Will County Board Finance Committee met May 3.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Mr. Pretzel led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
III. ROLL CALL
Chair Jacqueline Traynere called the meeting to order at 11:27 AM
| Attendee Name | Title | Status | Arrived |
| Jacqueline Traynere | Chair | Present | |
| Margaret Tyson | Vice Chair | Present | |
| Mike Fricilone | Member | Present | |
| Saud Gazanfer | Member | Present | |
| Tyler Marcum | Member | Present | |
| Jim Moustis | Member | Present | |
| Judy Ogalla | Member | Present | |
| Frankie Pretzel | Member | Present | |
| Rachel Ventura | Member | Present |
Also Present from the State's Attorney's Office: M. Tatroe.
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
V. OLD BUSINESS
VI. NEW BUSINESS
1. Committing Funds for University of Illinois Cooperative Extension (Megan Walsh, County Extension Director)
Ms. Walsh reviewed the handout that she provided, that is attached to the agenda.
Mr. Moustis said this is one of the few agencies that we can give money to; most other agencies we are not permitted to give tax dollars to. This is a very productive organization; they give a lot back. Some of the food from their gardens end up in food pantries. At one time we were able to give them $100,000; then we had to cut it down to $75,000 and then to $25,000. I am not sure if they received any funds from the federal programs that have come down.
Ms. Walsh stated when you gave the grants through the federal programs, we received money through that.
Mr. Moustis stated I would like to bump up our contribution to $75,000. I think that we can afford it, and they continue to add programs. If we give them the $75,000 that means that they will get additional money from the state. The State has continued to cut their funding.
Ms. Walsh said we would receive $.65 or a bit higher per dollar match.
Ms. Ventura stated the first $50,000 of this money is coming from the Laraway host fee agreement and Waste Management. We are just looking at $25,000 to be moved around. I think it is worthy of some of these plans. One thing that you didn’t talk about is you had put together a food pantry map during COVID. Is that still active?
Ms. Walsh stated yes, that is through the University of Illinois; you must call Find Food Illinois. It lists pantries, grocery stores that take benefits, and all the different places that people can find food.
Ms. Ventura asked how people sign up for the after-school Kids in Nature, and literacy program for highschoolers. How do they get information and enrolled?
Ms. Walsh stated Kids in Nature are typically 4th graders. I am not sure how the teachers get that information out. The literacy programs are through partnerships; if you have someone with the need, please contact us directly.
| RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS] Next: 5/19/2022 9:30 AM
TO: Will County Board MOVER: Jim Moustis, Member SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, Member AYES: Traynere, Tyson, Fricilone, Gazanfer, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Pretzel, Ventura |
| RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Jim Moustis, Member SECONDER: Margaret Tyson, Vice Chair AYES: Traynere, Tyson, Fricilone, Gazanfer, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Pretzel, Ventura |
Mr. Fricilone said I wanted to make a motion to remove this; you need to do this in the budget process because we are physically expending the money that will be in next year’s budget. They are just getting on a waiting list.
Ms. Howard said a couple of the vehicles are available now. The vehicle that the Emergency Management Agency requested; they can order that this summer but will not be available until next year. The other two are requested by the coroner; they were available. Either way is okay, the hope was to get the vehicles and place the order this year.
Mr. Moustis said if you are going to pay for them this year then they must be in this year’s budget.
Mr. Lynn stated the Ford Explorers can be ordered now; I believe there is a 16 week wait time for them, so it would be within this year. The police interceptor is not available right now.
Ms. Howard said from my understanding the County Board approved the purchase of the vehicles and then today we were going to identify where the funding was coming from. If we can move forward with the vehicles that are available because the problem is the shortage of vehicles. We missed the boat last year, that is why we were bringing it forward; however, any other request will be included in the budget for FY23 so we don’t have to bring the request back to the County Board, it is included with the budget, and they can move forward with purchasing the vehicles when they are available.
Ms. Traynere asked if you have identified a funding line for the two vehicle’s that we are going to get in 16 weeks.
Ms. Howard stated my initial recommendation was the contingency; however, we can take that from the Capital Improvement Fund which was formerly Fund 304.
Ms. Ogalla stated the old Balmoral Racetrack which is in Crete is where they have been storing thousands of Ford Explorers, I was in a meeting last night regarding the situation. They were moved to that location because they didn’t have a chip in them; the chips are now coming in and they will now be able to be sold.
Mr. Fricilone state I would make a motion that we budget for the two vehicles that we can get in this year’s budget, and the third vehicle be put into the budget process for next year.
Ms. Ventura stated I am going to vote yes; but I voted no last month because I think we need to be moving towards Hybrid especially with the price of gas. If it is just the microchip holding us up, then it doesn’t matter if it is Hybrid or not. In the future we need to be forward thinking with our purchases.
Ms. Howard stated I believe that has been explored by the departments who have put in the requests. Mr. Lynn has investigated the cost; we are finding Hybrids are more and it is an option that we need to investigate countywide if we are going to change our entire fleet. It would be up to the County Board if we decide to make that change.
Ms. Ventura said there is a savings too on the cost of gas; that must be factored into the price. If we are going to investigate a policy from the County Board standpoint. The State implemented tax incentives for electric vehicles here in Illinois starting July 1, 2022. If we really want a big bang for our buck and get off the price all together.
Ms. Ogalla asked what the cost is of putting in and maintaining an electric charging station.
Mr. Moustis said combustible engines get 150,000 to 200,000 miles; electric motors will go 500,000 miles. You will not have to replace vehicles as often. You could easily go from having a car for 5 years to 10 years, there is very little maintenance on it. Before the County Board starts making policy on vehicles, we need to factor in all the costs and benefits.
There was a discussion amongst the committee members on the pros and cons of electric cars, how they work and how much they have improved over the years; including tax incentives that are available.
Motion was to purchase two vehicles for the Coroner’s Office with funding coming from the 304 Capital Fund.
| RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS] Next: 5/19/2022 9:30 AM
TO: Will County Board AYES: Traynere, Tyson, Fricilone, Gazanfer, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Pretzel, Ventura |
(Jen Alberico/Julie Shetinga)
| RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board MOVER: Jim Moustis, Member SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, Member AYES: Traynere, Tyson, Fricilone, Gazanfer, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Pretzel, Ventura |
| RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board MOVER: Jim Moustis, Member SECONDER: Rachel Ventura, Member AYES: Traynere, Tyson, Fricilone, Gazanfer, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Pretzel, Ventura |
Ms. Ventura said a few months ago we discussed minimum wage policies for collective bargaining employees. At that time, we were discussing $15.00 per hour. There are not a lot of our employees that make less than that; the quote came in about $150,000 to up those individuals. I think it is worth looking at a higher minimum wage for those employees to attract good candidates for the County, especially for our CNAs at Sunny Hill. I think it is time to ask the experts to come and present what we need to do at the County to make sure that we have a minimum offer on our jobs. I feel this is important because of our economy and the inflation rate.
Ms. Traynere stated while I agree with you, I also need to know if we are having a tough time hiring or are people coming to the County regardless. I know that the reason to raise wages was because you can’t get candidates; you see that all over the community today with restaurants, and many organizations. While I am all for it but if we are getting plenty of candidates and don’t have a shortage then maybe there is not a need.
Mr. Fricilone said instead of just talking about wages and talk about the package. Our package is really good. This discussion should be in Executive that is where the numbers are at for payroll. Also, we probably shouldn’t be discussing this at all because we are in negotiations right now. We should be in Executive Session if we are going to be talking about any of this as negotiations are going on.
Ms. Ventura stated let me be clear this is for non-bargaining employees. Mr. Fricilone stated but it affects the negotiations.
Mr. Moustis said the Executive Committee is the personnel committee; that is a policy decision.
Ms. Ogalla said in our past situations with contract negotiations; when you bump up one level it bumps up the next level; so, the cost is not just at that level. You need to remember there is more of a cost than just that.
Ms. Ventura stated that the Health Department is still struggling to hire; some of the positions are certified and have some other requirements. We still have some departments that are not being filled.
Mr. Moustis stated the Health Department sets their own policies.
Ms. Traynere said then the Health Department should be coming forward to get on the Executive Committee with this matter.
Mr. Moustis said we don’t speak for the Health Department; they have their own Board.
Ms. Ogalla said plus the issue with the Health Department; they were requiring people to have vaccines; I don’t know if that is still in place. Some people didn’t take those jobs because of that situation. That also plays a part in it.
There was a discussion about why the County Board doesn’t have a Representative sitting in on negotiations for bargaining employees.
VIII. PUBLIC COMMENT
IX. ANNOUNCEMENTS/REPORTS BY CHAIR
X. EXECUTIVE SESSION
XI. ADJOURNMENT
1. Motion to Adjourn @ 12:07 PM
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mike Fricilone, Member SECONDER: Margaret Tyson, Vice Chair AYES: Traynere, Tyson, Fricilone, Gazanfer, Marcum, Moustis, Ogalla, Pretzel, Ventura |
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