The Monroe County Board has covered a wide variety of topics at its two most recent regular meetings. 

During the longest regular meeting thus far this year, commissioners on June 20 discussed finances, the ongoing jail expansion project, water, transportation and nature.

Monroe County Treasurer Kevin Koenigstein began that meeting by presenting a quarterly update of the county’s financial position. 

During his presentation, Koenigstein reported that with property tax assessment notices being published in mid-June, tax bills would likely be mailed in October, and due dates would be in November and December, similar to last year’s Monroe County tax cycle.

Regarding the current financial state of the county, of note for the mid-year review were the high receipts for sales tax and income tax. 

Koenigstein called sales tax the “heartbeat” of county economy, adding the record-setting numbers  for both sales and income tax are a result of inflation, a trend that has continued from the prior fiscal year.

Another byproduct of recent inflation is a 4.7 percent pay increase in the next fiscal year for both the Monroe County sheriff and Monroe County state’s attorney.

Koenigstein noted those pay increases are mandated and paid for by the state, but said the increase “says a lot about the rate of inflation,” and suggested Monroe County may look to make similar changes for county employees in the next budget.

Otherwise, Monroe County’s financial position is generally on track, with nearly all departments operating within or below budget currently.

One anomaly was the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, which was shown to be operating at 1.73 percent over budget, although Koenigstein said it was because there were three payroll cycles in May rather than the usual two.

He also pointed out the state is now making regular payments for the county’s share of federal asset forfeiture funds, with a current balance of $87,692 in that account.

Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing said purchasing MCSD vehicles is one use of those funds.

The county still has a little over $700,000 in its American Rescue Plan Act account. The rest of the ARPA funds need to be spent by the end of 2025.

Commissioners moved closer to spending down those funds by approving construction of a new storage and maintenance shed near the sheriff’s department’s new parking lot on the south side of Third Street at a cost of $231,000.

Monroe County Maintenance Supervisor Joe Lewis said Middendorf Construction could complete construction of the shed this year since the jail expansion project is ahead of schedule.

Monroe County State’s Attorney Ryan Webb explained that adding the shed will need to be executed as a change order for the current project because it was part of the original overall scope of the project, although not initially planned for this phase of construction.

He also noted the change order is appropriate because there will be cost savings associated with completing the shed in the current fiscal year rather than having it be a separate project done at a later date.

Lewis also noted there has been an issue with radio service in the expansion section of the sheriff’s department.

To fix the issue, the department will need to install a signal amplifier at the cost of $29,000, which will also be paid with ARPA funds.

Later in the meeting, Monroe County Engineer Aaron Metzger proposed another use of ARPA funds for drainage remediation in Maeystown.

Metzger recalled a storm earlier this year during which a large amount of rain fell in a short amount of time, leading to the Maeystown Fire Department headquarters being underwater and department personnel not being able to respond to other flooding issues in the area.

Metzger said the main issue is the size of a drain pipe on a property on Baum Road above Maeystown Civic Association Park, which also houses the fire department. 

He proposed two options to help excess water drain into the creek along Mill Street.

One proposal would be to add extra piping under the bypass at an estimated cost between $17,000 and $19,000. 

The other option is installing a box culvert in the area at a cost between $70,000 and $90,000.

Commissioners agreed with pursuing the project, and Metzger said he will speak with the property owner and report back to commissioners during a future meeting. 

Monroe County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Pam Poetker was also on the June 20 agenda to hear commissioners’ thoughts on an upcoming grant application. 

She advised commissioners she would be applying for a grant through the state’s Research in Illinois to Spur Economic Recovery program.

The grant provides a cost sharing which would cover 75 percent for county and municipal projects and 50 percent for private business costs.

The problem, Poetker said, is that all funding for potential projects would need to be paid up front by the county, with 75 percent of the costs being reimbursed through the grant.

She also noted the deadline for application is the end of July, and there will likely be a large amount of competition for the grant funds. 

Two possible projects Poetker mentioned were a renovation of the former Monroe-Randolph Regional Office of Education  building on Mill Street in Waterloo.

Koenigstein had mentioned the property during his review of finances, saying no one has agreed to rent the building from the county although there has been some interest expressed recently.

Using potential grant funds, Poetker suggested the building could be remodeled in a way that would be more attractive to possible lessees.

Poetker also said she was considering a grant application for $50,000 of grant funds to promote tourism in the area.

While not addressing tourism per se, Monroe-Randolph Transit District Executive Director Jesica Schlimme told commissioners ridership numbers are up in the area.

She reminded the public that everyone is eligible to use the service, which provides pre-scheduled home pickup to a destination of the rider’s choice within the district’s boundaries.

There are also routes with  regularly-scheduled pickups, which Schlimme described as “more of a commuter route.”

MRTD was also recently named as part of a $1.8 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to launch a pilot program in Southern Illinois to improve access to public transportation for people with disabilities, older adults and those with low incomes.

MRTD Community Relations Manager Mark Beare explained the funding will be used to improve transportation between and among similar public transportation districts in Southern Illinois.

Also during the meeting, Joanne  Fricke and Debbie Newman of the Illinois Nature Preservation Commission were on hand to discuss natural areas as they relate to the county’s upcoming comprehensive plan process.

The pair described the existing nature preserves in Monroe County and asked commissioners to be mindful of their value when producing the new comprehensive plan. 

There was much less action during the July 1 board meeting. 

Commissioners approved a monthly contract extension with Americom IT, the county’s provider of computer and network services.

With the current annual contract with Americom expiring on July 9, Monroe County Clerk Jonathan McLean proposed a month-to-month contract until a suitable arrangement to handle county information technology can be found.

As previously reported, on several Mondays this year, Monroe County Courthouse employees had arrived to work to find the internet was not working, leading to a loss of productivity and threatening to cancel court matters.

At the time, a number of solutions were proposed, including creating a county IT position or having Americom personnel at the courthouse more frequently.

“The main problem is not having a single point of contact” to deal with technical problems, McLean summarized.

With the contract up next week, McLean said he would feel “more comfortable” with a monthly contract containing a 90-day termination notice agreement and Americom personnel on site two days per week.

“We probably need a director of technology for the county,” McLean continued. “Putting in a ticket doesn’t help when the internet is out on a Monday.”

McLean admitted that hiring a dedicated technology employee wouldn’t be a fix-all to the county’s problem, as it would not be feasible to expect one person to handle a workload which includes all departments in the courthouse.

“We are grossly underbudgeting for IT,” McLean continued, noting the current annual budget is around $100,000 but will likely need to at least double in the near future.

Commissioner Vicki Koerber said the matter will need to be discussed ahead of budget talks this fall.

Commissioner Doug Garmer, who had been in conversation with McLean about the issue, agreed that the 90-day termination notice would give the county “more of a cushion” as it transitions to whatever it decides is the best course of action concerning the courthouse computer systems.

The other item of discussion involved a proposition by Webb to create an ordinance which would prevent delays by the Monroe County Planning Commission if action were not possible due to a lack of a meeting quorum.

A similar ordinance already exists regarding the Monroe County Board of Appeals which states that any business not acted upon within 45 days by the Board of Appeals be automatically referred to the Monroe County Board.

Recently, a special meeting of the planning commission was called after an individual was unable to gain approval for a request as there were not enough commission members present at last month’s regular meeting to take any official action.

Webb explained the proposed ordinance would only take effect in cases when an agenda is published but a quorum is not met.

If those criteria are met, any new item would automatically be “deemed approved.”

Last year, the number of members on the planning commission was lowered from 22 to 15 due to the board only having 14 members at that time.

Currently, the number of planning commissioners needed to establish quorum is eight.

Monroe County Zoning Administrator Chris Voelker said instances of not meeting quorum when there is business to be brought before the commission are rare, but Koerber asked if there was a way to keep chronically absent members accountable.

Voelker explained when there is an action item on the agenda, communication is made to ensure commissioners will be present, although he admitted some members don’t respond.

He also said the county “shouldn’t be babysitting” members, but that something should be done to alleviate future problems.

Koerber tabled the motion to give county commissioners time to discuss the matter with the planning commission prior to the next county board meeting.

The next meeting of the Monroe County Board is 8:15 a.m. July 15 at the Monroe County Courthouse.