Vermilion County Board Chairman Larry Baughn recently stopped by for 1490 WDAN’s News Makers program. One thing talked about on the program was the Finance and Personnel Committee’s efforts to bring Vermilion County salaries up to par. Baughn says once the pandemic hit, people just coming and going from county jobs was noticed even more.
AUDIO: When the Human Resources Department posts a job, or a job opening comes, it comes to my desk last to make sure that it’s okay to be posted, and that everything falls in line with salaries and so forth. I just noticed that in some departments they were coming through more regularly. There were spending more time and more efforts training new employees; that would just stay for a little while, and then move forward.
Baughn says the committee hopes to have something before the full County Board by early spring. They intend for this to be a long-term fix, because after all, county employees do a lot of important work, and they want to keep good people on the team.
AUDIO: We’re asking some of our staff members to do some pretty detailed jobs. And they’re dealing with the taxpayers’ livelihoods; whether its somebody in the court systems, or it’s somebody in the treasurer’s office with our millions of dollars, or it’s somebody that’s dealing with everyone’s property taxes.
Another issue quite prevalent right now is how to spend 14 million dollars in COVID Relief money, known as the American Rescue Plan Act. Baughn says County Board decisions on spending that money will probably be made gradually. Because after all, they have some time, as the money can be spent through the end of 2024.
AUDIO: We’ve set a threshold of what the County Board allows myself to spend. So we’ve spent some funds, like I said, through the technology, mainly mental health. But as far as some of those bigger ticket items, it’ll go through the County Board. But you’ll probably start seeing it come through a few requests at a time. It won’t just be one big package coming at them all at once.
One possible “big ticket idea” came from Central Illinois Land Bank Authority Executive Director Mike Davis. It was to invest a half-million dollars in a home recovery plan to keep houses in danger of becoming decrepit from having to be torn down. Baughn says, if the County Board commits to this, it will probably be for a smaller amount.
AUDIO: It’s a worthwhile project, and the Land Bank could be a facilitator. I just think if and when the County Board would entertain it, it would probably, at least my feelings would be it would have to be on a little bit smaller level to make sure that it’s warranted. I think I’ve had one person reach out since the discussion had started; about whether this was solidified yet and if it was something they could apply for.
One definite piece of good news recently was that Vermilion County Court had received a technology grant for over $303,000 from a Technology Modernization Funding program offered by the Illinois Supreme Court and Court Administrative Offices. Baughn says, being awarded that amount was a pleasant surprise to both he and Presiding Judge Thomas O’Shaughnessy.
AUDIO: COVID taught us a lot of things at the Courthouse. We kind of mirrored what had happened at the federal courthouse in Urbana with some of their technology upgrades. So the judge and members of our IT team had gone there, and then when the AOIC (Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts) had that grant available, we applied not thinking that we would get everything we asked for. In fact the judge was pleasantly surprised when we got everything that was asked for dollar wise.
Baughn also mentioned that the Vermilion County Adminstration Building pretty much follows what the courthouse does; so therefore mask wearing at the county building is no longer required, but certainly perm
