Effingham, IL-(Effingham Radio)- The Tax & Finance Committee held a meeting Thursday and heard updates from CEFS, County Soil & Water, and FY2023 Audit Report.
Courtney Yockey and Connie Jerden broke the bad news that CEFS could not hire a Site Director to start their new Prevention Initiative Program. They said without the people to fill the positions needed, they lost the funding for the program. Connie said CEFS is “heartbroken” and will now look to see what they can do as alternatives. The ARPA funds set aside for this program ($40, 359.01) were moved back to the general fund.
As part of new business, ARPA funding for the Dive Rescue team was approved for final vote by the County Board for a new trailer. The Committee voted to table a request for funds for a new vehicle pending more quotes for used vehicles.
Effingham County Soil & Water reported that their budget has been nearly cut in half from $8.5M to $4.5M, so they will be reassessing things. They also reported they sold over 16,000 trees.
The FY2023 Audit was also reviewed, with Hope Wheeler with CLA Connect giving a PowerPoint presentation explaining the audit process. The audit came back clean with exception of a few minor corrections. The audit was moved to the County Board for approval.
The Committee then heard from Sheriff Kuhns about a proposal from DCFS to have law enforcement accompany DCFS representatives on house visits. This is in response to a DCFS worker that was shot while making a house visit. Kuhns said DCFS would cover the full cost for the officer by way of reimbursement, and he said he is receptive to the proposal. Sheriff Kuhns said he would like to hire one more officer for this role so as not to pull any officers from their current duties. The Committee was supportive of the idea, stating that they really see no downside to the proposed agreement.
Once the details are ironed out, it will likely be brought back for a vote.
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