DeKalb County Committee of the Whole met March 9.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
The Committee of the Whole of the DeKalb County Board met in the Legislative Center’s Gathertorium on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. Chairman John Frieders called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Those Members present were Mr. Tim Bagby, Mr. Scott Campbell, Ms. Mary Cozad, Ms. Rukisha Crawford, Mrs. Karen Cribben, Mr. Bill Cummings, Mr. Patrick Deutsch, Mrs. Laurie Emmer, Mr. Steve Faivre, Mrs. Kathy Lampkins, Ms. Dianne Leifheit, Ms. Maureen Little, Mr. Jim Luebke, Ms. Michelle Pickett, Mr. Roy Plote, Mr. Craig Roman, Mr. Ellingsworth Webb, Vice-Chair Suzanne Willis, and Chairman John Frieders. Those absent were Mr. Tim Hughes, Ms. Kiara Jones, Ms. Terri Mann-Lamb, Mr. Jerry Osland, and Mr. Larry West. A quorum was established with nineteen Members present, four absent, and one vacancy.
Others present included Brian Gregory, Derek Hiland, Liam Sullivan, Bridget Nodurft, Jim Hutcheson, Greg Millburg, Magdalen Niemi, and other members of the public.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Mr. Faivre moved to approve the agenda as presented. Mrs. Emmer seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
It was moved by Ms. Cozad, seconded by Mr. Cummings and it was carried unanimously to approve the minutes from the February 9, 2022 meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
There were no public comments.
CHAIR’S COMMENTS
Chairman Frieders noted that next week at the Full-County Board Meeting he will officially declare Mr. Tim Hughes’ County Board District #2 seat vacant. Mr. Hughes resigned from the Board as of February 24, 2022 due to a new employment opportunity, he noted.
The Chair reminded the Board that Committee of the Whole was created as an opportunity for every Board Members to weigh in and address various issues. When the Committee of the Whole Meeting adjourns and reconvenes as the Executive Committee, only those Members who are on the Executive Committee are able to discuss the issues on that agenda. The meetings were set up that way to ensure the Board was not violating any Open Meetings Act rules.
PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
County Highway Annual Report by County Engineer Nathan Schwartz Mr. Nathan F. Schwartz, P.E. provided the Committee of the Whole with a hard copy of his 2021 Annual Report. He also reviewed a PowerPoint presentation which illustrated the various projects that the County Highway Department completed in 2021. For a copy of the Highway’s 2021 Annual Report, please click the link below:
https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/hw-annrpt-2021.pdf
DeKalb County Rehab & Nursing Center Financial Update
County Administrator Brian Gregory provided a PowerPoint Presentation to update the Board on the ongoing financial challenges at the DeKalb County Rehab & Nursing Center (DCRNC). He reminded the Board that in early February the County contributed $100,000 in borrowing in order to meet payroll obligations. Then on February 18th, an additional $1,000,000 was needed to meet accumulated invoices and payroll obligations. Looking ahead, on March 16th, an estimated $500,000 will be needed to again meet accumulated invoices and payroll obligations. This would bring the liability on the County’s borrowing to $6,900,000, as of March, 2022.
Mr. Gregory reviewed that the Board has been discussing this issue for about a year now. It is also becoming clearer that the Board is moving closer to making a decision regarding the next step with the DCRNC. There have been some questions asked as to whether or not a referendum would be required if the County were to sell the nursing home. While the County has been working under the legal opinion that such a sale would take place without a new referendum as there was no referendum previously found by staff, that has recently become more complex. Some referendums that are not directly in regard to creating the nursing home, but involving financing (a tax levy) were found. Even though the SAO and staff agree that the DCRNC could still be sold without a referendum, there are concerns that any type of legal challenge would prolong the process and extend potential losses. Therefore, if the Board decides to move forward toward the option of selling the DCRNC, staff is suggesting that a referendum be placed on the June 28th ballot, Mr. Gregory noted.
Mr. Gregory read the following proposed draft Resolution language: “The DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing facility evolved from its humble beginnings through multiple buildings and objectives, none of which was the result of a referendum to establish or erect a county nursing home as described within 55 ILCS 5/5-21001(9). Rather, any prior referenda on the nursing home were in regard to additions and maintenance of prior facilities, not including the current facility erected beginning in 1998 utilizing local funds.
The DCRNC is a proprietary or enterprise operation that has utilized revenue generated from the business to offset expenses.
In 1991 the County was authorized after referendum to levy and collect a tax for the purpose of maintaining a prior nursing home facility, but never levied such tax over the thirty years since its passage because of an expectancy that the facility would fund itself without the necessity of tax levies.
In consideration of the financial distress of the DCRNC enterprise and/or other related concerns, the DeKalb County Board may deem that it is in the best interest of the County to sell or dispose
Note: These minutes are not official until approved by the Committee of the Whole at a subsequent meeting. Please refer to the meeting minutes when these minutes are approved to obtain any changes to these minutes. of the County nursing home subject to the approval of a 2/3 majority of all of the members of the board.
Given the financial distress of the DCRNC additional public resources are required to continue the operation of the DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center as a County facility.
Section 5-21001(8) of the Illinois Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/5-21001) allows Counties to cause an amount sufficient for those purposes to be levied upon the taxable property of the counties and collected as other taxes and further providing that in counties with a population of not more than 1,000,000 to levy and collect annually a tax of not to exceed .1% of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, of all the taxable property in the county for these purposes.
The tax shall be in addition to all other taxes which the county is authorized to levy on the aggregate valuation of the property within the county and shall not be included in any limitation of the tax rate upon which taxes are required to be extended, but shall be excluded therefrom and in addition thereto.
The tax shall be levied and collected in like manner as the general taxes of the county, and when collected, shall be paid into a special fund in the county treasury and used only as herein authorized.
Section 28-2(c) of the Illinois Code, 10 ILCS 5/28-2(c), provides that a resolution of a unit of local government which initiates the submission of public questions pursuant to the law must be adopted no less than 79 days before a regularly scheduled election to be eligible for submission on a ballot at such election.
The next regularly scheduled election in DeKalb County is the General Primary Election to be held on June 28, 2022.
The County Board of DeKalb County, Illinois directs the County Clerk of DeKalb County, in his capacity as the appropriate election authority, to place the following question on the General Primary Election ballot on June 28, 2022:”
| Shall DeKalb County be authorized to levy and collect a tax at a rate not to exceed .1% for the purpose of maintaining a county nursing home? | YES |
| NO |
Mr. Gregory also stated that even if this potential referendum were to pass, right-sizing, census increases, and staffing issues would still need to be addressed in order for the levy to fully assist the DCRNC financial issues.
Note: These minutes are not official until approved by the Committee of the Whole at a subsequent meeting. Please refer to the meeting minutes when these minutes are approved to obtain any changes to these minutes.
The Board Members began discussing the potential of placing a referendum on the June 28th ballot. Many Members expressed that the state-limited tax increase of .1% would not cover the costs that are being incurred at the facility. They felt that this tax increase could give the public the wrong sense of hope and that this levy wouldn’t completely take care of the financial issues at the nursing home. Others noted that there would need to be a lot of public information clearly articulated in a short amount of time in order to properly inform the voters that this levy would not be a fix to this problem.
It was also clarified that if approved and actually implemented, the .1% increase would begin in 2023 and would cost about $67.00 - $130.00 a year for the average homeowner.
Chairman Frieders agreed that the levy would in no way be a solution and would have to be framed as only an optional tool for the Board to consider in their future decisions of what to do with the DCRNC. Even if the referendum were to pass, the Chair stated that the Board would still need to consider the census issues, the staff issues, and the great liability that comes in owning and operating a public nursing home.
Reports from Committee Chairs
Mr. Faivre, Chair of the Planning & Zoning Committee, shared that the Committee has forwarded three Ordinances to the full Board: One for a Special Use Permit for a home bakery with a commercial kitchen in Kingston Township and two Special Use Permits for Solar Gardens in Shabbona Township.
Mr. Plote, Chair of the County Highway Committee, shared that the Committee has forwarded eight Resolutions to the full County Board recommending their approval. He briefly reviewed each of the eight items. He additionally shared that Mr. Wayne Davey, Highway Department’s Support Services Manager, is retiring this month after almost 20 years of service.
Mrs. Emmer, Chair of the Economic Development Committee, shared that the Committee was not able to make quorum at their last meeting but those who did attend toured the DeKalb County Business Incubator.
Ms. Crawford, Chair of Health & Human Services Committee, shared that the Committee forwarded three Resolutions for the Voluntary Action Center’s 5311 Capital Assistance Grant Agreement for FY2023. She also noted that next month the Committee would be meeting twice to conduct hearings for the GY2023 Senior Services Tax Levy Funding Allocations.
Ms. Leifheit, Chair of the Law & Justice Committee, shared that the Committee received their usual monthly reports and noted staffing vacancies in the Sheriff’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office.
Mr. Bagby, Chairman of the Finance Committee, shared that the Committee was still working on the County’s Procurement Policy. They were not yet ready to forward it to the Board for consideration. They also received an update on the DCRNC. In the coming months, they will be looking at the County’s self-insured status.
Note: These minutes are not official until approved by the Committee of the Whole at a subsequent meeting. Please refer to the meeting minutes when these minutes are approved to obtain any changes to these minutes.
Mr. Roman, Chairman of the Forest Preserve Operations Committee, shared that the Forest Preserve District has forwarded a Resolution to the full Board of Commissioners to purchase a strip of land in Kingston Township. The land is another phase to further connect Genoa to Kingston through the G2K Trail.
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
Mr. Gregory shared that the the CMS five-star rating system reflected an improvement for the DCRNC from two-stars for “overall quality” to three-stars. This is a testament to the staff and the work that has been done the past year in addressing concerns at the facility. On Medicare.gov it shows that DCRNC, Aperion Care DeKalb “Pine Acres” and Bethany Rehab are all three-stars and Oak Crest being a five-star.
IDPH and the City of DeKalb have awarded occupancy and approved to begin using the Serving Kitchens and Activity Center that were part of the DCRNC Expansion Project. This should benefit both residents and staff, Mr. Gregory shared.
The ARPA Transferee Program information was sent to the fourteen DeKalb County communities. As the County hears back from the respective communities, the hope is to have one or more Board Members and a staff representative to attend a City Council or Village Board meeting to discuss the program and show support for our municipal partners. Mr. Gregory noted that he recently attended the Village of Shabbona Board Meeting. The Village Board expressed their appreciation to the County and are excited to put the funds to work on one of multiple infrastructure projects they are hoping to perform this construction season.
ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Mr. Luebke, seconded by Mr. Faivre and it was carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:49 p.m.
https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/minutes-cow-03092022.pdf
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