Chairman Leifheit invited Ms. Christine Johnson, County Treasurer to address the committee on the resolution to formally designate which banks county funds may be deposited. (A copy of which is on file along with these minutes in the Finance Office). She informed the committee that this task is preformed annually as a housekeeping event. The list includes bank inside and outside of the county. The banks outside the county generally border on the county and are used for real estate tax collection for the convenience to the taxpayers. Mr. Wiegand asked about the Schaumburg bank connection. She stated that Financial Investors Trust is a money market mutual fund invested in treasury. It has same day liquidity and no collateral is required. Mr. Sands asked how many bids she generally receives and she stated about 5-7. Mr. Sands asked if the money market fund lost money this year. Ms. Johnson stated it did not lose money and continued to earn interest on them.

               Chairman Leifheit called on Mr. Ken Campbell, Facilities Manager to update the committee on Central Plant. Mr. Campbell had prepared a multimedia presentation illustrating the many faceted areas of his department. From replacing trees on the courthouse to roof upgrades, his department is busy year round. Projects completed at the Courthouse included besides replacing two evergreen trees, replacements of HVAC Coils, refurbishing the Mechanics Room, and adding the Courthouse to the security software (keypads). Other completed projects included the property demolition and landscaping to the property at 233 Sycamore Street, interior painting of the Administration Building, and installation of computerized HVAC controls in the Public Safety Building. Mr. Campbell then highlighted the current projects in the works:

               He concluded his update by identifying his staff, listing their duties and responsibilities and praising their efforts. He also thanked the committee for their time. Chairman Leifheit thanked Mr. Campbell.

               Chairman Leifheit called on Ms. Joan Berkes-Hanson, IMO Director to present the committee with an update of her office. She introduced herself to the committee as well as Sheila Minogue, GIS Manager. Ms. Berkes-Hanson used a multimedia presentation and began with an overview of her department’s evolution. Starting with1994 at the creation of GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and continued through1999 when IMO (Information Management Office) was created. She described their technology plan, key features, and their plan of attack for IMO’s first assignment "Y2K". She stated that with that critical situation, it proved very positive and successful. Not just with costs, but with the level of trust that developed in a de-centralized environment. She highlighted the Ad Hoc Technology Committee and brought the committee to the county’s network today with approximately 300+ users connected in 22 departments. She identified her staff, listing their duties and responsibilities. Projects she highlighted included:

               Ms. Berkes-Hanson concluded her part of the presentation and then turned to Ms. Sheila Minogue, GIS Manager for her portion of the presentation. Ms. Minogue introduced herself to the committee. She gave a brief history of the department. In the past the only maps available as a base map were the tax maps and they were out of date as soon as they were created. Now eight years later they’ve taken those maps and expanded on them and created their own base map with the ability to constantly update them. Over 150 mapping features are made available, linking them to the Property Tax Database and generating maps from the data. This allows everyone’s needs to be met and it reduces redundancy by sharing the data in one place.

               Mr. Bockman asked if they could compile a complete list, or if they could notify property owners within so many feet around. Ms. Minogue said that they don’t notify them but it would be very easy to do as well as produce the list and then the actual notification letter through a word-processor.

               Ms. Tobias complimented Ms. Minogue and GIS on the terrific job they have done. Ms. Tobias works with GIS at Northern Illinois University and is on the board of Illinois GIS Association. She stated that DeKalb County has become a leader in GIS Technology. There are about three dozen counties that are using GIS on a county basis. GIS has become part of the county infrastructure as much as highways, bridges, etc.

               Chairman Leifheit asked if there was a fee the county charges to use this information. Ms. Berkes-Hanson stated that there was no fee to look at the information, only a fee to print out the information.

               Mr. Wiegand asked if GISWeb was accessible on the internet for public access. Ms. Minogue said it was only available at this time via the county’s intranet system. Next week it will be set up in the County Clerk’s Office for public access. Mr. Wiegand asked what the reasoning behind not offering GISWeb on the internet was. Ms. Berkes-Hanson stated that many players who contribute data and are involved in that decision have wanted more information before disclosing sensitive data. Mr. Wiegand asked if there was any data on the intranet that is not available through the Freedom of Information Act? Ms. Berkes-Hanson said there was not. He stated that he wanted it on record that everything he saw on the GISWeb should be made available to the public. Having it made available only during the county’s office hours makes it counter-productive to the ability of the internet, he explained. Mr. Faivre also expressed that the information be made available to the public. Mr. Bockman said that he agreed with them. Mr. Bockman asked Ms. Berkes-Hanson if it would be fair to ask if there is any information out there that the contributors could defend keeping from the public. Ms. Berkes Hanson said she would put the question to the contributors of the sensitive data. The committee asked that this accessibility issue be brought back as a future agenda item.

               Ms. Leifheit thanked both Ms. Berkes-Hanson and Ms. Minogue on the information.

               Mr. Hanson distributed a resolution for the abatement of property taxes for bonds sold in 2002. A copy of which attached to the minutes as Appendage (1) pages 1 and 2. He asked to abate the levy because the county uses sales tax revenue from the county farm property to retire the bond.

Respectfully submitted,

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Sue Leifheit, Chairman