Bill's County Board Actions: November 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012

December 2012 County Board Committee Schedule

Bill will be sworn in on Monday, December 3, 2012. At that organizational meeting the new county board will select the Board Chairman and the new board members will “draw straws” to determine whether their individual terms will be two or four years.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Zoning Board of Appeals 11-27/11-28-2012

I attempted to attend at least portions of these two meetings.

The agenda of the two meetings of the ZBA is shown below:

The major issues were the Northwest Pallet text amendment and special use request and the Wind Farm text amendment.

For the background on the Northwest Pallet case and result go to: http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/11/northwest-pallet-supply-seeking-new.html and the updated story at:http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/12/northwest-pallet-still-seeks-mulch.html

As a private citizen I asked the lawyer representing Northwest Pallet how they were using the new mulch being generating from their continued pallet repair and manufacturing operations. He stated it was being sold mostly to be burnt as boiler fuel.

For a fairly brief summary of the Wind Farm issue go to: http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/11/next-wind-farm-zoning-board-hearing.html

Hopefully more recent newspaper accounts will be available soon.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Bill’s statement to the board regarding Mr. Terrinoni’s salary increase

During the public comment session at tonight’s Bill as a private citizen made the following statement. Nonetheless the county budget was approved 8-2. Mr. Johnson was absent and Mr. Mattison’s seat left unoccupied due to his recent resignation.

Boone County Board:

The increase in salary for item #401.151 County Administrator is out of line with the yearly increases granted to other administrative staff of his office. Mr. Terrinoni’s salary is increased $14,336 OR 13.6%. Salaries of the other members of his administrative staff increased 2.5%. That is a 5 and half times increase compared to his personal staff’s. This appears excessive.

The real outrage of the situation is the statement made by committee members that Mr. Terrinoini’s salary was increase to put it in line with other county administrators. I asked Mr. Larson to see their studies regarding this matter. He stated only that DeKalb County Administrator, now retired, received $160,000 per year. DeKalb is twice the size of Boone County and its administrator may have responsibilities twice as great as Mr. Terrinoni.

I request that Mr. Terrinoni’s salary increase be limited to 5% as the other department heads and that the remaining expenditure be held in a contingency account until the county board can adequately study if such a large increase is warranted. In other words, I request that item #401.151 be amended to $110,947 and the remaining $9,053 be held in the account for contingencies.

Thank you for your consideration.

BILL PYSSON

The above statement was also sent to the Editor of the Boone County Journal. As a letter to the editor it is available in the Journal beginning this Friday and also on line at: http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/news/2012/Boone-County-News-11-23-12.pdf#page=1

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Expected Board Actions for Monday evening’s Board Meeting—the last meeting without BILL

Click on the photocopy to enlarge:

PUBLIC HEARING ON THE Tax Levy
Appointments

Approve levy and budget To see the budget for FY 2013 CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING: http://www.boarddocs.com/il/boone/Board.nsf/files/923S5J710111/$file/2013CountyBudgetPublicLayoverRev2.pdf
Consider buyers’ bid for two parcels of property owned by the county along Route 76. Properties have been up for sale for some months.

These two contracts to purchase were “tabled”. As such, the contract will expire11-30-2012 without the board taken any action. Several board members spoke regarding the matter. Mr. Newhouse questioning that the price seemed low.

Routine approval of the salary for civil engineer and appointment of Supervisor of Assessment
Consider Liability Insurance bids
TO VIEW THE ENTIRE AGENDA see photocopies below:

Friday, November 16, 2012

“Issues flying about” regarding county government

Here is a list of some current hot items and links to read more:

Proposed expansion of Irene Intersection: http://www.boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/11/bcj-note-second-item-bombshell.html
Chairman Walberg raises issue of splitting from city/county planning department, (see second portion of the article): http://www.boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/11/bcj-note-second-item-bombshell.html
Chairman Walberg wished to use “votes received” as method to determine who receives two and four year term of county board members: http://boonecountywatch.blogspot.com/2012/11/election-2012-county-board-to-determine.html
Northwest Pallet is seeking change in zoning to allow pallet mulch storage on agricultural land: http://www.boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/10/is-northwest-pallet-attempting-to.html In case anyone anyone forgot about Northwest’s mulch fire see the Utube AT: http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/11/mulch-fire-in-belvidere-and-boone.html

And of course the WIND FARM Ordinance. Link to the latest newspaper account: http://www.boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-boone-county-board-will-vote-on.html BUT ALSO NOTE legal notice of November 27&27 ZBA meetings regarding the issue which is in posting directly below.

Zoning Board of Appeals to meet after Thanksgiving on Wind Farm Ordinance

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

McHenry County Blog | Boone County Blogger Gets County Board Post

Friday November 16, 2012 Ad in Boone Count Journal

Question: How do citizens access the county board’s “board packet”

Answer: Since early this year nearly all of the communications and working papers which board members receive (either electronically or on paper) are available one or more days before the subcommittee or board meeting.

The county has altered its website just recently. You can once again readily find the link to Board Docs.

FIRST: GO to home page: http://www.boonecountyil.org/ shown below”

On the left see “Quick Links”, click on upcoming meeting and the following page will appear.

In the center of the above page, in paragraph regarding Upcoming Meetings, click on the phrase in blue, Click Here to redirect to board docs.

After clicking on this link the following page should be seen:

Click on “Enter Public Site” A page similar to the following will be obtained:

Click on the meeting which you are interesting in:

Now click on “View Agenda” and obtain the following:

Look at the items in the left column. Any item which has a blue document symbol has documents to be view. Click on the symbol and another screen with the document name (names) will appear. See below

Click on the document you wish and it will appear.

A similar program is used by Belvidere School District 100. The above guide should aid your search there. The sometimes difficult link to District 100’s Board Documents is: http://www.district100.com/District/Pages/Board-of-Education.aspx Which will get you to this page, Just click on the green tree symbol. and follow the same instructions supplied above for the Boone County board packet.

Will Bill’s term be only two years? Now it appears not to be the chance of the draw.

Election 2012: County board to determine terms of office, elect chairman | Belvidere Daily Republican

Written by Bob Balgemann

…..He (Bob Walberg) said they could always award four-year terms to the top two vote getters in each district, with two-year terms going to those in third and fourth place.
More than likely they will consult with State’s Attorney Michelle Courier for the best way to deal with that question. She, too, was returned to office in the Nov. 6 general election though she had no opposition……

Click on the following to read all of the story: Election 2012: County board to determine terms of office, elect chairman | Belvidere Daily Republican

Will Bill’s term be only two years? In the past it always was by the “draw of the straws”.

Is this an omen regarding Mr. Walberg’s next term as board chairman? The un-level playing field? Anything goes if it is to your advantage?

I certainly will not play by such rules—although I may be subject to Mr.Walberg’s whims of power.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Veterans Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Veterans Day

Joseph Ambrose, an 86-year-old World War I veteran, attends the dedication day parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982, holding the flag that covered the casket of his son, who was killed in the Korean War.
Type
National
Veterans Day is an official United States holiday honoring armed service veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11th. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)
Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.^[1]
Most sources spell Veterans as a simple plural without a possessive apostrophe (Veteran's or Veterans').
History

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. In proclaiming the holiday, he said

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."^[2]

The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting that President Calvin Coolidge issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies.^[2] A Congressional Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U.S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday: "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'."
In 1945, WWII veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who died in World War I. Weeks led a delegation to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who supported the idea of National Veterans Day. Weeks led the first national celebration in 1947 in Alabama and annually until his death in 1985. President Reagan honored Weeks at the White House with the Presidential Citizenship Medal in 1982 as the driving force for the national holiday. Elizabeth Dole, who prepared the briefing for President Reagan, determined Weeks as the "Father of Veterans Day."
U.S. Representative Ed Rees from Emporia, Kansas, presented a bill establishing the holiday through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower, also from Kansas, signed the bill into law on May 26, 1954.^[3]
Congress amended this act on June 1, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with "Veterans," and it has been known as Veterans Day since.^[4]^[5]
The National Veterans Award, created in 1954, also started in Birmingham. Congressman Rees of Kansas was honored in Alabama as the first recipient of the award for his support offering legislation to make Veterans Day a federal holiday, which marked nine years of effort by Raymond Weeks. Weeks conceived the idea in 1945, petitioned Gen. Eisenhower in 1946, and led the first Veterans Day celebration in 1947 (keeping the official name Armistice Day until Veterans Day was legal in 1954).
Although originally scheduled for celebration on November 11 of every year, starting in 1971 in accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October. In 1978, it was moved back to its original celebration on November 11. While the legal holiday remains on November 11, if that date happens to be on a Saturday or Sunday, then organizations that formally observe the holiday will normally be closed on the adjacent Friday or Monday, respectively.

Veterans Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Friday, November 9, 2012

County Road List | Boone County, Illinois

With the first “real” snow only a few weeks away it is good to review Boone Couny Highway Department’s responsibilities regarding snow removal.. First, which roads are the primary responsibility of the county?

The following is a list of highways the County maintains:

Angling Road (A-27); Denny road to McHenry County Line
Beaverton Road (T-33); Hunter Road north to Manchester Road
Caledonia Road (T-21);Illinois Route 76 north to Hunter Road
Capron Road (T-41);Angling Road north to Hunter Road(excludes thru the Village of Capron)
Cherry Valley Road (A-64);Winnebago county Line southeast to DeKalb County Line
Crawford Road (A-49);Garden Prairie Road east to McHenry County Line
Denny Road (T-41);Grange Hall Road north to Angling Road
Garden Prairie Road (T-41);Crawford Road north to Woodstock Road
Genoa Road (T-40);U.S. Route 20 southeast to DeKalb County line
Grange Hall Road (T-41);Russellville Road east to Denny Road
Kirkland Road (T-25);Cherry Valley Road south to DeKalb County line
Logan Avenue (A-40);Belvidere Road to US Route 20
Manchester Road (A-12);Winnebago County line east to State Line Road
Poplar Grove Road (T-31);Kishwaukee River Bridge north to approx. one quarter mile south of Whiting Road and one half mile north of Illinois Route 173 north to Hunter Road
Russellville Road (T-41)Woodstock Road north to Grange Hall Road
State Line Road (A-12);Manchester Road east to Salt Box Road (Walworth, Wisconsin)
Woodstock Road (A-32);Poplar Grove Road east to McHenry County line

Above is taken from the following: County Road List | Boone County, Illinois

Second what the citizens should expect from the county?

What are the County policies regarding snow plowing

Home › What are the County policies regarding snow plowing

As was previously stated, one of the maintenance responsibilities is snow removal. While every highway authority provides snow removal in some form, they all provide a very different level of services depending on who the authority is. This variation in level of services is due to the availability of resources, or lack thereof. For example, the State has enough resources to run snow plows 24 hours a day, if necessary, by using temporary employees. On the other hand, the county has a far more limited number of maintenance employees, making a 24 hour per day snow removal operation impossible under the current limitations. Townships often have even fewer resources than the county, which limits their operations as well.

In order to minimize overtime expenditures the county tries to perform snow plowing operations during normal business hours (7 A.M. to 3:30 P.M.) However, there are times when that is not feasible without compromising the safety to the public. When work outside normal business hours is required, the county uses the following general guidelines:

As a general rule, the county makes every attempt to keep all the county roads passable during the time when a majority of the public will be at or traveling to/from work (7A.M to 6 P.M.), Monday through Friday. If through the night there is substantial snowfall of if wind causes substantial drifting of now, plowing operations will begin usually around 4:00 A.M. so that at least one round can be completed on all roads. On weekends starting times may be a little later in the morning.

If snowfall is minimal or has quit completely and drifting is not significant, snow plowing operations will stop by 3:30. If however, there is significant snowfall or drifting anticipated the county will generally stay on the roads until 5 or 6 P.M. The county may stay out until as late at 8 P.M. or so, although this is rare. The maintenance worker that is out until 8 P.M. is the same one that will be out the following morning at 4 A.M. Driving a snow plow truck, especially while it is dark and when there is little visibility, is a very exhausting job and rest for the driver is very important the safety of the worker as well as for the general public. Rarely will the county ever be out between 8:00 P.M. and 4:00 A.M. For this reason, we suggest that traveling during this time period be kept to an absolute minimum during inclement roadway conditions.

Department:

Highway Department

Employment Opportunities | Boone County, Illinois

For those seeking employment--

---------------THIS POSITION IS NOW CLOSED------------
For applications and openings for the Sheriff's Department please visit the Public Safety Building at 615 N. Main Street, Belvidere, IL 61008
Current Job Openings :

911 Telecommunications Dispatcher
Boone County Sheriff's Office is hiring for a
full-time position answering 911 calls, data entry, dispatching police,
fire, and ambulance services. Applicants must be able to multi-task,
work in a fast paced environment under stressful conditions, and be computer
and typing proficient. Applicants must reside within 21 miles of the
Belvidere/Boone County Public Safety Building in Belvidere, Illinois
within 13 months of employment, have a high school diploma or GED, and
be able to pass a thorough background investigation. Mandatory Orientation
and written testing to establish an eligibility list will be held on Saturday,
January 5, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. at the Community Building of Boone County
located at 111 West First Street in Belvidere, Illinois.
Starting salary for this UAW Union position is $18.02 per hour with
an excellent benefits package.
Applications may be obtained at the Boone County Sheriff's Office
or printed out below. All applications must be returned or postmarked by
November 26, 2012 to the Boone County Sheriff's Office,
615 N. Main Street Belvidere, IL 61008.
Boone County Sheriff's Office
EOE

UNFORTUNATELY THERE NO LONGER ARE ANY OPEN EMPLOYEMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT BOONE COUNTY GOVERNMENT

12-3-2012

Employment Opportunities | Boone County, Illinois

The above is taken from the Boone County website; go there for more details

Duties of the County Board - Sec. 2-20 Boone County Code

Budget and appropriation ordinances:
The board shall prepare and submit a tentative budget and appropriation ordinance, showing the balance on hand in each fund, the anticipated receipts, and the amount of money to be raised by taxation at the October meeting of the Board, which ordinance may be revised by the board prior to adoption at a recessed meeting to be held at a convenient date prior to December first. The annual budget and appropriation ordinance and tax levy shall be made conveniently available to public inspection at least fifteen (15) days prior to final action thereon.
Appointment of committees, boards and commissions.
The board shall appoint such committees, boards and commissions as are required by the Illinois Revised Statues and such other boards or committees as shall be deemed advisable and in the public interest.
To provide buildings and office space.
The board shall provide such buildings and office space as the county may require, house each elected official as required, and provide such parking areas as the board deems advisable.
Installation of elected officials; bond.
The board shall install each newly elected official, provide an adequate bond at county expense, and release such official upon the expiration of his term when the provisions of the statutes are complied with fully.
Bond coverage for officers and employees.
The board shall provide, as it deems fit, adequate bond coverage for employees and elected and appointed officials in positions of trust.
Insurance
The board shall insure against loss, as it deems fit, all property and equipment belonging to or being used by the county. Each county office or any entity with the responsibility of caring for county property shall submit an inventory of all tangible property, annually, to the appropriate committee.
Health and welfare services
The board shall provide such services in the fields of public health and welfare as are required by statute or as the board deems appropriate.
Taxes
The board shall establish and implement the assessment policy in the office of the supervisor of assessments for the county, enforce the collection of taxes, and defend the county in tax suits.
Probation service; provision for dependent children
The board shall cooperate with the courts in the establishment of a probation service and adequate provision for dependent children.
Public health and welfare
As it deems fit, the board shall enact such ordinances for the control of liquor, lodging, recreation, livestock health, rabies control, public health, plats, subdivisions, week control, garbage disposal, names of streets and highways, and other items as detailed in Chapter 34 of the Illinois Revised Statutes.
Finances
The board shall supervise all purchases, expenditures of all funds appropriated, check the semiannual and annual reports of all appointed and elected officials so required to report, and cause the books, records and accounts of the county to be audited for each fiscal year by an independent certified public accountant. Such audit shall cover the records and transactions of all funds and accounts of the county and of its officers and agents. It shall be made in accordance with generally accepted standards of audit procedure. The county board shall establish its over-all control of the fiscal affairs of the county through its annual budget and by such other actions as they shall deem necessary from time to time.
Filling of committee vacancies
The chairman of the county board has the authority to fill committee vacancies and committee chairmanships.
Rules revision
The chairman of the board from time to time may consider the revision of the rules of the board and committees and may make recommendations to the administrative and legislative committee.

Thank you

Thank you for your votes of confidence. Thank you for all the well wishes.

BILL PYSSON

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Newcomers make strong showing in Boone County race - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Boone County Board candidates William Pysson (from left), Bob Walberg and Dennis Ellingson listen as other candidates speak during a debate Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, at the Community Building in Belvidere.

Newcomers gave incumbents a run for their money Tuesday evening in the Boone County Board race.

Seven of the nine current members seeking re-election were won. There are three districts on the board, each made up of four members.

Newcomer Bill Pysson ousted incumbent Ken Grzybowski by 152 votes for a District 1 seat. He will join Bob Walberg, Brad Fidder and Dennis Ellingson as District 1 representatives.