DeKalb Times

DeKalb County Board Ad Hoc Rules Committee met Sept. 13.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

The Ad Hoc Rules Committee of the DeKalb County Board me in the Legislative Center’s Gathertorium in Sycamore, Illinois. Chairman Frieders called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Those Members present were Mr. Tim Bagby, Mr. Scott Campbell, Mrs. Kathy Lampkins, Ms. Dianne Leifheit, and Chairman John Frieders. Those absent were Mr. Steve Faivre, Mr. Craig Roman, and Ms. Suzanne Willis. A quorum was established at the time of roll call with five Members present and three absent.

Others present were Brian Gregory, Derek Hiland, and Larry West.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA 

Mr. Bagby moved to approve the agenda as presented and Mrs. Lampkins seconded the motion. The motion was carried unanimously by voice vote. 

Ms. Suzanne Willis arrived. There were now six Members present and two absent. 

PUBLIC COMMENTS 

There were no public comments made.

REVIEW AND POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS TO COUNTY BOARD RULES/COUNTY CODE 

Mr. Gregory went through some potential amendments to the County Board Rules within the DeKalb County Code.

He began by reviewing possible amendments to Sec. 2-19 Standing Committees Enumerated. The amendments would be to consolidate County Board Committees. He felt this was a practical approach aimed at creating efficiencies, furthering the appropriate separation between the County Board and the Forest Preserve Board of Commissioners, and attempting to bring more topics to the full Board through Committee of the Whole. The following amendments were reviewed presented:

A1. Executive Committee.

The Chair of the Executive Committee shall be the County Board Chair. The Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee shall be the Vice-Chair of the County Board. The Executive Committee consists of the Chairs of the County Standing Committees, or in their absence, the Vice-Chairs of those Standing Committees and is Chaired by the County Board Chair. The Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee shall be a member of the opposite party of the County Board Chair and shall represent the County Board Chair in his absence and present all reports of the Executive Committee at meetings of the full County Board……

1. Finance and Administration Committee (9 Members). This committee advises the county board in matters relating to finance, capital planning, facility management, information management technology and administrative services. Responsible annually for the submission to the county board of a balanced budget along with recommended tax levy and capital spending plan for the coming five-year period. The Finance Committee monitors the budget revenues and expenses throughout each fiscal year and may propose measures during the year to help meet annual budget goals. The committee oversees the administration of the county's senior services levy and the rural transportation services and veterans' transportation services provided through the Voluntary Action Center.

2. Planning, and Zoning and Development Committee (9 Members). The planning, and zoning, and development committee advises the county board in matters relative to the county's comprehensive plan, zoning ordinances, building and development matters, building codes and violations of various county ordinances. This committee coordinates with the regional planning commission. The committee advises the county board on all matters relating to growth, including residential, commercial and industrial growth and the economic opportunities and challenges associated with that growth. This committee coordinates with the county economic development corporation, and the various cities, towns and villages within the county on growth-related matters. This committee also recommends periodically beneficial changes in local policies and state laws.

3. County Highway Committee (9 Members). The county highway committee advises the county board on all matters related to roads, bridges and other elements of public infrastructure. This committee is also responsible for intergovernmental issues related to transportation including coordination of efforts with the state, municipal and township road and bridge systems and participation in the metropolitan planning organization.

4. Law and Justice Committee (7 Members). This committee advises the county board on all aspects of the justice system, including, but not limited to, funding and coordination of services provided by the judiciary, coroner/ESDA, sheriff’s department, court services, the public defender, the circuit clerk's office and the office of the State’s Attorney. This committee makes periodic recommendations to the county board on tax and financial policies relative to the ongoing operational and capital needs of the justice system.

5. Facilities and Technology Committee (7 Members). This committee advises the county board on all matters related to facilities, grounds and technological infrastructure. This includes the preparation of five-year plans to address deferred maintenance of county buildings and the use and implementation of advancing technology to enhance efficiency in county operations. The committee will coordinate with the Public Building Commission as it relates to long-term planning needs.

C. Committee of the Whole. The Committee of the Whole, comprised of all County Board members and chaired by the County Board Chair, received, studies, questions, and debates matters of general interest to the entire County Board. These meetings are designed to learn and gather information and as such, no formal votes may be taken. Discussions which may ultimately lead to business items for action by the entire County Board are still subject to the Standing Committee process. No requirement is made nor inferred that a matter for Standing Committee consideration must first be routed through the Committee of the Whole. Annual reports and periodic updates from departments with independent boards (Public Health, Community Mental Health, & Veterans) will present to the Committee of the Whole. Other annual reports or updates that may be of interest can be presented directly to the Committee of the Whole and will be introduced by the Chair of the Committee that would otherwise hear the report. 

The Committee unanimously agreed that Economic Development Committee would be combined with the Planning & Zoning Committee, especially with the number of meetings they have canceled recently due to the lack of agenda items. They also agreed with the creation of a Facilities and Technology Committee aimed at the County doing more long-range planning on capital and infrastructure needs. There were concerned expressed about not having a Health & Human Services Committee. Mr. Campbell described the amount of work that goes into the Senior Services Tax Levy Allocations annual through the HHS Committee and how that would potentially bog down the Finance Committee from focusing on their items. He also noted that eliminating a committee that focuses on social services may send the wrong message to residents.

Mr. Gregory noted that he could go back and add back in the Health & Human Services Committee and re-work the amount of Committee Members that would sit on each committee.

Sec. 2-21 Committee Meetings was presented with the following amendment:

G. No standing committee shall schedule its regular monthly meetings between the executive committee meeting and the date of the full county board meeting without approval of the executive committee Chairperson.

There were no objections from the Committee on the proposed amendment.

Next, the Committee looked at Sec. 3-3 Finance Director. The amendment would add the following:

7. In the absence of a Finance Director, the duties outlined above may be assigned to the County Administrator or County Comptroller.

The Committee discussed if they wanted to put this in the Code and whether it would take away any checks and balances that may currently be in place.

Lastly, Mr. Gregory presented amendments to Sec. 5-5 Filling Departmental Staff Vacancies to read:

When a staff vacancy exists in a Department where the County board appoints the Department Head, before those vacancies can be filled, the over-sight Standing Committee the County Administrator must first approve that the need exists for this position. The Department Head will provide six-month financial status updates to the Standing Committee County Administrator during the vacancy period. The Finance Committee, as provided for in Section 2-41 (A) (1), may impose additional conditions on filling vacancies based on budgetary concerns. Each Standing Committee, if requested by a Department Head, may approve a list of “critical employees” for whom the above approval process would then not apply when a vacancy occurs.

Mr. Gregory noted that based on the conversations of the evening, he would clean up some of the amendments and bring them back to next week’s scheduled meeting for re-review. There were no other topics presented by any Committee Members.

ADJOURNMENT 

It was moved by Mr. Campbell, seconded by Ms. Willis and it was carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m.

https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/minutes-rules-09132022.pdf