Terry Liefer, who has served on the Monroe County Board since his election in 2004 and currently serves as its chairman, announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election for another term in 2016.

Liefer, a Republican from Red Bud, replaced commissioner Don Dietz in 2004 and won re-election to another term in 2010.

“Whenever this term is up, I will be one month from 65,” Liefer said. “I think that’s a good time to bow out.”

Politics have never really entered into his decisions on the board, Liefer said.

“I can truthfully say that. To me, it’s all about being fair. Forget the politics. It’s about what we can do for Monroe County,” he said.

Liefer counted the turn-around of Oak Hill to a five-star senior care facility and smart fiscal planning among the board’s many accomplishments during his time spent in office.

“We developed budgets and spent the amount of money we felt we needed to spend versus the amount of money we had available,” Liefer said. “I think those are two key differences. We saved money where we needed to, and I don’t think we’ve hurt the quality of services we offer to the county.”

Liefer also said the health department is “drastically improved from where it was two years ago” and a recent switch from one insurance trust to another is “doing extremely well” right now.

“I always wanted to do what’s right for the county, but I want do what’s right for the employees, too,” he told the Republic-Times.

Liefer said that if the next term was only for two years, he’d consider running again.

“If I had another two years, I’d be happy with that,” Liefer said. “But another six? I don’t think so. After 12 years, maybe it’s time for someone else.”

Liefer, a farmer by trade, has served on many boards over the years: Red Bud School Board, Gateway FS, Kaskaskia Regional Port District and First State Bank of Red Bud.

“I had a lot of people that I was fortunate enough to work with on different boards and I was able to learn a lot from them, and in my own business,” he said. “That’s how we did it (on the county board) for the last 10 years — we ran it like a business.”

Liefer, whose wife, Justine, and children Brandon, Dustin and Quinn all live in the Red Bud area, said he’ll spend more time with family farming and just “doing kind of what I want to do” once his current term expires.

He is hopeful that whoever succeeds him as commissioner will take the job as seriously as he has.

“I think the county is in good shape now. But every good business is one day away from disaster,” he said. “I just hope there can be somebody who has the same philosophy that I had who replaces me.”

Liefer cautioned that state funding is going to get tight in the near future and tough decisions may need to be made. 
“I really think Monroe County, if the state makes drastic cuts, will survive. We’re going to have to make some cuts, and it probably won’t be business as usual, but we’ll be all right,” he said.