Members of the Macoupin County Board, meeting in Carlinville Tuesday night, accepted a $6 million property tax levy, approved a spending plan for proceeds of a Energy Transition grant and approved a $1.8 million request for the 2026 Motor Fuel Tax road and bridge maintenance program.

The levy, approved unanimously, calls for $6,015,305 to be raised in 2025 property taxes payable in 2026. The new levy compares with $5,845,916 levied a year ago for taxes payable in 2025.

Broken down by line item, the levy expects to raise $2,353,607 for Corporate purposes, compared with $2,280,169 a year ago; $265,353 for Public Health, compared with $265,265 last year; $584,005 for the Highway Department, compared with $533,973 a year ago; $239,895 for Special Bridge, compared with $239,895 last year; $424,188 to match Federal Aid funds, compared with $397,640 last year; $77,268 for Developmentally Disabled programs, compared with $62,384 a year ago; $198,000 for Mental Health, compared with $193,273 last year; $397,468 for Social Security, compared with $397,468 a year ago; $864,035 for IMRF, compared with $864,094 last year; and $611,486 for Tort Liability, compared with $611,486 last year.

Like all taxing bodies in the Macoupin County, county government is restricted by the Property Tax Extension Law (PTELL), approved by county voters in 1995. Under PTELL, the county can raise property taxes by no more than than five percent of the previous year’s tax extension or the current Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. The current CPI, essentially the national rate of inflation, is 2.9 percent.

If PTELL requires a reduction in the total tax rate, the cuts will be made to the rates for Corporate and Federal Matching Funds.

The 2025 tax rate will be calculated based on a total Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) of nearly $950 million—an increase of nearly $80 million over last year’s estimated EAV of $871,576,810. The increasing EAV has the potential to drive the tax rate (the number by which the EAV must be multiplied to yield the legally allowable tax extension) downward for the ninth consecutive year since 2016.

The approved levy does not include rates included on property owners’ tax bills for Veterans Assistance, special ambulance service districts and the University of Illinois.

Local property tax revenue accounts for about 20 percent of the county’s overall budget.

MOTOR FUEL TAX RESOLUTION

By a unanimous vote, the board approved Motor Fuel Tax resolution in the amount of $1,790,750 for the calendar year starting Jan. 1. County Engineer Tom Reinhardt said the resolution will be submitted to the Illinois Department of Transportation for routine approval. The appropriation will cover the cost of road oil, gravel and road salt for the coming year.

In a related action, the board approved a resolution to appropriate $144,300 in Motor Fuel Tax funds for the County Engineer’s salary from Jan. 1-Dec. 31.

ENERGY TRANSITION GRANT

On the recommendation of the Economic Development Committee, the board approved a spending plan an expected $189,000 Energy Transition Community grant. Similar to the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), the Energy Transition grant is meant to reimburse counties impacted by coal mine closures. The funds are designated for economic development, clean energy initiatives, workforce development, tourism, and planning initiatives. 

The Committee held a public hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 3, to hear input from the public regarding potential projects to be funded with grant funds.

Pursuant to the spending plan approved by the board, $100,000 will be devoted to the Old County Jail for planning and improvements to enhance tourism opportunities. A project to upload existing maps of underground coal mines to the county’s Geographic Information System (GIS) will be funded with $30,000.  A total of $20,000 will be invested with Great Rivers and Routes for tourism promotion, and $5,000 will be spent to develop QR codes for self-guided tours of the Courthouse and Old Jail.

The county plans to spend $15,000 to create a grant writers group to assist Macoupin County communities with writing applications for state and federal grants.

The county expects to put $19,000 toward the Linwood Lane bridge over Honey Creek south of the former Monterey Coal Mine location.

HOTEL TAX

Also on the recommendation of the Economic Development Committee the board unanimously approved a revised Hotel Tax Ordinance that clarifies the definitions to include Airbnbs located in unincorporated areas of the county.

Under the ordinance, which has been in place since 2005, lodging businesses located in unincorporated areas of the county are required to pay a five percent tax on an annual basis.

“We have unincorporated areas in the county that have Airbnbs that were not counted,” County Clerk Pete Duncan reported. He said he conducted a Google search to find Airbnbs that would be subject to the tax and found only a “handful.”

The ordinance does not impact lodging facilities located within municipal limits in the county.

“I want to thank Pete (Duncan) for his work on this,” said Holly Klausing, committee chair.

Advertisement

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Following a 30-minute executive session to discuss personnel, the board voted unanimously to give the Public Safety Committee power to act on hiring a new Animal Control. The position has been vacant since former manager Emily Gerl resigned last month. Former manager Buzie Bertagnolli has been working about 20 hours a week, pending the hiring of Gerl’s replacement.

Leann Barr, chair of the Public Safety Committee, reported the committee has received several applications for the Animal Control spot and will soon begin interviews.

On a motion by Kristi Dunnagan, the board also voted unanimously to increase Grant Manager Joseph Chirwa’s annual salary from $60,000 to $85,845. Chirwa, who was hired in June, recently received an external job offer at a higher salary.

FIRST QUARTER BUDGET REPORT

County Clerk Duncan reported that at the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year, revenue is lagging behind expectations. The county has received only 17 percent of projected revenue, and revenue lags $344,000 behind the same time last year.

Revenue from income tax and sales tax has stagnated, Duncan noted.

“You remember a time when those revenue streams were consistently increasing,” Duncan reported. “That’s not the case anymore. Those line items are not sources of additional revenue. Our revenue is going to be pretty flat.”

Meanwhile, expenditures are reported at 35 percent of what the board budgeted for the entire fiscal year.

“At this point, you’d want them to be 25 percent or less, ideally,” Duncan said. Reported expenditures, however, include a one-time fund transfer of $1.2 million. “If you strip that out, we are close to what it should be.”

PROPERTY OFFERED FOR SALE

The board unanimously adopted a resolution to offer 14 acres of surplus property near the Animal Control Shelter for sale via sealed bid.

Bids will be accepted until Jan. 23, with a bid opening set for Jan. 27 during the Economic Development Committee’s regular meeting.

RULES FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AMENDED

Without further discussion, the board unanimously approved amendments to the County Board Rules of Order. The document outlines the order in which business is conducted during County Board meetings, and is largely unchanged from the previous Rules of Order with the exception that a one paragraph section regarding public comments has been replaced with a four-page, multiple section explanation of rules governing public comments to the board.

The changes were reviewed by the General Administrative Committee on Nov. 6, which voted to recommend the amendments to the full board.

Under the revised rules, persons wishing to address the board must register prior to the meeting with their name and the subject they wish to address. As in the past, a time limit of five minutes is imposed with a maximum of 30 minutes set aside for public comment near the beginning of the meeting.

Registered speakers who intend to use handouts or visual aids must provide copies at least 24 hours before the meeting to ensure the board has proper equipment on hand to display the materials. Materials are subject to approval by the Board Chair.

Under a section titled “Decorum and Relevance,” the rules require speakers to confine their comments to issues that fall “within the jurisdiction of the Macoupin County Board or items listed on the agenda.” Speakers must direct their comments to the Chair and the Board as whole, rather than individual elected officials or staff members. Personal attacks, slanderous remarks, vulgar or threatening language are prohibited. The section also prohibits using the public comment period for political campaigning. The Chair is empowered to rule a speaker out of order if he or she violate any of the “decorum and relevance” rules.

“The Chair reserves the right to close public comment if, after issuing a warning, audience members persist in cheering, booing or otherwise being disruptive,” according to the new rules of order.

The Chair also is empowered to order the removal of individuals who continue  to speak after being ruled out of order, according to the revised rules.

Elected officials and staff members are not required to immediately answer questions from speakers. Instead, elected officials and employees can answer questions later, or the questions may be referred to committee for review.

The new rules also describe parameters under which members of the public can record board proceedings. The rules basically require that recording equipment be unobtrusive, prohibits placing microphones within the area designated for board members, restricts persons recording proceedings to remain in an area designated for spectators.

FEDERAL SCHOLARSHIP TAX CREDITS

The board unanimously approved a resolution urging the governor and General Assembly to opt into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program. Under the program, taxpayers can receive tax credit for up to $1,700 donated to recognized scholarship grant organizations. The program is targeted at low income and disadvantaged students and encourages funding for educational services such as tutoring, supplemental instruction, instructional materials, college admission exam fees and other resources. The resources will be available to both public and private school students in Illinois if the state opts into the program.

Advertisement

Illinois taxpayers can receive tax credits for donations to scholarship funds regardless of whether or not the state opts into the program. However, without the state’s participation, benefits from the program will go to students in other states that have chosen to opt into the program.

Illinois reportedly is among a handful of states that have not opted to participate in the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program.

EXECUTIVE SESSION MINUTES RELEASED

The boat voted unanimously to release minutes from the executive sessions held by the full board on May 13, June 10, Oct. 14 and Nov. 13, along with Economic Development Committee executive sessions held on  April 29, May 27, June 9 and Dec. 3, the July 1 and Nov. 13 executive sessions held by the Public Safety Committee, and the Oct. 9 executive session for the General Administrative Committee.

The board chose to keep minutes sealed for the board’s executive session on Jan. 14 because discussions related to potential litigation, and the Building and Grounds Committee’s executive on on Sept. 25 because of discussions related to the potential purchase of property.

OTHER ACTION

In other action, the board:

• Voted to destroy audio recordings of board meetings from May 2024 and prior in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

• Gave the Building and Grounds Committee power to act on awarding a contract to replace carpeting in the Circuit Clerk’s office as a result of the ongoing HVAC project.

• Voted to approve a schedule of board meetings and committee meetings for 2026. Meetings are set for 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month, except for December when the board will meet on the first Monday to comply with statutory requirements for board reorganization following the mid-term election.

• Declared two used desks from the County Clerk’s office as surplus property and offered them to other governmental agencies. If no one takes the desks, the Clerk’s office is authorized to destroy the desk since the value of the desks is less than the cost of advertising them for sale.

• Reviewed a letter from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency requiring the county to file an updated Solid Waste Disposal plan within the next four months. County Clerk Duncan said the county is required to file an updated plan every five years. The last update was in 2002 when the West Central Illinois Regional Planning Commission wrote the original plan. • Recognized board member Harry Starr for his work and commitment to completing the Courthouse HVAC upgrade, and Elore and Kyle McLaughlin, and Trevor Caudle for volunteer work at the County Animal Control Shelter.

Comments

comments