Government Center

719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A

Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County

KC Committee of the Whole

Meeting Minutes

Thursday, February 13, 2025

1:00 PM

County Board Room

***SPECIAL MEETING***

Call To Order

Chairman Pierog called the meeting to order at 1:06 PM.

Roll Call

After roll call was taken, an in-person quorum was not established. This meeting will be

for informational purposes only.

Board Member Alex Arroyo

Board Member Mavis Bates

Board Member Sonia Garcia

Board Member Jon Gripe

Board Member Michelle Gumz

Board Member Leslie Juby

Board Member Ted Penesis

Vice Chair Bill Roth

PRESENT

Board Member Vern Tepe

Chairman Corinne M. Pierog

Board Member Deborah Allan

Board Member Gary Daugherty

Board Member Mo Iqbal

REMOTE

Board Member Chris Kious

Board Member Bill Lenert

Board Member Anita Lewis

Board Member Myrna Molina

Board Member Jarett Sanchez

Board Member Cherryl Strathmann

Board Member Clifford Surges

Board Member Rick Williams

Board Member Dale Berman

Board Member Michael Linder

Board Member Bill Tarver

Board Member David Young

ABSENT

Also present: Chief Judge Villa, Court Admin. O'Brien & staff Mathis; Coroner Silva;

Sheriff Hain & staff Johnson; Circuit Clk. Barreiro & staff Herwick, Johnson; Court Srvs.

Exec. Dir. Aust & staff Tsang, Starkovich, Matyska, Caplan, Weiser, Brach, Gates,

Sells, Saylor, Janovsky; Public Defender Conant; State's Attorney Mosser & staff

Frank, Hunt*; ITD CIO Lasky & staff Peters; and members of the press and public.

Remote Attendance Requests

An in-person quorum was not established. Remote attendance requests were not

addressed.

Pledge of Allegiance

Chairman Pierog asked County Board Member Gumz to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes: December 16, 2024

An in-person quorum was not established. The approval of minutes will be held until

the next Committee of the Whole meeting.

Public Comment

Jim Whittington, St. Charles, stated he was speaking on behalf of thousand of County

taxpayers. He explained that Kane County residents elected each County Board

member to be wise stewards and critical thinkers. He stated that the Department of

Governmental Efficiency has continued to report revelations, everyday, and that

bureaucracy has taken over. Whittington explained that the County's website listed

approximately 87 different committees. He believes that there needs to be a

re-engineering of the County's governance in order to save the County taxpayers

money. He explained that in the Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK) hearings, it was said that

both Senator Sanders and Senator Warren have received a lot of donations from

BigPharma. Whittington stated that when Madam Chairman Pierog first ran for

Chairman of the County Board, most of the donations for her campaign came from

unions. However, after being elected, the County Board passed a resolution stating the

County would be working with unions and not private contractors. Whittington

questioned if this was a reason as to why expenses have doubled since she has taken

office. He has heard other public speakers voice their support on paying their fair

share. However, in his 46 years in owning a home in Kane County, he has paid more

than $500K in taxes. He questioned what the fair share for a taxpayer should be.

Whittington explained that when the County would like to sell a new tax hike, the lowest

hanging fruit, such as public safety, is discussed. However, the County has not upheld

laws, supported a no-cash bail law, and advocated to become a sanctuary county.

When in Geneva, a mother and son were murdered by an illegal alien. Whittington

asked why the County is not enforcing public safety now.

Work of the Judiciary Partners

Kane County Judiciary & Courts (Chief Judge Rob Villa)

Chief Judge Villa introduced himself to the County Board. He provided a brief personal

history. He stated that today, he will be attending the Conference of Chief Judges in

Chicago. He explained that Illinois is separated into 25 circuits. Kane County is a

single-circuit County, while some circuits are responsible for numerous counties. Over

the last year, Villa has learned that Kane County is a star within the State of Illinois. He

provided examples of how Kane County excels in the State, such as being selected to

host a state-wide symposium on juvenile detention issues. Villa spoke on Kane

County's specialty courts, which is a beacon throughout the state. He provided

information on the specialty courts that Kane County provides, which saves the County

money. He noted that the majority of the specialty courts' cost is funded by the State of

Illinois. Villa spoke on how Kane County was a leader in implementing the Safe-T Act.

He stated that Kane County became the first to have a Safe-T Act dashboard in order

to collect comprehensive data. This dashboard format has been adopted by the State

of Illinois for a statewide database. Villa spoke on the Kane County Diagnostic Center

(KCDC). He noted that surrounding counties rely on the KCDC for psychological

services. He spoke on Kane County judges. He added that there is approximately ten

County judges that teach at the bi-annual Supreme Court's Education Conference. He

listed the judges that have taught at the conference. Villa stated that the Sixteenth

Judicial Circuit involves judges and the KCDC, but their jobs cannot be done without

the State's Attorney's Office (SAO), Public Defender's Office (PDO), Kane County

Sheriff's Office (KCSO), Court Security, and Adult Court Services. (County Board

Member Sanchez arrived remotely at 1:19 p.m.) These departments/offices are the

ones that keep the County safe. Villa spoke on recidivism. Kane County has the lowest

recidivism rate comparably to other large urban areas. He stated that the County is not

getting smaller or invaded by people that is costing the County money. Houses are

being built and businesses are becoming better. The Kane County community is

popular, with one of the largest outlet malls in the country. However, nothing is getting

cheaper. Villa stated that all the services that have been described are things that are a

consequence to what is expected out of public safety. While it is not popular to discuss

expenses rising, it is important to maintain the services that the County deserves and

needs. Kane County is one of the best counties throughout the state. However, the

public safety departments/offices cannot continue their work without the support from

the County Board, which means financially. Villa stated that once all partners have

provided their presentations, he hopes all come to a conclusion that Kane County

needs to maintain their status in Illinois and support the community.

Kane County Coroner's Office (Coroner Monica Silva)

Coroner Silva presented an overview of the Kane County Coroner's Office. She stated

that the Kane County Coroner's Office plays a crucial role in the investigation of deaths

within a jurisdiction. The office is tasked with determining the cause and manner of

death. Coroners are essential to maintaining public health, safety, and justice. Silva

shared the five manners of deaths: accident, suicide, homicide, natural, or

undetermined. She spoke on the job responsibilities and duties of the Coroner's Officer

when initially responding to a death. She stated that the Kane County Coroner's Office

staff are highly qualified, highly trained professionals who work under vast

circumstances to do the job. Additionally, the majority of staff is women. Silva spoke on

autopsy examinations and toxicology. Autopsies provide vital information about the

cause of death contributing to public health data and help solve potential criminal

cases. The Coroner's Office collaborates with a forensic pathologist, who is responsible

with performing the autopsies. Kane County has three outsourced forensic pathologists

that handle the County's autopsies. Silva explained that the Coroner's Office has three

categories of cases: Return to Medical (RTM), Sign Out (SO), and Sign Out Unnatural

(SOU). She provided specific information and duties of the Coroner's Office for each of

these categories. Silva spoke on toxicology. The Coroner shall take blood, urine, bodily

fluid, and/or tissue samples to conduct toxicology reports. A toxicology report costs

approximately $250 to $600 per case. The Kane County Coroner's Office spent

$134,896 in FY2024 on toxicology. Silva provided additional information on autopsies.

An autopsy costs $1,750 per examination which can take approximately two to three

hours in homicide cases. This becomes a longer time frame with the review of records,

toxicology reports, and the generation of an official report. In 2024, the total cost of

these autopsies was $460,650. Silva addressed questions and comments from the

Committee. Discussion ensued.

Silva spoke on the generation of death certificates. Every coroner, as soon as they

shall have completed their investigation into the cause and circumstances of any death

coming within their jurisdiction hereunder, shall issue a death certificate. Silva spoke on

the importance of issuing death certificates in a timely manner. Silva addressed

questions and comments from the Committee.

Silva spoke on the financial considerations, such as how the Coroner can reduce costs

legally, ethically, and practically. If the office can reduce costs, there are two major

areas to consider: toxicology and autopsies. Silva stated that hiring a full-time Forensic

Pathologist instead of outsourcing would save the County money. Additionally, the

Coroner's Office could cut cost by utilizing the medical facts to ensure judicious

determination of what cases necessitate autopsies without jeopardizing the pursuit of

justice, and innovate a state of the art, accredited in-house forensic laboratory for

toxicology. Silva addressed questions and comments from the Committee. Discussion

ensued.

Silva spoke on the implications of what the Coroner's Office does, such as cold

cases/safety. Lastly, she shared that the Coroner's Office is looking into Public Health

considerations, such as providing real time data with Fentanyl and other opiate-related

deaths, ensuring that contributing factors are reported, veteran suicide death reporting,

and tracking of emerging hazards. In closing, Silva stated that the Coroner's Office is a

Kane County Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff Ron Hain)

Sheriff Hain stated that the County has worked for approximately two years on

the new Kane County Toxicology and Forensics Lab, in which construction has

begun. The Sheriff's Office, State's Attorney's Office and Coroner's Office have

been funding this project through the Opioid Settlement Fund.

Hain stated that the Sheriff's Office is to provide three divisions that are

mandated by law: County Public Safety, Court Security, and a County jail. He

noted that the Kane County Jail has a number of programs that have positively

combated recidivism. Hain provided an overview of the impacts of the Pretrial

Fairness Act (PFA) on the Kane County Sheriff's Office (KCSO). He shared a

graph depicting the annual population average of the Kane County Jail. Since

the implementation of the PFA in September 2023, the jails population has

continually increased. Hain stated that monthly admissions of detainee fell

immediately after the PFA, but has rebounded back and has continued an

upward trend through July 2024. He spoke on the costs of housing the

increased population. In 2023, the average daily population (ADP) was 270,

which cost $7,391,250. In 2025, the ADP increased to 340 and costs

$9,928,000, which is an approximate $2.5M increase. Unfortunately, there is not

much the County can do about these costs due to the PFA. He stated that in the

past he was able to collect data on recidivism. However, since the

implementation of PFA, this has become impossible. (County Board Member

Allan arrived in-person at 1:55 p.m.) Hain shared a graph showing the yearly

electronic home monitoring (EHM) detainees totals, which has increased since

2023. He explained that Kane County is seeing more detainees on EHM. He

added that Court judges have been waiving the costs of this program, which in

turn is covered by the KCSO. Hain spoke on the arrest warrant entries. From

2019 to 2023, the average amount of entries was five to ten per day. From 2024

to 2025, the average arrest warrant entries increased to 30 to 40 per day. Hain

noted that there is only 1.5 full-time employees that enter these into the system,

and a staff increase may be needed. He spoke on the mandated body worn

cameras for all deputies. He stated that this unfunded mandate costs the County

an additional $580K, annually. He stated that the KCSO will be switching to a

new body camera system, Axon. This system is approximately $200K more than

the current system the County uses. Axon is what every public safety agency in

the County uses, and it directly communicates with the State's Attorney's Office

(SAO). This is essential in being able to share the video data with the SAO for

efficiency to solve cases. Hain spoke on the unfunded mandatory training that

deputies need to complete, which costs an average of $300K, annually.

Currently, the Sheriff's Office has two full-time employees and two contracted

employees that conduct these trainings. Sheriff Hain addressed questions and

comments from the Committee. Discussion ensued.

Kane County Circuit Clerk’s Office (Circuit Clerk Theresa Barriero)

Circuit Clk. Barreiro presented an overview of the Kane County Circuit Clerk's

Office. She stated that the Circuit Clerk of Courts is under the Judicial Branch of

Government and governed by the Illinois Constitution and Illinois Supreme

Court. She explained that the Circuit Clerk's Office, by the direction of the

Supreme Court, follow administrative orders on record keeping that are laid out

in the 174-page Record Keeping Manual, which is provided to the Administrative

Office of Illinois Courts (AOIC). She summarized the functions and

responsibilities of the Clerk of the Court. She reviewed the locations of the 32

courtrooms that are staffed daily by court and office clerks. She shared the

duties and responsibilities of a courtroom union Deputy Clerk. She reviewed the

appeals process. In 2022, there were 149 appeals filed. In 2024, there were 230

appeals filed. Barreiro reviewed the duties and services provided by the Circuit

Clerk's Call Center. She explained that these call center clerks handle

approximately 60 calls daily, which is about 1,200 monthly. On average, clerks

respond to about 245 phone calls daily, 4,900 monthly. Barreiro further

explained the service provided by the Deputy Clerk's Office, such as creating

new cases, payments, and research requests. She reviewed the increased

research requests over the past two years. Barreiro spoke on the Pretrial

Fairness Act (PFA) and the implications it has had on the Clerk's Office. She

shared a graph depicting the Initial Appearance Court Weekend/Holiday

Coverage. This number has increased continually since the implementation of

PFA. Barreiro spoke on the PFA's appeals process. The PFA allows pretrial

detainees to appeal the district court's decisions regarding conditions of release.

Under the PFA, whether a person remains detained prior to trial is based on

whether the person is a flight risk, a danger to the community, and the charges

faces by the person. Each of these determinations by the judge may now be

appealed. Barreiro reviewed the search warrants process. She shared a graph

depicting the search warrants filed from 2022 to 2024. She spoke on the

process the Deputy Clerk's follow when transferring files out of county. She

shared a graph depicting these types of files. Barreiro shared information on the

publication process. She presented a graph depicting the increase in these

publications. She presented the numbers on the Expungement/Sealing process.

She stated that numerous expungement events have been hosted by the Clerk's

Office to help constituents file their expungement. Barreiro shared the Circuit

Clerk's Office's organizational chart. The office has 27 non-union staff that all

play critical roles to ensure that the operations function efficiently, while

facilitating the achievements of both daily and long-term goals. Barreiro spoke

on the case information reporting process. She stated that Circuit Clerk's are

required to report case information electronically to the AOIC. The AOIC sends

the documents to several Illinois offices. She spoke on the Clerk's Office's

responsibility of collecting and distributing fees and fines, such as collections.

Other than reports, the office reviews new processes being put into place, such

as new system upgrades and creating and maintaining paper and electronic

forms. Barreiro shared a graph depicting the total cases filed by headcount. She

noted that the 2024 end year case filings increased by 8%. She spoke on the

2023 Clearance Rates by Circuit. In 2023, the Kane County Circuit Clerk's

Office's clearance rate was 97.7%. Barreiro spoke on the Circuit Clerk's Office's

annual budget. The office has been under budget over the last few years, due to

vacant positions. Barreiro reviewed the FY2025 Circuit Clerk Total Salary and

Benefits within the County's General Fund. There are a total of 93 full-time and

two part-time employees, which make up the total salary amount of

$4,600,236.14, and total benefits of $841,472.83. The annual total amount for

all General Fund employees is $5,441,708.97. Barreiro reviewed the office's

workforce numbers. In 2018, there were 126 employees. Today, the office is

budgeted at 109. Barreiro reviewed and defined the critical staff needs of the

Circuit Clerk's Office. She spoke on the revenue decrease faced by the Circuit

Clerk's Office, which has been caused by court fees being waived per statutes.

In the past, the office collected approximately $50K daily. Today, the office

collects about $25K. Barreiro shared a graph depicting the decrease in annual

collection amounts. She stated that without the Clerk's Office, the courts would

not function as efficiently and the public would face significant delays in

accessing filed documents. In essence, the clerk is the hub to the Sixteenth

Judicial Court. Barreiro addressed questions and comments from the

Committee. Discussion ensued.

Kane County Court Services (Executive Director Lisa Aust)

Court Srvs. Exec. Dir. Aust presented an overview on the Kane County Court

Services Department. She explained that in 1899, Cook County was the first in

the state to develop a probation office. Kane County was the second county to

develop a probation office in 1908, followed by Peoria County. Aust stated that

Kane County has always been cutting-edge when performing this work. In 1919,

Kane County joined several other counties to ask Springfield to make probation

a cost-share department, as it continues to be today. Aust presented the four

primary functions of Court Services: Probation, Pretrial, Juvenile Detention, and

the Diagnostic Center. She provided a graph that depicts Court Services' 2024

Expenses by Function. The overall budget is $13,936,895. Aust spoke on the

different divisions Court Services oversees and the percentage of the budget

each utilizes. She provided information on the Court Services General Fund

Budget. She stated that 87% of the County General Fund's funding for Court

Services is personnel. She listed the largest contractual services and

commodities of Court Services. Aust shared a graph on FY2024 Court Services

Revenue Sources. The total revenue is $15,305,405. Aust added that the

County's share of Court Services' cost is $5,711,667, or 37%. She spoke on the

Administrative Office of Illinois Courts (AOIC) Salary Reimbursement Types:

Grant in Aid (GIA) and Salary Subsidy. She noted that these reimbursement

types are the sources of "AOIC Salary Reimbursement" revenue paid directly to

the County's General Fund.

Aust explained the differences between probation and parole. She stated that

Illinois is one out of nine states where probation is different than parole. She

explained that parole is under the Executive Branch, or Governor Pritzker.

Probation falls under the Judicial Branch, or Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary

Jane Theis.

Aust spoke on the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center (JJC). She stated that

the JJC runs under state mandates and does not do anything extra. The JJC

has 71 staff members, of which 64 are GIA salary reimbursed, seven are County

funded, and four are provided by the Regional Office of Education (ROE). Aust

explained that juvenile detention is a statutory mandate and that the Counties'

Code requires funding for detention. Additionally, the Court Services Department

is to staff the JJC. The Chief Judge is the employer and provides oversight. Law

enforcement must utilize juvenile detention, and mandates state that juveniles

can only be held for a maximum of 12 hours in police "lock-up" and have strict

sight and sound barriers from adult offenders. Aust stated that the JJC partners

with the ROE to provide teachers. ROE has proven to be outstanding partners in

the field of detention, in which other juvenile detention centers send staff to

observe the JJC's teachers and speak with the ROE. Aust spoke on the garden

beds used in teaching science, health, and life skills classes. Aust explained that

there is only 15 juvenile detention facilities throughout Illinois. She spoke on the

history of Kane County's JJC. Aust shared a current census of the JJC. She

spoke on the JJC's 2023 Admissions by Offense Type. She noted that 33% of

the arrested offenses were murder, violent offenses, battery, and assault. She

explained that the JJC is highly regulated with a minimum of 300 minutes of

school instruction per day and numerous state statutes. She provided pictures of

JJC staff. Aust provided a chart on the serious medical and mental health

interventions done in 2024. She explained that an Emergency Response and

Care is when JJC nurses respond to a crisis, such as physical alteration,

medical emergencies, self-harm, and suicide attempts.

Aust spoke on the Kane County Diagnostic Center (KCDC). She provided an

overview of staffing of the KCDC. The KCDC performs psychological evaluations

when ordered by the court, testify on defendant's fitness, advises Problem

Solving Courts' teams on participants' mental health diagnosis, assists with

crises incidents in court and probation, and runs parenting classes for divorce

cases. Aust provided a photograph of the KCDC staff. Aust shared a state

statute that supports the KCDC. She spoke on her frustration on "embedded"

mandates within statutes, such as the social investigation report on juveniles

that have committed a sexual crime. Aust shared information on the Diagnostic

Center's cost savings to the County. The total 2024 budget for the KCDC was

$1,058,344. The market rate is $5K per evaluation on average. KCDC charges

$2,892 per evaluation on average, this is a savings on $771,656 to the County

per year.

Aust spoke on the Kane County Probation Division. She listed the numerous

state statutes that support adult probation. She provided an overview of the

Kane County Adult Probation Division. There are three offices supervising 4,852

adult cases in Aurora, Elgin, and Saint Charles. Adult probation covers the

majority of the work Court Services does. She shared the job duties and

responsibilities of the Adult Probation staff. In 2023, there were 575 new

offenses and 915 technical violations. Adult probation also conducts about 4K

drug tests a year, supervises sex offenders, manages community service, and

participates in the four specialty courts. Aust spoke on these specialty courts.

She highlighted juvenile probation. The majority of juvenile arrests occurred in

Aurora. She shared a graph that depicted the offenses juveniles are being

arrested for.

Aust spoke on Pretrial Services. She noted that more information would be

shared on Pretrial Services at next month's Committee of the Whole meeting.

Aust stated that this division sends out approximately 17K court reminders a

year. When staff is able to work with those signed up to be on Pretrial Services

Supervision, Failure to Appear Warrants have decreased to 5%.

Lastly, Aust explained that Kane County has the Safe-T Act dashboard at

KaneCourt.org. She stated that nationally about 2.1% of the population is on

probation/community supervision, or about 1 in 48 adults, which all has a cost.

Kane County Public Defender (Public Defender Rachele Conant)

Public Def. Conant presented an overview of the Kane County Public Defender's

Office (PDO). She stated the Public Defender's Office is the only department

that is constitutionally mandated. She explained that the office is staffed by 40

attorneys, 11 support staff, and two investigators. She noted that the majority of

cases that go through the judicial process are addressed by the PDO. She

summarized the number of services that are introduced to clients by Public

Defender attorneys, on top of their usual caseload work. Conant spoke on the

fines and fees being waived by Court Judges. She stated that the PDO's staff

has increased since 2020. One attorney was added to the Abuse and Neglect

Division and three attorneys and two support staff members were added due to

the implementation of the Safe-T Act. Conant shared a graph depicting the open

abuse and neglect cases. She provided an overview of the work that is done on

these cases. She reviewed a graph that showed the FY2025 Public Defender's

Budget. The majority of funding covers salaries and wages. Conant spoke on

the Kane County Assistant Public Defender (APD) salaries and additional

pay/hours accumulated. In 2021, an APD made $54K, annually. In 2024, the

salary was raised to $75K. Conant shared a table that showed the annual

salaries of surrounding counties. She spoke on the need for continued equitable

pay for staff. Conant explained that this budget increase impacted the equity in

pay between APDs and Assistant State's Attorney's (ASAs), bridged the gap

between Kane County and surrounding counties, was able to fill seven attorney

positions, and helped retain experienced attorneys. Conant explained that the

Sixth Amendment of the Constitution guarantees the right to an attorney and the

Fourteenth Amendment incorporates that into the Illinois Constitution. The whole

existence of the Public Defender's Office comes from these amendments.

Conant shared a graph that depicts the open and closed files, which indicates

that the work being down is level and that the office is maintaining the workloads

with the staff they have. Conant explained the average APD's workload. She

spoke on the murder appointments. There are currently 19 open murder cases

that are being handled by the office. Out of the 8,105 cases opened in 2024,

3,293 were felonies, 4,198 were misdemeanors, and 34% of the misdemeanor

cases were domestic related.

Conant reviewed the implications of the Pretrial Fairness Act and the Safe-T Act,

such as mandated review of body worn camera videos, and attorneys appointed

at all initial appearance hearings, petitions to revoke pretrial release, and

sanction hearings. She reviewed the attorney's responsibilities and duties for

pretrial hearings. She shared that the mandated review of all body worn

cameras for all police officers increased the amount of case review that needs to

be completed by APDs. Conant noted that murder cases can have upwards of

20 officers on scene. She explained that the Public Defender's Office is

constitutionally and statutorily mandated to perform these duties, attorneys are

dedicated to advocating for their clients, and attorneys are dedicated to

efficiently and effectively managing the caseloads. The Public Defender's Office

is able to do all of this work due to the experience and expertise of the attorneys

and execute these duties utilizing 3.7% of the operating budget.

Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office (State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser)

State's Attorney Mosser presented an overview of the Kane County State's

Attorney's Office (SAO). She stated that this Office is statutory. She explained

that she was elected by people that believed in her and the mission set forth.

She presented the state statute that addresses her powers and duties as the

State's Attorney. The SAO has a total of 187 employees, which is the largest law

firm in Kane County. Mosser reviewed the three main divisions of the SAO:

Criminal Division, Quasi-Criminal Division, and Civil Division. She provided

information and trends on the subdivisions of the Criminal Division, such as

Major Crimes Unit, Guns and Gangs Unit, Child Exploitation Unit, Domestic

Violence Unit, Traffic/Misdemeanor, and Juvenile. She spoke on the Kane

County Specialty Courts, such as Mental Health Court. Mosser provided

information on the Kane County Civil Division. She spoke on the Deferred

Prosecution Program and Collaborative Diversion Program. Mosser spoke on

Investigations. She stated that the Investigations Unit includes 13 employees

that have attempted to serve or served 501 subpoenas, and conducted 35

investigations. She noted that every division within her office involves money.

Mosser reviewed the SAO's needs for technology, case management system,

and space. She provided graphs that depicted the SAO's FY2024 Breakdown by

Category, the SAO FY2024 Revenue Category, and the FY2024 Expenses by

Category. She explained that the County's General Fund allots $11M for the

SAO. The SAO's total budget is $18M, which means that $7M is obtained by

other means, such as grants and special funds. However, the bottom line is that

the SAO needs to be funded. Mosser explained that if the $7M that comes from

outside sources is no longer available, it would be the County's responsibility to

figure out how to properly fund the SAO. Lastly, Judicial Public Safety partners

need the County Board to understand the essential nature of Judicial and Public

Safety. Mosser spoke on the difficulties each year with the County's budgeting

process. She explained that the majority of the Judicial and Public Safety

partners are singled out due to large amount of funding they need to run their

offices efficiently. She noted that each year, employees are terrified about the

possibility of budget cuts. She stated that it is the County Board's job to fund this

County and that she will do all she can to help with the budgeting crisis. Mosser

addressed questions and comments from the Committee. Much discussion

ensued.

Executive Session

An in-person quorum was not established for today's meeting. The Executive Session

to review the release of closed session minutes will be held until the next Committee of

the Whole meeting.

Release of Closed Session Minutes