The Executive Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 7:00p.m. at the Administration Building’s Conference Room East.  Chairman Ruth Anne Tobias called the meeting to order. Members present were Eileen Dubin, Julia Fauci, Michael Haines, Richard Osborne, Roger Steimel and Pat Vary.  Members absent were Pat LaVigne and Robert Rosemier.  The committee invited Mr. Stoddard to sit in for Mr. Rosemier to discuss items from the Health and Human Services Committee and Mr. Walt to discuss items from the County Highway Committee.  Others present were Marlene Allen, Jerry Augsburger, Kate Schott, Gary Hanson, Ken Andersen, John Hulseberg, Anita Turner and Diane Strand.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

                Ms. Vary pointed out that on page 4, last paragraph the sentence needs to be clarified more as to what Mr. Steimel meant in his statement.

                Moved by Ms. Dubin, seconded by Mr. Steimel, and it was carried unanimously to approve the amended minutes from February 2008.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA     

          Moved by Ms. Fauci, seconded by Ms. Vary, and it was carried unanimously to approve the amended agenda.

APPOINTMENTS

Paw Paw Cemetery:                                          Mr. Harrold M. Svendsen, reappointment for

a term of 3 years, until 04/01/2011.

DeKalb Sanitary District:                                  Ms. Carol Zar, reappointment for a term of 3

years, until 04/01/2008.

Regional Planning Commission:               Mr. William Beverly, to fill the unexpired

term of Mr. Jim Knox, until 04/01/2009.

Cortland Fire Protection District:                      Mr. Robert Faivre

            Chairman Tobias stated that there were two names submitted to her regarding the Cortland Fire Protection District, Mr. Robert Faivre and Mr. Robert Coyle.  Mr. Coyle had written her a letter of his interest to serve as a trustee and was not recommended by anyone from the Board of Trustees of the Cortland Fire Protection District.  Mr. Faivre was recommended by the Cortland Fire Protection District’s Board of Trustees and she received a letter from their attorney stating this fact. 

Mr. Steimel stated that he was recommending Mr. Faivre for the appointment.  Mr. Faivre would be replacing Mr. Steimel on the Board of Trustees.  Ms. Anita Turner and Mr. Steve Walt also recommended Mr. Faivre, as they knew him personally.  

            The consensus of the committee was to recommend Mr. Faivre for the appointment.

DeKalb Community Fire

Protection District:                                               Mr. Gerald Bemis

Genoa-Kingston Fire

Protection District:                                              Mr. Randy Jennings

Hinckley Fire Protection District:                     Mr. Carl Wassmann

Kirkland Fire Protection District                       Mr. Steve Hintzche

Malta Fire Protection District:                            Mr. Roger Hueber

Paw Paw Fire Protection District:                     Mr. Harrold M. Svendsen

Shabbona Fire Protection District:                   Mr. Joe Suddeth

Somonauk Community Fire

Protection District                                                  Mr. Edward Stahl

Sycamore Community Fire

Protection District:                                                 Mr. John Ward

All are reappointments for terms of 3 years,

until 03/01/2011.

Waterman Fire Protection District                        Mr. David Stryker

Chairman Tobias mentioned that her office was still waiting to hear from the Waterman Fire Protection District in a letter as to whether or not Mr. Stryker was to be reappointed or if we have to wait another month.

Appointments expiring for April 2008:

Workforce Investment Act Board – 2 positions

DeKalb County Farmland Assessment Review Committee – 1 position

Regional Planning Commission – 4 primary and 4 alternate positions for the Village of

Somonauk, City of Genoa, Village of Kirkland and DeKalb County.

Moved by Ms. Vary, seconded by Mr. Stoddard, and it was carried unanimously to forward the appointments to the full board for approval.

USE OF COURTHOUSE LAWN

Mr. Bockman, DeKalb County Administrator, explained that the resolution before the committee tonight regards the Sesquicentennial celebration for the City of Sycamore this year.  On May 9, 2008 they plan on having an ice-cream social on the courthouse lawn and they are asking permission from us to do this. 

Moved by Ms. Vary, seconded by Ms. Fauci, and it was carried unanimously to forward this resolution to the full board for approval.

AMENDMENT TO THE DEKALB COUNTY CODE FROM AD HOC RULES COMMITTEE

          Mr. Paul Stoddard, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Rules Committee said that this is a proposal that the committee has come up with for a different set up of the county board meetings and various changes to Article II, Division 2, Rules of the DeKalb County Code.

          The various suggested changes to the rules cover a change to the rules of order so that at each meeting one person would be the first person to vote and then proceed alphabetically and cycle through the board in the two-year term.  So each month the next person in the alphabet would vote first, and so forth.  The idea is that in twenty-four months, twenty-four members, every one has a chance to vote first.

          The other suggestion is that the chairmanships of the standing committees be proportionate to the representation of the county board as a whole. 

          The majority party would hold the chairmanship of the executive committee and the minority party would hold the vice-chairmanship of the executive committee.

          If there is a 12-12 split, one party would hold the chairmanship of the executive committee and the other party would hold four (4) of the remaining seven (7) standing committees seats.  They tried to make it as even a division of power as possible.

          In determining which party gets which chairmanship the majority party would pick first, the minority party next, the majority party next, the minority party next, until the minority party’s allotment is used up.  The idea again is that the minority party is assured that they will get one of the top two committees or two of the top four, if they get that many seats.

          The Ad Hoc Rules Committee is anticipating more close splits on the board.  It seemed to the committee that it was more reasonable for the board try to represent as much as possible as the people who elected them.

          They are also trying to keep everything as fair as possible.  Once we are seated we are here to do the County’s business and not the business of an individual party.  This proposal was agreed upon very quickly by everyone on the committee, that is, there were 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans on the committee, said Mr. Stoddard.

          Mr. Walt asked when would this ordinance become effective?

          Mr. Bockman said that it is worded to become effective immediately, much of it won’t be done until the next election.  You want it to go into effect because your ad hoc executive committee process starts before the organizational meeting.

          The committee consensus was to hold this ordinance until next month in April 2008, so that all county board members can take a look at it.

          Moved by Mr. Steimel, seconded by Ms. Vary to hold on to the resolution until the April County Board Meeting so that all county board members could review it.  It was agreed to place a copy of the ordinance on the tables at the March County Board meeting.

          Mr. Haines wanted to commend Mr. Stoddard and all members of the committee for the bipartisan proposal that maintains fairness.

APPROVAL OF THE COUNTY BOARD AGENDA

Mr. Ray Bockman, County Administrator, reviewed the County Board Agenda for the Board Meeting to be held on March 19, 2008. 

          Moved by Mr. Haines, seconded by Ms. Dubin, and it was carried unanimously to forward the county board agenda to the full county board for approval.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

          Mr. Steimel, Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Committee, said that his committee is sending one item to the county board next week that met all the requirements for a special use permit and it was unanimously approved.

          Mr. Steimel also mentioned that at the last Regional Planning Commission they had a presentation made on the ground water issue and what to do about it.  The consultants that made the presentation put together a comprehensive proposal that will cost $1 million.  They county and the cities would love to do it but finding the funds to pay for it is hard.

          Ms. Fauci asked if a referendum would work?

          Mr. Bockman said that a referendum would be appropriate for this purpose.  You could have a referendum for 4 or 5 cents for one year that would pay for the groundwater protection plan.  However, he did caution them about the ballot language that would have to be used in a referendum because of the tax cap law.  The law would not allow even the use of the word water on the ballot.

He further stated that a citizen’s group could be formed to begin work on the referendum for it to work out. 

The board can’t promote it or discuss it at a public meeting.  They can have an informational campaign, publish facts, can raise funds privately and do ads privately for the referendum.

          Mr. Metzger, Sr., said yes, and that the county board can’t persuade the voters how to vote on the referendum, but we can persuade them to vote.

          Chairman Tobias asked Mr. Bockman if the Regional Planning Commission is bound to the same rules that we are?

          Mr. Bockman said that he thought that the Regional Planning Commission members would be bound because those members are appointed by this board - this is a good question to check on.

          Ms. Dubin, Chairman of the Economic Development Committee, said that her committee applied for a Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Grant proposal for an analysis on high-wage job growth in DeKalb County.  It will cover the period from 1990 to the present.  The amount of the grant is for $24,000.

          Ms. Fauci, Chairman of the Forest Preserve Committee, said that her committee will be holding the Sunrise Rotary 8K Run on May 18^th again.  The Rotary Club will be giving some of the money back to the Forest Preserve District too.  They had a wonderful Winterfest and Seed Stomp.

          Mr. Stoddard, Member of the Health and Human Services Committee, said that they heard from Mr. Holderman on the Annual Report of the Veteran’s Administration.  They also heard from Ms. Mary Ramp, Director of the DeKalb County Community Services Department, regarding the applications received from the various agencies that have applied for the Senior Services Tax Levy.

          Mr. Osborne, Chairman of the Law and Justice Committee, said that his committee heard from Mr. Dennis Miller who presented his 2007 Annual Report from the Coroner’s Office and the 2007 ESDA Annual Report.

          Mr. Walt, Member of the County Highway Committee, said that their meeting was brief and that they are sending three items to the board this month.  He also said to be on the lookout in the near future from his committee that there will be a resolution on indivisible loads.

          Ms. Vary mentioned that with all of the potholes that we have in the county and throughout the country that she has mentioned in the past that in Europe they ask for warranties for every let construction project.  The company has to guarantee work for so many years. 

          Mr. Haines, Chairman of the Finance Committee, said that they are sending two resolutions to the full board for approval this month.  One is for the Board of Review compensation plan and the other is to maintain county services in Sycamore, Illinois until 2060.  The later resolution does not bind the hands of future boards. 

          Chairman Tobias said that she attended the Genoa Expo and represented the County there.  She reminded everyone about the DCEDC luncheon coming up this Tuesday and if they wanted to attend it to contact Mary Supple at the County Board Office.  She also mentioned that she did not attend the Regional Supply Planning Committee this month, but that they will be discussing conservation measures in the Spring and surveys that they will be doing of the citizens of the region on what they would be willing to do for conservation.  They will also be doing surveys on utilities in the area. 

          Chairman Tobias also stated that the Supported Living Facility should be opened for occupancy for July 1^st and there are already 105 leads for 75 apartments that we have so far.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved by Mr. Haines, and seconded by Ms. Vary, to adjourn the meeting.  The motion was approved unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

______________________________

Chairman Ruth Anne Tobias

__________________________

Mary C. Supple, Secretary

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