include: failing to provide access roads for fire suppression, failing to provide an adequate water supply, allowing mulch piles to exceed their size limitations, failing to have appropriate material handling equipment on site, failing to monitor mulch piles’ internal temperatures, failing to provide portable fire extinguishers and failing to provide an emergency plan.
Additionally, Coil and Gesell did not have the required access permits from Belvidere Township needed for the special-use permit.
The fire that resulted from these mulch piles required more than 100 agencies to respond and 4 million gallons of water. The cost of the fire totaled more than $46,000 between Rural Boone County Fire Protection District 2 and the village of Poplar Grove.
Jennifer Wheeler: 815-987-1354; jwheeler@rrstar.com

Above is taken from: Rockford Register Star : Boone County files complaint against mulch pile land caretakers

The above story is also available in the Friday, July 27, 2012 print version of the Rockford Register Star, page A5.

Boone County changes Sunday Liquor CODE

The following is taken from Friday, July 27th Boone County Journal

Click on the photocopy to enlarge: