DeKalb County Facilities & Technology Committee met Nov. 4.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
The Facilities & Technology Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, in the Administration Building’s Conference Room East in Sycamore, Illinois. Chair Michelle Pickett called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. The members present were Tim Hughes, Kathy Lampkins, Jim Luebke, and Chair Pickett. A quorum was established with four members present and two members absent. Rukisha Crawford arrived at 6:33 p.m., and Laurie Emmer was absent.
Others present included Interim County Administrator Derek Hiland, Information Management Director Sheila Santos, and Facilities Management Director Jim Scheffers.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Kathy Lampkins moved to approve the agenda, Jim Luebke seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
Due to the delayed availability of the June meeting’s minutes, there was a committee consensus to push approval to the November meeting and allow members time to review the minutes. The November agenda did not reflect the June minutes’ approval so the item has been scheduled for review in December.
Tim Hughes moved to approve the minutes of the October 7, 2025 meeting. Jim Luebke seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None
PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
Information Management Annual Report
Chair Pickett introduced Information Management Director Sheila Santos. Santos explained that she has included activity for both years 2024 and 2025 in her presentation.
Santos outlined that Information Management office staff members have a significant amount of tenure and work very well together. She attributed the successes of the department to the team’s consistently excellent performance.
Santos reviewed the department’s responsibilities and mentioned that the Malta Police Department and the Regional Office of Education’s Early Childhood Center have been added to the list of facilities the department supports.
Santos reviewed the department’s various areas of network support and projects, highlighting computer deployments, WIFI upgrades, and phone system overhaul. She outlined that the department has built ten data-based websites and forty-five interactive mapping websites for county staff, the public, and municipalities.
Santos underscored that Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have increased in recent years. Following committee member inquiries, Santos explained that FOIA requests can involve searching for email correspondence and that many times, these requests can take several days for a staff member to complete.
Chair Pickett conveyed her appreciation of the department to Santos and thanked her for the information presented.
FY2026 BUDGET
FY2026 Budget Appeals
None
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Three Year Cash Farm Lease Solicitations
Interim County Administrator Derek Hiland reviewed that there are two county-owned cash farm leases that must be re-bid per state law. Hiland outlined the process and required steps.
The committee agreed to move forward with the process as outlined by Hiland.
ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Rukisha Crawford and seconded by Tim Hughes to adjourn the meeting. The motion was carried, and the meeting adjourned at 7:27 p.m.
https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/packet-ft-12022025.pdf
