Yesterday, the original error about noon today and they're going to keep them overnight.
Hold on.
Hello.
For Dale.
Dale.
Well, he needn't to come up.
Actually, he wants to be here.
So, let's go ahead and open this meeting and call it to order.
First item up is the approval of the agenda.
Second.
We have a motion and a second by Moderow.
All in favor say aye.
Aye.
Any opposed.
Next we want to review and approve the meeting minutes from August 13, 2026.
Move approval by Moderow and second.
All in favor say aye.
Aye.
Any opposed?
All right.
Who are the claims for 515,678.49 cents?
Is there a motion?
Sure, seems like we have a motion.
Second by Moderow.
All in favor say aye.
Aye.
Give me a pose.
Well for cat intakes we took in 15 cats, 5 were surrenders, 9 were part of the eviction case.
One was coming stray, 4 have been transferred to rescues, 5 are adoptable, 5 are on hold and one of the younger ones passed away.
Dog intakes, 14, 11 comestreous, three were eviction dogs, two are adoptable, 11 were reclaimed, one is on hold and current inventory of cats are 14 We have 14 adoptable, 18 hold, so 32 total, and dogs, we have 14 dogs adoptable, one on hold, so that should be 15 total.
Nia has started the work on the website, she's been working on it today actually, it didn't publish though, I don't know.
So I'll have to look into that.
She was working on it today, she's reamping it.
Two of our longer residents have been adopted.
Kenzie went home.
She's been with us since April and Sasha will be going home Monday.
She's been with us since January.
We have on here, it says six puppies left.
We actually have five.
We had one adopted yesterday.
October 10th, we will be doing the adoption fundraiser at AutoSmart.
We'll have more details later.
We're going to do a painting and portrait fundraiser hopefully October also either at the building or at, you know, brewery.
I moved the sign that was at the highway department to the building by the sign that's existing out there.
And Jerry Sines is getting me an estimate on the roadside and the van lettering to tow is supposed to be getting me an estimate on plaques and lettering for the van also.
Neither of them have got a B.
It's yes.
Any questions on that?
The animal hospital, the Freeport Animal Hospital does takes for three or four different counties.
I found that they screwed up some of our August.
So I'm working with them to get the funds figured out.
They were either issued when a bagel takes should have been Stevenson or vice versa.
So the checks were off.
So we're going through that, trying to fix that.
Otherwise caught off on mail, caught off on online.
I have a deposit going tomorrow for about $5,000 and I have another one that will be going in on probably Tuesday for this week's money coming in.
We're still waiting on the animal hospital check, so that will go in probably Tuesday.
I wasn't going to get it here today, but we've had several people come out to the building.
More people are coming in to look at cats and dogs.
I think we have two cats getting adopted this week yet so we're moving animals.
Iowa County did reach out to me again for what list of animals we have and it sounds like they'll pull again and usually they pull at least 10 animals at a time so hopefully they pull some puppies, Kitties, whatever they call them, I'm happy with.
The claims were the dog kennels, the building rent, and our software was on there this month.
Did do an updated list of metals drive donations on the actual link.
It didn't have the total.
So the total is on there, and it's happy.
I reached out to the Department of Ag for our license because it's supposed to be mailed to here.
You guys said you didn't get it.
So I reached out to them while they emailed me a copy.
The copy didn't have the right, it didn't have the suite, would that have mattered?
It shouldn't have.
But it doesn't matter because the address is listed the Freak Warrior Animal Hospital.
So the lady that does those was out of town until, I think she gets back tomorrow.
So she's gonna fix that and send us an email me and mail a copy.
And I did update to have the suite on it also.
So we should be getting it, but either way they're gonna email me a copy.
The other thing in your packet is the inspection from the Animal Welfare Department of Ag, which has the 420 address on it.
He physically came, so he just didn't, I don't know.
He printed this from his computer.
So everything was on par.
Everything was acceptable.
We got no dings on us.
He didn't tell us anything that we needed to do different.
So we'll get on that part.
Yeah.
We're way better than what we were.
So he's very happy with the animals and everything else, but having a cat isolation.
Any questions on that?
You said you're making a deposit tomorrow and then a deposit on Tuesday for this Weeks.
What are you depositing tomorrow?
Is it through today?
Deposits received?
It, it will be, it won't be like the paperwork that I collected, like the animal hospital and all that, that will be done Monday or Tuesday.
That's what I'm asking is, are you depositing tomorrow everything you have on site?
The mail and all that stuff.
It won't be like the stuff I can try to, I'm going to try to do in the morning, do a second deposit.
So it's all in.
Otherwise it's just- I don't understand it.
You have an unopened mail?
Is that- No, it would be like the stuff I collected from the vet clinics on today or yesterday.
So that stuff in it.
And I'm waiting on the animal hospital because I'd like to do every, all the weeks, like the animal hospital, TLC, not TLC, they don't give money, Paws and Claws in Orangeville and the Animal Hospital for that week, all in one deposit.
So the Animal Hospital should have their check done tomorrow.
So then I'll have that.
So if I don't get it first thing in the morning, then it won't be until Monday.
Justin, which is fine, but I want you to make me deposits weekly.
Right.
At a medical.
Yeah.
I'll hang you up to check, sir.
Yeah.
I've got to forbid you have the cash out there.
Yeah.
Yeah, excuse me, Chuck.
Well, I don't know.
I have quite a bit of cash, but that's why I want to get that.
Cash should be deposited every day.
You don't have safety, do you?
Every day cash should be deposited.
If you need help with that, work with George.
We can't leave cash laying around.
I mean, it's a locked box, but it's not in a safe.
I do have one other thing that I didn't have on the list, so I had a So I had a weird situation with the sheriff.
I had a lady call on Wednesday.
She was missing her dog.
She believed somebody took it out of the yard.
I took the information.
I told her to text me a picture of the dog just in case we got it in.
Then that was Wednesday.
Thursday, we get a call about a deceased dog in Winslow.
We go get the, Nia went and got, she volunteered.
And when I got the dog, scan the dog on site, the dog had a microchip, the dog's microchip led to this young lady's mother.
So then we called it, I called the sheriff before, the sheriff actually, I was getting ready to call them before we realized what was going on.
They ended up calling me, I'm like, Nia's on her way, I'll tell her how to touch anything because it kind of the picture she's the original lady sent me of the dog to see this dog looks suspicious.
So I'm like, I'm going to call the sheriff and have them come do pictures and do investigations.
So we got that dog back to the animal hospital.
We knew who the owner was.
They went out to that house where she was living trying to locate her.
That night, Thursday night, I got a call from the sheriff at the house in Lake Somerset that they found the daughter's dog deceased.
She, the mother claimed, admitted to killing all three dogs.
We are still missing one dog.
She's in the mental ward, I believe.
She's been arrested, but I think she's hospitalized.
Obviously she's mentally unstable.
That's all we know.
The two dogs that we have are in the animal hospital's freezer.
There's evidence.
I don't know what's going on, but yeah.
So that was, I, yeah.
Not, I don't know.
People, I don't know.
Mental health is real and When this lady needs help, unfortunately the dogs pay the price.
Have you ever had another case where you had an investigation done?
There's been a few.
This is probably, it's been a while.
It was just the whole, I don't know, it was just weird how it all, like I didn't ask the daughter like, who do you think stole, you know, took the dog, I thought maybe ex-boyfriend type thing, but it was actually her mother that lived with her.
And we hope the cat really did get hooted out of the house, but she basically told her that if I die, you're not taking care of my animals.
Mental health, all health, because that could have been prevented.
Scott had to go about 345 holes broke on that paper I believe it was so he had to go out to the field to help out with it.
So he said it was John not going to be here, but, um, they've been working, obviously, pen, hatching potholes.
They finished up all township seal coating, uh, mowing, uh, cutting brush.
Uh, we're hoping to start, uh, the orange road project.
And they got the cold in place recycling done last week and we're just waiting for the moisture test to come back to be 2% or less.
And at that time they'll do a double pass of seal coating on that to complete that project.
I think that's all for the maintenance department.
For highway updates for projects, like I said, the Ornville Road is for just waiting on the moisture to be below 2%.
And then we'll see what that finish that project off.
Cedarville and Dakota Road, we've started that full depth direct formation.
Again, on those projects, we're just waiting for the moisture to get lower and then they'll come back and put the four wrenches of hot mix over top.
So hopefully we'll get that completed here in the next week or the week after.
The railroad crossed out on five corners.
Fischer's was awarded that contract, still working with them to get that project going.
Hopefully by the end of this month that will be, it shouldn't take very long, so hopefully by the end of the month it should be done.
The West Point Shippee Road bridge has been completed, so, and they're going to be starting the second bridge on Shippee Road here in the next week or so, hoping to get that, that's That's a smaller project than the first Shibiru bridge.
So that shouldn't, you should be able to get that done.
Um, yes, you're quoting the Orangeville road and then the McConnell road intersection.
They had a pre-con, uh, Martin was the low bidder, but we got an email from and the NICOR yesterday, just they had some concerns about the gas line and stuff in the intersection.
So they're working on a fair grant on that to see what can be done, but we're still open to get that constructed this year.
They were hoping to start this project this month, but I don't know with NICOR now coming out and saying that there's potential issues Downhill, work that's going to entail, and that's all I got for making, I went out and looked at that bridge on Shippey Hill, that looks really good, and they did a nice job on it.
And like I said, the second one is a lot smaller project, so it shouldn't take nearly as long, but so I think we'll start at the pre-colon and everything, look at the colon on that bridge.
I didn't notice they fixed a lot of that gravel that had washed out stage posts.
Oh yeah.
I know Scott was working on that, just to kind of fill from the guardrail to the road and then the guardrail project, Helm and Gallantine, they're going through the, on the other side of the guardrails to fix and reseed and blanket over.
Again.
Yeah, correct.
Perfect.
Okay.
Great.
And that's at no cost to the county.
Yeah.
So good job, sir.
Any other questions regarding the whole items?
Might as well go ahead and do the current budget instead.
I'm not sure.
We're still doing okay.
We did it recently.
Just get a $8,000 bill for a tractor.
And then we're still waiting on Berkey's invoice for, and Scott thinks it's going to be about $14,000 to $15,000 for a tractor.
Everything else, we've still got quite a few projects and stuff like that, so we're getting bigger enforcers and stuff coming here, but we're still looking okay.
What's that?
None of the projects that you check are coming up.
Oh, no, no.
Some of those budgets we got like grant funding and things like that.
The Cedarville project is grant funding.
So none of that.
And that's a low budget.
We got the manual plan here for the ARPA funds and then also from the funding that you guys gave us last year or passed last year for this year, so we'll start using that also.
Any other questions?
Everybody good?
Moving to old business, item 7.1 and the patrol budget and the supplemental request.
So, M-O-T-O budget.
Let's see, I'll walk us through it again real quick so we can take a look at where we are going forward.
Thanks.
So the Illinois Statute Tour so the Illinois statutory fees are so when it's the difference between a intact dog and a spayed and neutered dog so let's say um we charge the 80 dollars for the the three-year um tag for a dog that's spayed and neutered so out of that that 80 40 of one of it goes in that line the rest goes in the regular Registration.
So that's what that that's where that money comes from.
And that line on the microchips are just the chips that the do for pickup dogs or they're kind of like a low cost type microchip that the city can the city pickup dogs can have or any dog like that can have because we have to technically have like a microchip clinic.
And that's how we do it.
Any dog that's picked up Stephenson County or Freeport does the microchip.
So we get $10 out of the $15 charge, we get 10, the vet gets five.
But now since a lot of our dogs are getting done at the college, we will get the full 15 for any dogs that we do on our own.
Donations, I don't know.
I don't know if I'm too high on that.
I'm having a problem with that one.
Animal pickups, any reclaims, some of that money for pickups, some of that money is supposed to go to the Illinois Statue of the Feet also.
I think it's like 20 or 25 dollars of that goes into that so it's divided also.
Let me stop right there.
On the donation, what make you think it's going to be, you're going to take in that much more?
That's what I'm having.
I just think more, we'll have more fundraisers and stuff and more events in that year, but I think it's too high You're on a pace from 35 for 2026, and you're forecasting 30 for next year, right?
Yeah.
Okay, so are they tax deductible?
No, it's for government.
If we were tax deductible, it would be amazing, because people would.
I was thinking maybe you'd get some at the end of the year, but better yet.
More people would donate.
I mean, a lot of people don't care, to be honest.
We said 35 were on track for.
Seven.
Yeah.
Just a question while we're on revenue.
Registration fees.
You're on pace for $88,000 for the year, $888.
I know you forecasted $97 for $26.
You think you can make up that $8,300 in $27.
The difference between what you're going to collect, supposedly in $26, is that a realistic level of $97?
I don't see that you've ever made it.
And this $26 is going to be the worst year for it.
Yeah.
If your numbers aren't true, and maybe they won't, maybe they will, this is as of the end of August, so you've got full.
Right, right.
I don't need an answer right now.
No, I think we will just because Nia's in the office now and she's really getting into the program now, so.
Okay so help me understand that because you have help now the registrations will go up yeah so we'll get people away no just the amount of registration should be somewhat static regardless of how many employees you have the notice was we'll get out sooner and like the second notice is we'll get out sooner Like, does anybody vet with TLC or Lena?
They both.
Okay.
So, one of the new vets at TLC used the vet, or the vet of Wisconsin, which is the vet that the owners of the building uses.
So she's going to try and get them to do takes for us.
So that would help out a lot to be honest because then we won't have to send more notices out because they'll go and get the take like everybody else goes and gets their takes.
We have to go back and send notices out again because they got the shot and get a take.
I think that will help a lot because like the stacks that come in from those two We can go finishing up.
You said adoption fees.
Adoption fees should be going up also due to the fact that the dogs are at a nice facility where we will be able to show them properly and I can take pictures and do videos of them.
Um, I mean we do transfer a lot of dogs out, a lot of animals out so that we don't get money for that.
That's another problem that when we transfer to tan the animals out, we don't get any money for that.
But we also don't have manpower to, we don't have to feed them or take care of them.
So we've gotten served so far that, that, that's, that, that, that can't be.
There should well it's in my deposit I have now and there will be some for the next deposit too.
The puppy, the two puppies went home and our cat is going home today and so we'll get miscellaneous.
I would put that in case something come up We have concerns about the actual revenue for 26 is tracking at $138, that's with $20,000 of our money.
The $20,000 of our money has not been transferred.
We can do that if things get rough.
There's also an allocation in the capital fund for a $40,000 that was approved last year.
It's a settlement request that is available to the department as well.
What is that for?
That was for, it was kind of one or the other.
If the donations came in really well, then she wasn't going to use the capital money, vice versa.
What was the times of the capital money?
For improvements to the facility, kind of that type of thing.
Cause there's a corresponding expense right here, the building maintenance.
No, if we don't use that money, does that look bad?
Because we asked for that money and we're not using that money and somebody else could have taken that money.
Well, you're limiting what you can spend it on.
Right.
But I'm right.
I'm saying, does that, yeah, if you have capital expenditures, you can't use it to just prop up the revenue.
No, no, no, no, that's not what I'm saying.
It's not a bad thing to not use back up.
Thank you, that's what I want, because I'm like, now I feel bad that we don't need it, which I hope we don't need it.
Your budget is good, as long as you're operating efficiently.
Without those donations, there would be issues, for sure.
Yeah, we're going to keep going on about films and any other problems or any other thoughts here.
Good.
I'm not happy about the last year, you know, but she's done good.
So, all right.
Well, we'll change the motion for moving this to finance if we're comfortable.
That is fine and well, and if you'd like to say a second, mostly you have to lay over to next month.
Are you okay with that?
Yes.
Yeah.
I don't have a problem if we can still get it through in time, so it is, but it sounds like there's some numbers that will change quickly.
So, or soon it would save.
So, yeah, they're more complete picture.
Are you able to update if you're done?
30 For next month?
There's a motion by Mr. Jogerst and a second by Ms. Monty-Williams-Leo, I'm going to lay it out, that's one.
All in favor?
Aye.
Thank you for joining me again.
The other part of this is supplemental requests.
There aren't any from your department, but there is from Hayley and I read it.
There are, but I guess I didn't include that.
I told you they said I didn't include it in here.
I think the link is odd.
It hasn't changed from last month when you got the roads and you have the chipper.
Can you give us your background on that chip spreader that we're.
The chip spreader, again, oh, I'm sorry, I forget, here, here, you know a lot about that.
The chip spreader we have needs a fair amount of work.
And I've been holding off on that work, anticipating that it needs to be replaced.
It's got a lot of hours on it.
There are certain items on it that will not, parts not available anymore.
Like main frame parts, like differentials, axles, stuff like that, and their new machines and the new axles they get for their new machines do not interchange they change the frame so they don't you can't mount them that way if one of the axles went down we're probably screwed with it because uh you probably have to hire a crane to come in lift it off set it off the road and and there was a county, I think, that tried to get some parts machined for it, got it done, put them in, happened again within a week.
So those are things that concern me.
I mean, there are a lot of wearable parts on it that I have not done anything with that need to be done if we're not going to replace it.
Um, um, there are, we did, so the chipper has a fuel tank that's mounted between the frame rails.
It's part of the frame.
They now have a replacement kit they can put in, but you have to cut the top of the frame out to drop this in.
It's pretty labor intensive.
We put a temporary tank on the side to get by this year because we had fuel leaking when we were sitting.
So we mounted something temporary.
We can get by with that for the rest of this year, but it's just a frame mounted on the side.
It's kind of in the way, but it works.
So Larry, is this the only one you have?
Chipper, the tipper.
Well, we have an antique one sitting in the shed that needs to be sold.
This is the only one you have?
Yeah, this is the only one we have.
This is the only one we have.
I didn't know if another one was good or this is.
Yeah, this is what we use.
And we only have one.
Okay.
Yep.
Shranton, what else I wrote down?
There was possibly, I don't know if that's even a thing anymore.
There was actually a county up in Minnesota looking for something, but at the time we couldn't get rid of ours because I needed it to finish the year.
So I think they would have been willing to pay like 50, 60,000 for the way it sounded, but that's not peaceful.
Given some of the troubles we've had, if this was approved, got ordered, you have a guess as to when it would be ready for our use?
Six months.
Oh, okay.
They're actually, yeah, I think like right now, if I had it ordered right now, I think March.
Okay.
So we still have time to get one in the queue for next season, this is what we order now.
They're actually in 2030.
Yeah, no, they actually haven't caught up kind of, They've done pretty well on catching up on chip spreaders.
So yeah, it's feasible to get it for next year.
As far as trading it into Aetnair, they basically said they want nothing to do with it because of that Axle deal.
They don't want to have to deal with trying to sell to somebody and tell them, yeah, it's going to be good for a while, but we don't know.
And I'm not saying the Axles will go out next year or the year after.
I don't know.
It could last for five years, it could last for five days.
I know to your point, if it goes, it's gone.
Yeah, and then we have a, I don't even know how to deal with that problem.
I think, actually I think the county that was looking to buy ours was actually looking to buy it for parts and use the axles from ours and theirs or vice versa.
So that was the type of deal they were gonna do to get themselves back in business.
So it does seem worth pointing out what's written on there.
This specific machine is vital to our future preservation plants.
And so again, thinking about protecting ourselves in the future, this seems pretty important to that.
Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty happy with what what we've done over the past years, a few years with Dale and where we've gotten.
I mean, yeah, there's a lot more work to be done but I feel like that we've preserved the roads, kept things moving forward and not falling backward, so.
Well, we could keep the program but it'd be half the work that we like on a yearly basis because you'd have to hire it out or.
Yeah, if you hired all the seal code out, I think you'd probably do half, maybe half a miles that we're doing now.
Um, just because not that our labor is free, but we're working it in and we're working the roads, we're doing some things, I think that wouldn't get done if, you know, we had to hire them.
Any other questions or guys that, chips for all right.
Well, we have on our agenda to approve the supplemental inquest and move that forward to finance.
So I will entertain motion to do so.
There's not enough money for all.
OK, well, this one, this one, the 400 desks while I was in front.
Yeah, just that.
So I didn't even, yeah, you want to just talk about that other?
I mean, we didn't even, so we can hold your thought.
Yeah, because the other highway request, I'm going to see what we have there.
Is there any of that?
That, my goodness, we may.
I think it would be appropriate for the finance director to talk about the amount that's available, what's already occurred in other committees, which is not necessarily relevant to what you're doing.
It'll all get fleshed out in finance, but at least we'd like to know about that.
Sure.
So we have, you can see the total of all the requests at the bottom of the sheet.
Currently, we have $708,000 available.
And $8,000 available in the capital fund for these capital improvements.
I'm not really sure what is going to happen as far as the gym memberships, but in public property and safety, that committee agreed to possibly pay for half of the benches, half of the cost of the benches for courtrooms one and four, that there might be some more funding and coming to fruition with those.
So it might be half of the 67,000, it might be no, it's none of the 67,000.
As far as the squad cars, the committee suggested two squad cars, but all five are going to be in front of finance.
And the sheriff agreed that he could deal with two squad car purchases.
So that is where we stand.
I'm just going back to you can see the capital fund is where that money comes from and there's $702,000.
So we we're entertaining the motion for the 400,000 homes.
That's where the is that where your motion is not on the one million that's being and that's what I thought we were talking about but if we just want to clarify yeah okay okay I didn't know what that was But, since there are others that I didn't see immediately, would it be best if I detract that so we can talk about some of the others just to have them all in conversation?
All you're really doing is prioritizing them, basically, the two.
All, just like Adrian said, for the public safety, all five squads are going to go into with the recommendation from the oversight of the student.
It wouldn't be any different for you if you're recommending that you do do the chip spreader for $400.
That's what we'll go to finance with the full request.
Okay.
We're going to overcomplicate them soon.
Yeah, so I'll maintain the motion specifically to include the chip spreader at $400,000.
You still don't pay with that much?
So obviously this is a new one.
Is there such a thing as a gently used?
I already asked that question.
Okay, I didn't know what was out there.
You could end up with something worse than you have.
You don't know.
Well, actually there's nothing available because.
Even a year old one or two year old one or something, nothing out there, huh?
I asked the salesman because I thought the same thing.
He said most of the time when they get them in, they are about where we're at.
They end up with putting a lot of money into a used machine.
Actually, he said right now there's absolutely nothing available.
I'll be okay to send it to finance where we'll get the tires on everything, I think so.
We have a motion and a second to send the $400,000 for a big-time shift for everyone.
Finance, in all in favor again, aye, aye, any one of those, that's our recommendation.
Thank you.
Then that takes us into our next discussion.
So just a supplemental for the million like there's nothing like that's not even like a reduction or I just you want to be able to tell Dale let's talk about it make if you guys want to make a separate motion to send it I just think that well you know what I don't think anything just tell me what we want I feel like we should talk about it so we can make an informed recommendation even if that is nothing okay do you want to kind of talk about some of the things that are in that second one just so yeah I was just I I didn't want to no step on your toes I just want to make sure I don't deal the right thing and stuff and I just this was back when jerry clay was on the board uh we went 20 years with basically a stagnant funding that the highway department was going through every year year.
And I think what he was saying was every year, other departments were getting increased in funding.
And I don't know the reason behind that, but I think that was where this million dollars came from, from, from the years.
And, and that was kind of to be made whole after so many years.
That's just kind of, and then we've done Baileyville, we've finished off Hoff, McConnell Rowe, we're going to be finishing Cedarville from Lynette to Cedarville and this is all from the additional funds.
This year we're working on Dakota Rowe just like from 75 to the school and then the plan was if we got more funding each year just to finish, slowly finish Dakota Rowe S and that just kind of shows you where the funding is going.
So that's where you're thinking, if we had the money, this would be properly done.
Correct.
Yeah, it would go directly to the Dakota Road, finish off from like the school road where you go right to that there, or right there, and then just continue to Rock Road, or Roxy.
That just kind of gives you an idea of where to go.
So, and I know it, and I know what you've been trying to, but as we are looking at what we have worked with, it just, this is me, it doesn't seem like it's realistic for us to put a billion out there when it's less than 700,000 to work with a team at.
So what we brought forward, and then maybe somebody couldn't bring it up in finance, or maybe should somebody appear that we are not, you know, we're not filing for right now the most realistic things I think most about.
Yeah, I didn't even step on anybody.
Oh, no, you did not.
I would be, I think, willing to entertain a portion of that, but I know that once you start cutting down.
It's not a one-to-one dollar patch per mile or whatever.
Well, I was just thinking last year we asked for a million dollars and he bumped it down like 286,000.
So that's what I was just kind of, yeah, yeah, like again, I didn't know.
No, no, no, yeah, no, you got to ask.
You're going to expect anything.
That's the problem to your points and we know how much we're probably looking at and even cutting this down or bumping bread against that number just from my right.
So my first thought was, yeah, let's look at that 286 number, but even that puts us the silver of the earth.
I think she said seven of them.
Yeah, we're already 400 of that.
I'm sure that we'll be informed somehow or another if we miraculously make a mistake on what we have to spend for supplementals.
But unless there's a reason, unless one of you really want to put it forward, I don't see how we're gonna.
These roads need to be looked at, but the trip spreader seems like a more emergent need.
I think that's probably pretty, that's still a hefty thing to pass forward.
Yes, please.
Um, I mean, it could go to finance with a recommendation of an amount or willing to accept this amount, um, a reduction.
There are some other avenues, um, that are at our disposal that we will discuss in a little bit.
So I don't know if you want to kind of look at everything and then make a decision after that or?
Yeah, I just didn't want that to be like off the table and then like.
The table, and then like tragically a money tree comes up somewhere that that's not part of it.
So I didn't put those up, but I wish part of it.
But yeah, that was my only question and concern.
Well, again, the entirety of the requests goes on whether it's going to be going to finance recommendation, Sam, Brian, Brandt, you talked about recommendation if you're committed That's the entire profile to be there.
So with that understanding and clarification, I think we've done what we need to do, be there.
So they'll know, everyone knows now.
So unless you guys want to make a recommendation just on that million just for them to consider if it were to come available then that's certainly something that we can issue tenders for those to know.
That 286, let's say that could be swung and that that passed through for next year.
What can be done with that matter?
I know that's a from 75, from what we're doing this year, that came in I think like $349,000.
So a little probably less, less than the length.
And what we did was about a month close to a mile, right?
Now, I mean, maybe three quarters, somewhere would be two thirds to three fourths of a mile.
So you're looking at probably maybe a half a mile, especially and depending on what the oil is.
Sure.
Yeah, that's so, I mean, anything that I would get, you'll be able to see the improvement on Dakota, that Dakota Road is the project that it's going towards.
Do you currently have any grants or anything that you're working on?
We're working on that.
We're currently, I mean, not Dakota Road.
We always keep our eyes looking for any unfunded roads or anything like that, but we'll continue to try to get grants as much as possible.
Is that real high on our list of priorities on the roads that are being listed for improvement?
Grants?
The road condition.
Oh yeah, Dakota Road is the top of the unfunded roads at first ones.
I mean, Cedarville was, McConnell was, Baileyville, and usually when we get the funding from the general fund goes to the worst ones.
We did meet with Jared LaHood today for a while, went over 13.1 million in needed funds plus the bridges, there won't be anything available in 2026, but they opened up federal grants in the first quarter of 27.
He wasn't super excited about 13.1 million, but he did talk about Winnebago County getting a bridge on Meridian Road replaced through this grant, and that was several million dollars.
So that was a very rural section of Winnebago County.
And I gave it the regional passes on, so it's been volcanic.
I felt encouraged, but it's also an election year.
He's probably going to tell me whatever I was going to hear, but he could have told me 13.1 million is realistic and he did not.
So I'm also working with Jody Miller to get in front of Eric Sorensen.
He's been very kind to Freeport, so we'll see what we can do.
And we have applied for a grant in years past for the bridge improvement to the PIP grant that we've tried to get in years past that we didn't get it, but hopefully they'll do that again and we're teed up and ready to apply for that grant again.
So that's a big one because we have a lot of bridges, even bridges that aren't 20 feet that they don't normally inspect and stuff like that.
And these culverts and stuff that they start to add up.
So if we can get that grant or kind of fix them before they're totally gone, we'll save a lot of money.
But so, well, definitely I know Dale's been great with applying for grants and stuff like that.
So we'll definitely keep on doing that.
Yeah, I don't know about, I don't know where it would come down on a specific recommendation, But I think those numbers about how much even just half a mile would cost, I think that's valuable for that conversation when finance is looking at this general request.
So I don't, again, I don't know how you two feel, but I think if nothing else, passing on that information, this is what roughly half a mile is going to cost.
And that's why the numbers are what they are.
It's very expensive.
Well, you know, more actually, sometimes there is money to come available after election.
When people are more comfortable with talking about money they can release, but this is more like a shovel-ready project.
We know what we got to do.
If the money came available, we can move on.
So your thoughts about dealing with something you were speaking about?
Is there something you would like to learn?
Is there anything you think you'd like to see us share with the full-well-financed media that made the same change?
For the purpose of having a specific request that we want to say 300,000 knowing it'll be, you know, cut down, but just to have a voice in there or is that not even worth doing, do you think?
Make a motion.
We move this on with a recommendation of that is 300,000 as a kind of a floor of just for a feasibility of make it worth the time.
All right, we'll be a second to move the project that's being presented here for really $300,000 to have a merger.
What is it?
Oh, you're going to say aye?
You need both.
Thank you.
So then that's what we have.
We do have a finance committee person on the board, so you can take that list.
Those are expensive to help you guys out.
Double duty.
We'll have to do double duty and finance.
Mr. Brandt won't be here, Sam won't be here, so we'll be representing public works along with the master issue.
Moving right along, we're new business and 8.1 says discuss a manual check for balance for final balance of the eight fiberfonds they need to spend.
Hang on.
The highway budget.
Oh, I'm sorry.
On the old business.
I think it formatted.
I did because I just think in there, okay, where it is then.
I'm sorry.
I did.
I thought we passed that last month, but I guess you did.
You didn't pass highway limit.
That's fine.
Oh, I'm sorry.
So real estate taxes that you can see here that they have, the highway department has asked to increase real estate tax allocations.
So I kind of wanted to go through and explain that a little bit.
This kind of gives you a breakdown of what she's going to go over to like, for the highway funds, sorry, for the highway fund, if it goes in the 5%, 2.7% or 0%, it gives you what the fund would be if we raised that fund.
And then the county bridge is similar.
If we kept it as it is, this is the money that we have to call it.
Actually, it's a playlist, but it's that.
Sorry.
Okay.
So the county umbrella.
So we're allowed to.
And Paula, so we're allowed to ask for up to 5% over our previous year's final extension amount.
So that 5% is the magic number.
If we go over that 5%, then we have to have a truth and taxation hearing.
Just because we asked for the 5% and we are a capped county under P-Cell, it doesn't always mean that we will receive that full 5% increase.
Okay, so if you take the final extension, this is what we received.
And so we use that number and multiply that times 5%.
And so the $530,521.70 is what we're allowed to increase our levy.
That's the dollar amount.
So the BAC, and I kind of want to backtrack here.
So, the general fund, IMRF, liabilities, social security, those are the funds that I kind of manipulate if needed.
Those are the budgets that I'm in, that I present, that I'm kind of in control of, so to speak.
So if any other department, like the BAC will come to us and submit a request if they need more money.
They did that last year, they're doing it again this year.
Health department, the same way.
They are in charge of health and tuberculosis.
Nursing center.
If they, you know, I do believe a few years back they tried to increase their levy request.
It was, it did not pass out of committee.
Mental Health, the 708 Board presents a request to our office and they did so this year and asked for a $5,000 increase.
So we have to take all of these components under consideration.
So if we do not approve asking for more money, the levies can be switched around.
One can be deducted.
Another one can get that money.
So that's what happened last year.
So IMRF is a very, very healthy fund.
There's a large balance will be good for a number of years to come.
So that money was shifted out of the IMRF tax levy and put into mental health and the general fund.
So they can be redistributed.
As it stands right now, I don't see where $530,000 can be taken from one fund and put into the highway fund.
So there is a way to do that.
If you take that money away from the general fund, then all of the departments in the general fund will have to sacrifice and reduce their expenditures.
So there's many moving pieces we can manipulate in order to make this happen.
So all of the amounts in blue are what we would get if the amount was 5%, and then I just, I mean, it can be any percentage from zero to 5%.
So I took the CPI, which is 2.7%, and I reworked the numbers with that percentage.
Does everybody, does anybody have any questions on the levy itself and how that works and, okay.
So I just wanted to, sorry.
So, the choice was up on the CPI, so the CPI, they came about that number out and that number can go, we can accept it or not.
So that's kind of what it was always presented that way and it's really not.
Not, we can do anything between zero and 5%.
So a lot of times county boards would say, well, the CPI is 2.7 or whatever it was that year.
So let's increase it that much.
So I think that's where that, see that idea came of taking the CPI or not taking it.
The CPI percentage is already kind of baked into the calculation for the tax rates for the county.
Does it mean that your individual taxes will go up 2.7%?
No, it's part of a very complicated formula to get to the tax rate.
Got you.
I have a question.
So, if I was hearing it right, or maybe you don't say it, but you said that MRF is doing very well.
Yes.
So potentially some of that could be moved into the general funds.
We did that last year.
That's what we did last year.
So you can see that the IMRF tax levy is only $100,000.
That was around a million.
We moved a million last year.
Or almost didn't we move last year?
I believe it was 877,000 if I remember correctly.
If I remember correctly.
So we gave the BAC $75,000 under $240,000 request.
There was a, I want to say it was 10 to 15,000 to mental health.
And then we did need to allocate the rest of those funds to the general fund to cover expenses.
Out of.
To general then as a supplemental so I'm just currently on the yeah they're only at $100,000 so I don't know if we could take it I suppose we could take it to zero for this upcoming year.
That's not that I want to, but I was just curious how that looked on your face.
Oh, don't be.
Hard to take it to zero?
The whole bunch.
Oh.
I was just asking.
So you want to reduce it to $25,000 for a year and zero this year?
Yeah, because the county's contribution.
All we need is for the stock market to go backwards.
It's why I do it so hard.
I know.
Yeah.
Our preliminary IMRF rate went from 3.15 to 0.8.
So that's our contribution for our employees.
So that is why saving us a lot of money.
Yeah, so in 2019, 2018, 2019, I mean, I think it was kind of down to the wire.
I was not in the position I am now back then, but I think everybody was made to take a hit.
I don't remember what the reduction was.
You remember it was 10%.
10%, I believe it was, I don't know.
No, the 49% was 100,000 on it.
What year?
2019.
I mean, we basically hit a wall.
Yeah, that's right.
We hit a wall in it.
Yeah.
We hit a wall right before COVID and we were dire.
And COVID not happened, all those ARPA funding we got.
Oh, I know.
I mean, all we did is kick the can down the road for six or seven years.
Yeah.
Well, we're paying for that inflation now, so.
And well, we are.
Grandkids, we're.
Well, yeah.
I do want to point out that the Treasurer has done is doing a fabulous job with investing our ARPA dollars.
All of the money remaining outside of what the highway is going to spend with that manual check is all interest.
It is, we are free to do whatever we want with those dollars.
My recommendation would be to hang on to it because the mill race TIF is going to expire in 2029 is going to expire in 2029.
And we are still going to be paying that until 2031.
So that money is available.
I don't recommend using that.
I think we should let that money grow and plan for the future.
I just don't want to be in a situation like other municipalities are in, where we have a deficit and we don't have anywhere to take it from.
The only other option that I'm kind of thinking is, I don't think we have liability insurance numbers quite yet.
There might be some money available with not having the nursing center for a full year.
We still have the building, we don't have the liability of the employees.
So that could be, we'll find out more information at the finance meeting, but I don't have those numbers yet.
So that's another place that we can kind of potentially look depending on what the.
Depending on what the wishes of the tree are.
So there's a lot of pieces in the highway funds that really can be addressed.
Health insurance, we do not have numbers and that's paid out of 005 and 009.
So a lot of highway and county motor fuel.
So I would say anything that has to do with health insurance or a tax levy, just have to lay over.
I don't know, Brian wants to go through everything again or?
Yeah, whatever he does, I'll make the most of the layover until next Wednesday.
Oh, sorry, I didn't want to get that.
I do have a question.
You know, there's a truck in there, pickup truck.
Oh, uh, where, where, like in the budget?
Yeah.
And I'll ask your Dale Sox budget this week.
Oh, yeah.
Or the engineer, that's what this is.
It's, uh, for his truck or Kayden's truck, it's one.
I mean, we're gonna just pass on the truck.
Like we're not getting rid of a truck.
He needs a new truck to run, basically.
Still runs, but there's been issues and stuff like that.
So, yeah, that's true.
Yeah, correct.
Because and then we would just take Dale's old truck, pass it down to Caden, who's the civil engineer, or give it to the shop.
But I don't know if it's that.
I'm assuming it's the construction equipment in the Capitol.
Yeah, it was probably part of the five year plan to We're going to kick it down the road I think, so there's, is there anything else, Mr. Helms?
No, sir.
I know the five-year replacement plan.
I think I didn't bring that, but I think it's like 343,000.
That's right.
So it's a truck.
I mean, even if we took out the truck, it's still, we're still short on that five-year replacement.
We already have a motion, a second to a motion by Tom Rowe, is that right?
Thank you.
All in favor say aye.
Any opposed.
We'll look at it again next time.
Thank you.
What was that?
Let me see.
All right.
It's a public meeting.
8.1 8.1 The manual check, the balance of ARPA funds.
I should have known this, but our ARPA funds that we've had, I guess the highway department needed to use them, they need to be spent by September 30th, and so that's what this claim is for.
This is for the Dakota Road, the project going on right now, so we were able to create the claim and this will be paid out for this month and we'll be able to use the 47,000 by September 3.
Who said 37,000?
Oh did I say 37?
I meant 47,000.
It's for more than that but and the other funds are from the capital funds that we already have but the 47,000 needed to be Motion to approve the May on Chess.
Second by Larry.
Do I need to move anything to that?
They don't need to move the board because they love boards.
All in favor say aye.
Aye.
Any opposed, thank you.
So we can move it on to the report.
8.2 HD 26-18, instruction and approval of 2026 Route 26 in McConnell Intersection Reconstruction.
This is for the bid lettings and for the intersection at McConnell and 26, just to be able to use the funds.
This is also a grant that we received.
So it's no cost to the county.
And it was for $1,087,192.19 cents.
I'll make a motion second to the motion by Larry and seconded by all all in favor say aye.
Aye.
In the post.
Should we have something to sign?
Yeah, we've got five copies.
Just sign.
I had an opportunity in our public safety meeting to really talk about what it would look like if we were able to work that won't set the tax again because he would add a number of dollars to our budget without getting to death.
I just think it's the timing problem is better enough for us than it's ever been.
And we have a number of things we're not out of the woods with finances, I know, but this certainly could free us up to get a lot of things done.
And if we had an extra $3 million in our general fund.
So I'm not going to go into depth with that, but I'll tell you that it obviously would mostly be for public safety.
But if you could take $3 million worth of salaries and other things out of our general fund, I just think it would free our general funder to do a bunch of other projects that the Board might come up with.
Like that road project, I don't know who could pay the whole million, but I can see a day where we could have funded We might not have been able to do that because we don't have the money in our general fund to do that at this point, but if we did, wouldn't that be nice if we could have done an extra project?
Because there was a time when we had more money in our highway and we had to pull that out years ago.
So anyway, long and short, look for a better day when we'll have a little more money.
But it'll have, we'll all have to be on the same page and it cannot be political, it just has to be.
We could do better in our county with finances and that money we have to have a good plan to make sure we do the right things.
I'm sure we would if you know this.
We've done a good job with the Southern Boots.
Thank you Mr. Helms and everybody that is a part of the.
That is a part of the order that people have to submit to yourself.
That's all I have.
Motion to adjourn?
Sure.
Don't fight over it, gentlemen.
All in favor say aye.
Aye.
Everyone have a good evening.
Thank you.