Government Center

719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A

Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County

KC Judicial/Public Safety

Committee

Meeting Minutes

MOLINA, Lenert, Gumz, Linder, Roth, Tepe, Williams & ex-officio Pierog (County Chair)

Thursday, September 14, 2023

9:00 AM

County Board Room

Call To Order

Chairman Molina called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM.

Roll Call

Board Member Myrna Molina

Board Member Michelle Gumz

Board Member Bill Roth

PRESENT

Board Member Vern Tepe

Board Member Rick Williams

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Board Member Michael Linder

REMOTE

ABSENT

Board Member Bill Lenert

Also present: Co. Bd. members Bates*, Juby*; Kenyon, Kious*, Lewis; Merit Comm.

Chair Burgert; KaneComm Dir. Guthrie; OEM Acting Dir. Mensching; Chief Judge Hull;

Court Admin. O'Brien & staff Mathis; Court Srvs. Exec. Dir. Aust; Circuit Clk. Barreiro;

KCDC Dir. Tsang; Public Defender Conant; State's Atty. Mosser* & staff Shepro,

Tabor; ITD/BLD Exec. Dir. Fahnestock & staff Lasky*, Peters; and members of the

press and public.

Remote Attendance Requests

Chairman Molina announced the remote attendance requests for today's meeting. She

asked the Committee if there were any objections to Committee Members Linder and

Lenert attending today's meeting remotely. There were no objections. Committee

Member Lenert did not attend the meeting remotely.

Approval of Minutes: August 10, 2023

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Bill Roth

Public Comment (Agenda Items)

None.

Monthly Financial Reports

Monthly Finance Reports

Chairman Molina stated the monthly financial reports were on file. No additional

report was made.

Merit Commission

FY24 Merit Comm. Budget Presentation

Merit Comm. Chairman Burgert provided the FY24 budget presentation. Burgert

explained that because the health and dental portion of their budget is being

removed, the Merit Commission's FY24 budget is down 7%, which is

approximately $7K. All other entities of the budget will remain the same.

KaneComm (M. Guthrie)

Monthly Report

KaneComm Dir. Guthrie stated the monthly report was on file. She highlighted

the hiring of multiple staff members. Recently, KaneComm has welcomed a new

shift manager who is currently undergoing training. On Monday, September 11,

2023, KaneComm hired a new telecommunicator. Additionally, there are two

new applicants going through the hiring process. Lastly, KaneComm will be

holding a testing session at the end of September for those who are looking to

apply.

FY24 KaneComm Budget Presentation

KaneComm Dir. Guthrie provided the FY24 budget presentation. Currently,

KaneComm is in negotiations for their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

that expired on December 31, 2022. Due to this, Guthrie anticipates budget

changes. Guthrie listed the numerous agencies served by KaneComm. She

presented a graph depicting KaneComm's activities and statistics. She spoke on

the deduction of officer initiated activity over the past two years, however, in

2023, these numbers have leveled out. Guthrie provided KaneComm's

organizational chart. Currently, the headcount remained the same with 22

employees. Guthrie stated that KaneComm is a Special Revenue funded

agency. Their revenue is generated from subscriber fees and the 9-1-1

surcharge revenue. Guthrie explained that the subscriber agreement between

KaneComm and subscribing police and fire agencies expired on November 30,

2022. For the budget, fees have been increased 5%. Fees will change when the

new agreement is approved. The anticipated revenue total for FY24 is

$2,456,428. Guthrie reviewed the expenditures. The total anticipated expenses

for FY24 is $2,456,428. Guthrie stated that the change in personnel expense is

1.96%. The net change for FY24 is the difference of $33,515 or 1.38%. Guthrie

reviewed the changes that would be made to the FY24 KaneComm's budget.

Currently, KaneComm has two vacant positions. Guthrie is hopeful that the two

applicants will fill these vacancies.

Emergency Management (J. Mensching)

Monthly Report

OEM Acting Dir. Mensching stated the monthly report was on file. He announced

that on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, the County Board approved the hiring of a

new OEM director. The new director will start in October. The office is hopeful it

will be a smooth transition. Once the new director takes over, Mensching will

move down to his previous role of Chief Deputy Director. Mensching stated that

OEM, along with the Sheriff and KaneComm, is getting ready for the LIV Golf

event held in Sugar Grove. The County anticipates approximately 20K people to

attend the event. To prepare, the offices are conducting numerous trainings.

Mensching stated that calls to OEM have been decreasing over the last few

weeks.

FY24 KCOEM Budget Presentation

OEM Acting Dir. Mensching provided the agency's FY24 budget presentation.

Due to OEM becoming it's own County entity and no longer under the Sheriff's

provision, this is the first year OEM has had to prepare an individual budget.

Mensching stated that staffing will not change. OEM will continue to have five

full-time positions, one part-time, and approximately 50 sworn volunteers.

Mensching reviewed the activity per year that OEM has handled. Last year,

there were approximately 17 responses a month, which equates to about 204

responses a year. Mensching reviewed the entities that the OEM budget

supports, such as employees, fleets, and volunteers. Due to OEM not having

their own budget since 2017, he provided a budget comparison from that year.

Overall, the payroll expenses are down 27%. The anticipated total expense

budget for FY24 is $849,160, which is an increase of 13%. Mensching spoke on

the changes within the budget. He provided several pictures of the fleet that

OEM is responsible for. He listed the uses for each. He spoke on the challenges

of owning older vehicles and the need to replace them. He listed OEM's

supplemental requests. He provided the capital requests. Chairman Molina

thanked Mensching for his role as the Acting Director.

10.

Judiciary & Courts (Hull/O'Brien)

Chief Judge Hull announced the appointment of Judge Larry Lobb. The new judge has

a background in civil law and will start on October 10, 2023. The courts are preparing

for the implementation of the Safe-T Act on September 18, 2023. Since the beginning

of the Safe-T Act, Kane County has been prepared and will continue to make changes

on an as needed basis. Hull thanked the Judiciary staff for their preparation work for

the Safe-T Act.

Authorizing the Number of Procurement Cards Issued to the Kane County Law

Library and Each of Their Transaction Limits

KC Finance and Budget Committee

RESULT:

TO:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Finance and Budget Committee

Rick Williams

MOVER:

Michelle Gumz

SECONDER:

Myrna Molina, Michelle Gumz, Michael Linder, Bill Roth, Vern

Tepe, and Rick Williams

AYE:

Bill Lenert, and Corinne M. Pierog

ABSENT:

Authorizing the Child Protection Data Courts Grant

KC Finance and Budget Committee

RESULT:

TO:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Finance and Budget Committee

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Michael Linder

SECONDER:

Myrna Molina, Michelle Gumz, Michael Linder, Bill Roth, Vern

Tepe, and Rick Williams

AYE:

Bill Lenert, and Corinne M. Pierog

ABSENT:

FY24 Judiciary Budget Presentation

Court Admin. O'Brien provided the Judiciary and Courts FY24 budget

presentation. She reviewed the General Fund changes in revenues. She noted

that the Judicial Technology Fine and the Interpreter Services Reimbursement

revenues will increase. She provided a breakdown of those increases. Over the

past couple years, the State has provided substantial reimbursement amounts

for interpreter services. O'Brien spoke on personnel expenses. Currently,

Judiciary and Courts have three vacant positions. There are two new positions

due to the implementation of the Safe-T Act. (Madam Chairman Pierog arrived

in-person at 9:29 a.m.) For personnel services, they have requested an increase

of $66,284. Chief Judge Hull spoke on the need to fill the vacancy of the

Criminal Data Analyst. O'Brien listed the contractual expenses. In FY24, they are

seeking an increase of $296,700, due to the rise in service costs. O'Brien listed

the commodities expenses. Due to the cost of marketplace increases, they are

seeking an increase of $38,750. Currently, Judiciary and Courts have five vacant

positions. O'Brien and Hull addressed questions and comments from the

Committee. Discussion ensued on the contractual services increases.

11.

Court Services Administration (L. Aust)

Monthly Report

Court Srvs. Exec. Dir. Aust stated the monthly report was on file. She provided

the monthly statistics. Last month, there were four employees that resigned with

only one new hire. She stated that the department is still working on hiring

alongside the turnovers and training. Aust spoke on the services that are

provided through Court Services. She provided a graph depicting the average

population by County from August 2023 within the Kane County Juvenile Justice

Center (JJC). She highlighted the bond call appearances in August by

supervision level. Since the end of the pandemic, there has been an increase in

arrests. In August, there were 418 new cases filed. This puts Kane County on

trend to have over 2K new arrests that will come through Bond Call. This is the

highest it has been in the last six years. Aust addressed questions and

comments from the Committee on the anticipated changes that the Safe-T Act

will bring to Court Services. Discussion ensued.

Aust continued with additional statistics, such as pretrial clients by highest

supervision level and August Pretrial County Date Reminders. She reviewed the

probation rates for juveniles and adults. Currently, there are 9,258 individuals

who are supervised by Court Services. Aust shared the statistics on the

problem-solving courts. She reviewed the August Drug Testing results. There

were 1,052 drug tests administered in August, of those, only 34 were positive for

illicit substances. Aust addressed additional questions and comments from the

Committee.

JJC Housing Report

Court Srvs. Exec. Dir. Aust reviewed the Juvenile Justice Center's (JJC) Out of

County Housing Report by Month for Detention. The JJC contracts with eight

other counties, such as Kendall, Lee, and McHenry. The year-to-date revenue

amount from these contracts is $1,071,354, which is over what was initially

anticipated. Aust spoke on the increase of crimes over this past year.

Authorizing Gymnasium Floor Replacement at the Juvenile Justice Center

Court Srvs. Exec. Dir. Aust provided additional information on this resolution.

Aust addressed questions and comments from the Committee.

Committee Member Gumz motioned to amend the "Now, Therefore, Be it

Resolved" clause to read, by the Kane County Board that a contract for

construction is awarded to Sport Court Midwest in the amount of $43,200 for the

Project is hereby approved and the Chairman thereof is hereby authorized and

directed to execute an agreement therefor. Roth seconded the amendment.

Discussion ensued. Motion failed on a tie vote.

KC Finance and Budget Committee

RESULT:

TO:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Finance and Budget Committee

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Rick Williams

SECONDER:

Myrna Molina, Bill Roth, Vern Tepe, and Rick Williams

Michelle Gumz, and Michael Linder

Bill Lenert

AYE:

NAY:

ABSENT:

FY24 Court Services Budget Presentation

Court Srvs. Exec. Dir. Aust provided the department's FY24 budget

presentation. She provided the department's organizational chart, which

includes the probation and pretrial division, the juvenile detention, and the

diagnostic center. She listed the Court Services' functions. In total, there are 197

employees. Aust highlighted her general remarks on the new 2024 Budget

Requests. The Juvenile Justice Center (JJC) portion of the budget shows a

decrease of $171,342 in the salary line item and moved into a "contingency"

fund. However, the JJC does not have any employees who should be contingent

or associated with the Pretrial Fairness Act. During the budgeting process last

year, the department has added two mental health clinicians to their headcount.

Overall the requested budget amount from the General Fund is $13,032,951.

However, this does not include health and dental benefits. Aust reviewed the

last three years of staff turnover and the affects it has on the budget. In 2023,

there were 27 employees that resigned with an average salary and wage

amount of $49,221. Of those, most employees left Kane County for higher

paying positions. Due to this, Court Services returned approximately $1M back

to the General Fund. The proposed 2024 expenditures for Court Services is

$13,032,951.00. Aust reviewed the anticipated revenue for 2024. She listed the

number of reimbursements that the State provides. The expense total from the

General Fund is $5,894,979. Aust reviewed the Administrative Office of the

Illinois Courts (AOIC) reimbursement types, such as salary subsidy. For the

FY24 budget, Aust has requested three new vehicles. She reviewed the uses

and conditions of the current vehicles. In closing, the AFSCME contract expires

on November 30, 2023. Lastly, the sex offender charges and prosecution are

increasing. These three items will cause needed budget adjustments in FY24.

Aust addressed questions and comments from the Committee. Discussion

ensued.

12.

13.

Old Business

None.

Place Written Reports on File

RESULT:

APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE

Rick Williams

Bill Roth

MOVER:

SECONDER:

14.

Executive Session

The Judicial/Public Safety Committee entered into an Executive Session at 10:33 a.m.

to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance,

and/or dismissal of specific employees on a motion made by Roth, seconded by

Williams. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.

RESULT:

APPROVED BY ROLL CALL VOTE

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Rick Williams

SECONDER:

Myrna Molina, Michelle Gumz, Michael Linder, Bill Roth, Vern

Tepe, and Rick Williams

AYE:

Bill Lenert

ABSENT:

Open Session

15.

The Committee returned to Open Session at 10:42 a.m. on a motion made by Roth,

seconded by Williams. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.

RESULT:

APPROVED BY ROLL CALL VOTE

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Rick Williams

SECONDER:

Myrna Molina, Michelle Gumz, Michael Linder, Bill Roth, Vern

Tepe, and Rick Williams

AYE:

Bill Lenert

ABSENT:

Authorizing the Salary Adjustment for the Executive Director of Kane County

Emergency Communications

KC Finance and Budget Committee

RESULT:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Finance and Budget Committee

TO:

Vern Tepe

Bill Roth

MOVER:

SECONDER:

Myrna Molina, Michelle Gumz, Michael Linder, Bill Roth, Vern

Tepe, and Rick Williams

AYE:

Bill Lenert

ABSENT:

16.

17.

Public Comment (Non-Agenda Items)

None.

Adjournment to September 22, 2023 for a Special Meeting to complete the Sheriff,

State's Attorney, Public Defender, Circuit Clerk and Coroner –FY24 Budget

Presentations and monthly reports

RESULT:

APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE

Rick Williams

Bill Roth

MOVER:

SECONDER:

This meeting was adjourned at 10:44 AM.

Savannah Valdez

Recording Secretary