DeKalb Times

DeKalb County Health & Human Services Committee met April 8.

Here is the agenda provided by the committee:

1. Roll Call

2. Approval of Agenda

3. Approval of Minutes

a. Minutes from April 1, 2024

4. Public Comments

Any member of the public may address the Committee for up to 3 minutes on any topic of their choosing. There will be no yielding of time to other members of the public and agenda time for public comments is limited to 30 minutes in total.

5. Senior Tax Levy Process

Voters of DeKalb County approved a .025% tax levy referendum in 1997 to be dedicated for Senior Services. The funds are for the prevention of the premature institutionalization of seniors, keeping seniors out of nursing homes and hospitals which ultimately results in an aggregate cost savings for the taxpayer. Funds are used to pay for services provided by local nonprofit organizations with a portion of funds utilized by the DeKalb County Community Mental Health Board (DCCMHB) to offset administrative costs.

With the assistance of Deanna Cada, Executive Director of the DCCMHB, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee solicits applications by agencies that provide these services. The HHS Committee reviews the applications and interviews each agency that requests funding before making a recommendation to the County Board as to how to allocate this year’s funds.

The FY24 Budget includes an allocation of $479,992 for contributions to the agencies that provide these services. Ten agencies submitted requests and the HHS Committee will conduct interviews on April 1st and April 8th. The HHS Committee will discuss the allocation later in this agenda and take action on a recommendation to the County Board at the May HHS Meeting.

In prior years, the HHS Committee has recommended that additional funds be provided to agencies effort to spend down the Senior Services Fund balance ($202,695). In FY23, the HHS Committee recommended a one-time contribution to agencies of $50,550 from the available fund balance or available ARPA Funds. At the recommendation of the Executive Committee, the County Board made the decision to utilize available ARPA funds for the one-time contribution in place of the Senior Services Fund balance in FY23.

6. Senior Tax Levy Hearings

a. Elder Care Services

b. Opportunity House

c. Hope Haven

d. Voluntary Action Center

7. Presentations/Discussions

a. Discussion of Allocation of Senior Tax Levy Funds

b. DCRNC Operational Update

8. Ordinances

a. Ordinance O2024-04—An Ordinance to provide Public Transportation in DeKalb County, Illinois.

Ordinance O2024-04 states that DeKalb County will provide public transportation service within the County limits. This Ordinance is a component of 5311 Grant application which will allow the Voluntary Action Center’s TransVAC program to secure up to $450,695 in Federal and $1,284,000 in State of Illinois transit operating assistance.

9. Resolutions

a. Resolution R2024-061—A Resolution Awarding the DCRNC Linen Services Contract to Vestis Services, LLC.

The DCRNC has issued a request for proposal for linen services for the facility. Due to frequency of orders being based on need rather than a set schedule, proposals based on the average weekly order. The five-year contract was not previously put out to bid and accounted for an average weekly cost of $9,700 or $504,400 annually.

The DCRNC has received two proposals. Vestis Services, LLC submitted a proposal of $3,394.35 per week or $162,928.59 annually with a $50,000 prebate paid to the facility. This represents a savings of approximately $1.7 million over the five-year term of the contract.

Staff is recommending approval pending final legal approval.

10. Old Business

11. New Business

12. Adjournment

https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/packet-hhs-04082024.pdf