Approved

Board Members Present:  Charles G. Rose, Bob Krogman, Cynthia Luxton
                                          Doug Fraley, Dr. Kirts, John Rogalin                        
Board Members -Excused Absence: Eileen Dubin, Donna Schoenfeld
Board Members - Absent:  None
Other Persons Present:  None
Office Staff Present:  Kathy Ostdick                                                                                                                                  

1.  CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order by the President, Mr. Rose, at 7:04 p.m. 

2.  AGENDA

Mr. Rogalin moved to approve the agenda; seconded by Dr. Kirts.  The motion passed unanimously on a voice vote.

3.  INTRODUCTIONS

There were no introductions at this time.

4.  MINUTES 

Mr. Fraley moved to approve the minutes of the July 2009 Board meeting; seconded by Mr. Rogalin. The motion passed unanimously on a voice vote.

5.  COMMUNITY INPUT

There was no community input.

6.  CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

There was nothing to report.

7.  FINANCE REPORTS

Mr. Fraley moved to approve the August 2009 agency claims in the amount of $164,941.92; seconded by Dr. Kirts.  The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Mr. Fraley moved to approve the August 2009 office claims in the amount of $1,426.84; seconded by Mr. Rogalin.  The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Mr. Fraley moved to approve the September 2009 agency claims in the amount of $165,124.13; seconded by Dr. Kirts.  The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Mr. Fraley moved to approve the September 2009 office claims in the amount of $1,149.64; seconded by Dr. Kirts.  The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

8.  BOARD MEMBER ISSUES

Mr. Rogalin asked to discuss the community assessment report.  Mr. Rogalin commented that the report was not comprehensive and does meet the needs of all service groups.  He gave a brief history of mental illness services in general and in our area.  He urged the board to be cautious in relying on the report in making future decisions.   

9.  OFFICE REPORT

Ms. Ostdick said that she and Mr. Krogman had gone to an Anti-Racism workshop on Saturday 10/19/09.  Mr. Krogman gave a report on that workshop.  Mr. Krogman felt that work needs to be done in this area, but that the system needs to keep up also.  A discussion took place as to diversity on our board. 

Mr. Rose discussed the day to day operation of the board.

10.  COMMITTEE REPORTS

Executive Committee: 
Mr. Rose gave a report on the Executive Committee meeting. 

• The 2010 County Narrative was reviewed.  Our submitted budget was not mentioned.  Ms. Luxton and Ms. Ostdick will attend the County Board question and answer meeting on the 2010 county budget.
• Rev. Dr. Ken Ritchie attended the meeting. The committee members interviewed Rev. Ritchie at length and will be recommending that the full Board vote to accept his application.
• Gary Hanson has submitted a request for clarification of our vacation and sick policy.  This will be discussed in closed session.
• Ms. Luxton has put together the Executive Director position description and this will be discussed in Old Business.
• At the retreat, Ms. Luxton took notes on her laptop and has distributed them to the board.  This will be discussed in New Business.

Finance Committee: 
Ms. Luxton gave a report on the Finance Committee meeting:

• Ms. Ostdick reported to the committee that she received by email information from ACMHAI that State bill SB1750 has been approved.  This bill has to do with the levy rate.  It was decided to send a copy of this bill to all board members for discussion at a later time.
• The committee has received information for agencies as to their state budget cuts and as a result will be recommending to the board that another RFP process be started.  This will be discussed in New Business.
• Voluntary Action Center has asked for funding to help continue a dinner program that had originally been funded with Federal stimulus dollars which have run out.  It is the recommendation of the committee that this request does not meet our mission and should be denied.

11.  OLD BUSINESS

A.  Executive Director position: 
Ms. Luxton handed out her draft of the wording for the newspaper ad for the Executive Director position.  A couple of small changes will be made by Ms. Luxton who will email it to Ms. Ostdick for distribution.  Where this should be advertised was discussed.  Mr. Rogalin suggested that the opening could be sent to colleges with public administration programs.  It was decided that Ms. Ostdick would send this to ACMHAI, the Daily Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, the Rockford Star and to colleges.  Mr. Rogalin will get a list of colleges for Ms. Ostdick.  Ms. Luxton said that it would be appropriate to have a Search Committee instead of the Executive Committee for this task.  Mr. Rogalin and Mr. Fraley have volunteered to be on the committee. Both Ms. Luxton and Mr. Rose said they would assist with the search.  Other absent board members will be asked if they have interest in this committee as well. 

12.  NEW BUSINESS

Mr. Fraley moved to recommend Rev. Dr. Ken Ritchie to the County Board for appointment to the Mental Health Board; seconded by Mr. Rose.  The motion passed on a voice vote.

Three current board member terms are up at the end of December.  Dr. Kirts will be staying on for another four years, Mr. Krogman will be leaving the board, and Mr. Rose will be leaving the board.

Mr. Fraley will also be resigning from the board.

B.  State Budget Cut/Financial Request:
The Finance Committee recommended that an RFP for financial assistance to agencies with hardship due to the state and local budget cuts be started.  A few minor changes were made.  Ms. Ostdick will email the RFP to the same agencies as in 2008.

Mr. Fraley moved to approve an RFP for 2009 for financial assistance to agencies due to recent budget cuts; seconded by Mr. Rogalin.  The motion passed on a voice vote.
 
C.  Strategic Planning - Goals:
Ms. Luxton was kind enough to take notes at the retreat on her laptop.  Those notes have been submitted to the board and could suffice for retreat minutes.

Mr. Fraley moved to accept the July 2009 retreat report as the official minutes; seconded by Mr. Krogman.  The motion passed on a voice vote.

The results from the strategic planning segment of the retreat were discussed.  Ms. Luxton presented a report spelling out the 6 topics discussed and the goals that resulted.  This report should start the board moving forward with a strategic plan and will be discussed in detail at a later date. 

Mr. Fraley suggested that the different topics could be assigned to committees.  Ms. Luxton said that the board had discussed briefly at an earlier meeting that there is a need for an Outcomes Committee.  That committee would then give quarterly reports to the Board.  Ms. Luxton also reminded the members that Mr. Mastroianni had suggested that we concentrate on a few goals at first.

Board members were asked to review the strategic plan, send changes to Ms. Luxton and she will update the document for the next board meeting.

Mr. Rogalin was concerned that the strategic plan presented did not cover funding issues for the upcoming cycle.

13.  NEXT BOARD MEETING:  10/19/09

14.  CLOSED SESSION

Mr. Fraley moved to go into Closed session; seconded by Mr. Rose.  The motion passed on a voice vote.

Mr. Rogalin moved to leave Closed session and return to the open meeting; seconded by Dr. Kirts.  The motion passed on a voice vote.

Mr. Fraley moved to grant Kathy Ostdick a waiver to include 6 additional days vacation that were accumulated in 2008 for a total of 11 days rolled-over into 2009; seconded by Dr. Kirts.   The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

15.  ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:42 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

_____________________________________                      _________________________________
Charles G. Rose, President                                                       Kathy Ostdick, Recording Secretary

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