With the subject of county
board organization looming again, itŐs a good time to stretch our imaginations
and realize there are more options for the county to conduct business than
acting as a committee of the whole or with the committee system. For the most
part, the committee system served the board well until the last few years, but
the problem of a committee chair taking ownership of his respective facility
and becoming a cheerleader rather than an objective overseer, has been around a
long time.
I can remember a chairman of
the Landfill Committee, years ago, who honestly didnŐt believe he worked under
the auspices of the county board. He was sure he was running his own business
and the rest of us could just Ňbutt out,Ó as they say. As a member of the
Finance Committee, when I started trying to discuss the finances of the nursing
home in the early 1990s, the nursing home committee chairman showed up in a
matching t-shirt along with union members, protesting any such discussion.
On the other hand, nothing
has angered me more than being on the Highway Committee and working for eight
months to make a decision for replacement of the burned down Wolf covered
bridge and have our recommendation to the board ignored. It was based on cost
comparisons, citizen statements to court reporters, public hearings and
recommendations from state and local highway officials. Unfortunately, the
issue became political and emotional, a couple of rich farmers in the area,
(who never bothered to testify), threw their weight around, and the committeeŐs
work was disregarded. We now have a bridge that is not a state historic site,
is not practical and contrary to promises made by a state highway official at
the time, will forever have to be maintained by Knox County.
One can think back on
successful accomplishments of county board committees, such as the committee to
build the public safety building in the 1970s. The Mary Davis home and Landfill
Ccommittees have hired good administrators and helped plan for expansion and
success. The same can be said of the Highway Committee and Executive
Committees, which interviewed and recommended to the board the Supervisor of
Assessments, public defenders, zoning administrators and other personnel. The
Planning Committee has updated rules for the board and the personnel
policy and recommended reducing
the size of the board. The finance committees have been good watchdogs of the
county budget and expenditures and worked with the treasurer to that end.
However, when the county
board decided to change to a committee of the whole a year ago, I was all for
it. Of course, this action was on the heels of a disturbing situation at the
nursing home, where the committee and an ad hoc committee had made several very
expensive and unacceptable proposals for use of the tax referendum money
approved in 2002. Thank goodness one of the board members was absent the night
of that vote or the proposal, costing millions of dollars, would have passed.
One of the last actions of the outgoing board in November of 2003 was to hire a
new nursing home director and one of the first actions of the current board was
to dissolve all committees, including the ad hoc committee making decisions
about the nursing home referendum funds. It was a good move.
So, the county board has been
meeting twice a month, with the members receiving detailed packets before the
meetings, containing lists of all the bills for approval and other background
material. ItŐs a welcome change. Having served on the county for a term in the
1970s and one in the 1990s, I received one sheet of an agenda for our monthly
meetings, with no background material. I once attended a special meeting of the
board without even being informed of the reason for meeting. Color that
Ňillegal.Ó
My experience on the current
board has been encouraging. This is a board with members who are issue-oriented
and donŐt give a hoot about political party affiliation. The election of the
chairman and vice-chair were the last political moves made. It appears the
board is split about how it should be organized, but not along party lines.
IŐve decided the committee of
the whole arrangement doesnŐt work very well. Our chairwoman has had a
difficult year with a new system and has done an exceptional job, but she, and
any chairman, would be overburdened with this system. First, the recently fired
county administrator was not being utilized enough. Secondly, the County Clerk
is constitutionally designated as the secretary of the board. HeŐs not,
however, supposed to be the county administrator. He doesnŐt have the time or
money to fill that role and with elections next year, he cannot be expected to
do all that he is called upon to do now, such as reviewing all the bills.
There are a number of
problems that exist because our chairman has no support system of board members
in place. Putting a committee system in place again would provide a board
structure whereby board members would be taking more responsibility and control
of board work.
What are other options?
Hire another county
administrator, and it doesnŐt have to
be a high-powered executive. A high-energy and ambitious friend of mine said to
me, ŇI could do that job part-time for half the money.Ó I believe her. Do you
know that the county administratorŐs phone number was never published in the
phone book? Apparently, neither
the former administrator nor county board members thought it was important.
County board chairman
elected at large. Years ago the
Peoria Journal Star editorialized, ŇIf you think about it, it makes little
sense to have countywide elections for circuit clerk, treasurer ------and other
administrative offices but not for the head of the countyŐs chief policy-making
body. If you think about it, it makes little sense to elect every mayor who
heads every city government in the county but leave the county board chairmanŐs
selection up to politicians.Ó
a. The chair could be elected by the public as a board
member, and the term would be two years.
b. The chair could be elected not as board member, like a
mayor, but have veto power and break tie votes. The term would be four years.
c. The elected chairman could be paid to chair the board
and administer the work full time, eliminating the need for a county
administrator. If the people donŐt approve of his or her performance, thereŐs
always election time.
County Executive Officer may be elected by any county as provided by law, but
the system must be approved by referendum, accompanied by a vote that the
county should become a Home Rule county. The board would then have the power to
raise taxes, for example, and not be just an extension of state government, as
it is now. The question can be put on the ballot by the county board or by
citizen initiative. This referendum is not passed in most counties because of
the Home Rule provision.
All of these options can be
adopted with or without board committees. But with a budget of over $30,000
million, the county should be depending on all its board members for leadership
and day-to-day implementation of county board business.
At this point, I will vote for the committee system,
hiring at least a part time administrator and work for the election of the
board chairman by the public.
12/8/05