• News and notes from the April 8 Winnebago County Board meeting

By Stuart R. Wahlin
Staff Writer

Members of the Winnebago County Board unanimously approved a buyout plan encouraging senior employees under the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), including the Sheriff’s Department, to retire early in an effort to counteract an estimated $3 million budget shortfall in the coming year.

The incentive offers $20,100 over a three-year period—the amount of money the county pays to insure an employee. About 200 employees are eligible for the buyout, the deadline for which is May 24.

Eligible Sheriff’s Department employees must have logged at least 20 years of service with the county, a minimum of eight years at full-time, and be at least 50 years old. Other eligible IMRF employees must be at least 55 years old with at least eight years of consecutive full-time county employment.

In other news, board members unanimously approved the appointment of Darrin Golden (D) to the Greater Rockford Airport Authority Board of Commissioners.

Golden, a Harlem Township trustee and business manager for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 364, was appointed as a result of the vacancy created by the board’s chairman, Mike Dunn.

Dunn resigned to focus his attention instead on his chairmanship of the newly-created Rockford Area Venues and Entertainment (RAVE) Authority, which will oversee the operations of downtown venues, including the MetroCentre, Coronado Theatre and Davis Park.

Ordinance

• Increasing the costs of supplies and services in the budget to reflect the county’s purchase of 555 N. Court St., which will be used to consolidate a number of Health Department operations. $119,585 was allocated for various supplies and services, and $1,805,000 was added to cover the purchase of the building, taxes, as well as architectural and construction costs associated with the renovation. Steve Schultz (R-2) and John F. Sweeney (R-14) voted “no.”

Resolutions

• Awarding Physicians Immediate Care, of Loves Park, a contract for medical services related to pre-employment screenings and workers compensation.

• Adjusting the number of hours from 40, or 37.5 in the case of River Bluff Nursing Home, to 32 for full-time employees to be eligible for health insurance in 2010. The change was necessary because of reduced hours amid the county’s budget crunch.

• Authorizing the execution of an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Rockford for the maintenance and operation of traffic signals. The resolution essentially renews a two-year agreement whereby the city assumes maintenance responsibilities for certain county-owned traffic signals. Under the agreement, the county reimburses the city’s cost—approximately $55,000 annually—for doing so.

• Awarding Cargill, Inc., of North Olmsted, Ohio, its $69.45-per-ton bid for rock salt.

• Awarding Deery American Corp., of Grand Junction, Colo., a $36,779 bid for an asphalt patcher.

• Awarding Pro Com Systems a bid of up to $275,000 for equipment related to the county’s Emergency Operation Center. The cost is payable through a $250,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, which was accepted in a subsequent resolution.

Proclamations

April 17-24 was proclaimed Money Smart Week. The week of April 18 was proclaimed World Trade Week.

Absences

Frank Gambino (R-14) and Dianne Parvin (R-4) were absent.