Community News
Financial issues top discussion at County Board meeting
A month after approving an austere budget for fiscal 2026, the focus remained on government finances during the Macoupin County Board’s regular monthly meeting Tuesday night.
In addition to discussing county finances, the Board voted 14-4 to approve a controversial wage increase for Supervisor of Assessments John Bresnan, and renewed a health insurance policy for county employees with a premium increase of about 10 percent.
Eleanor Harms, a Carlinville resident and organizer of an informal group called Together, addressed the board, asking that the board consider tapping into surplus funds to ensure county departments are adequately staffed and county employees are adequately compensated. The board unanimously approved an exceedingly tight $10.3 General Fund budget that is projected to end the year with a meager $14,660 surplus. Meanwhile, the county government holds $6.8 million in surplus General Funds and $1.35 million in Budget Stabilization funds.
Harms said she and others in the community are concerned about the impact of the austere 2025-26 budget may have on services and county employees.
“Departments are visibly under strain, union contracts have been expired for well over a year, the office of the State’s Attorney has been understaffed for years, and while the Sheriff’s Department is fully staffed, the deputies are strained in these trying times,” Harms said, reading from a prepared statement.
The budget approved by the board, she said, “does little more than maintain the status quo, with no cushion for new initiatives or unexpected costs.”
The financial situation has many employees working extended hours under pressure, according to Harms. “It risks burnout, diminished morale, and delays in criticial services,” she said.
Harms said the board’s failure to resolve long-expired union contracts is unfair to workers, as well as hampering recruitment and retention. Competitive wages, she said, will help retain current workers and attract new talent.
While commending the financial prudence displayed in the new budget, she urged the board to consider using surplus funds to bolster the budget to ensure employees are fairly paid and critcal services remain available to the public.
“If your house is falling down, you can’t just say fixing it isn’t in your budget,” she said. “You use some of your savings to fix the problem.”
Later in the meeting, County Clerk Pete Duncan defended the fiscal 2026 budget he presented to the board and the board accepted last month. As of Tuesday, Duncan said, the county had about $8.6 million in the General Fund. A total of $1.25 million of that amount is committed to an ongoing HVAC project at the Courthouse and another $1.19 million is invested in certificates of deposit, leaving only about $6.2 million of truly unrestricted funds.
Despite the current $8.6 million balance, Duncan said, “the County’s fiscal position is far more limited. Once commitments, prudent reserves, and projected deficits are considered, the truly available funds are modest — and shrinking.”
The county’s auditors recommend keeping six months of operating funds in the General Fund, Duncan reported. For the current fiscal year, that target is $5.17 million. Accounting for the $5.17 million reserve leaves only $1 million in unrestricted funds. Coupled with the $1.35 million Budget Stabilization money, the county’s truly unrestricted fund balance totals no more than $2.35 million.
Over the next five years, Duncan is projecting extremely small increases in revenue while expenses continue to exponentially grow. Revenue from property tax collections may grow a modest two percent per year while money from intergovernmental sources may grow by only one percent. He projects personnel costs to grow by three percent annually, while other operational expenses remain flat.
“Three percent is extremely conservative,” Duncan said. The most recently negotiated union contract called for a four percent increase in wages, and health insurance coverage will go up by more than 10 percent this year.
He said the county is inordinately dependent on funding from state sources, and those funds can fluctuate wildly. A few years ago, the county received $700,000 a year in personal property replacement tax distributions. After the Department of Revenue determined it made a “mistake” in the formula, that payment dropped to $250,000.
“At any given time, the state can make adjustments, and we are very reliant on state funding,” Duncan said.
Starting in fiscal 2027, the General Fund budget deficit will reach a projected total of $118,000. By fiscal 2031, expenditures are expected to outpace revenue by about $713,000. At that rate, Duncan said, the Budget Stabilization Fund will be depleted, leaving a balance of only $5.4 million in unrestricted funds against a budget of $11.6 million.
Duncan said the board was able to balance the budget for the past two years by rejecting significant amounts of budget requests from various county departments. Last year, the board denied $339,109 in budget requests and $289,311 this year. Had those additional expenditures been included, the County would have entered fiscal 2026 with a deficit budget rather than a small surplus, and the unrestricted balance would fall to about $4.8 million against a General Fund budget of $12.2 million, “leaving the County with significantly less flexibility to absorb future shortfalls.”
Duncan commended the board for approving budgets that have allowed the county to build up a reserve.
“I’ve been through years when there were across the board budget cuts,” Duncan said. “I don’t want to go through that again.”
SUPERVISOR OF ASSESSMENTS SALARY
Board members voted 14-4 to approve a 5.9 percent increase in the $73,404 salary of John Bresnan, Supervisor of Assessments. Bresnan had originally requested a raise of 13.6 percent last month, and the board approved the fiscal 2026 budget conditioned upon resolving the Supervisor of Assessments salary issue the following month.
Bresnan said he had foregone raises in past years and now asked for an increase that would bring his pay in line with his professional peers in elected offices.
The Finance Committee’s recommendation to raise Bresnan’s salary by 5.9 percent was met with opposition from some board members. Molly Rosentreter sharply questioned Finance Committee Chair Jon Payne.
“He said he has not been getting raises but that’s not true, is it?” she asked.
Later, Todd Armour said Bresnan had received the same incremental increases given to lower level employees, but had foregone increases for longevity which would have brought his salary in line with other county executive officers.
Kristi Dunnagan’s motion to approve a four percent raise in opposition to the Finance Committee’s recommendation failed with a vote of 12-6. Ryan Kilduff quickly moved to approve the committee’s recommendation, and that motion passed with a vote of 14-4.
Board Chair Larry Schmidt said the 5.9 percent increase was offered because a six percent increase would have triggered an Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund penalty.
HEALTH INSURANCE
Board members voted unanimously to renew the county’s employee health care policy with Blue Cross-Blue Shield with a premium increase of slightly more than 19 percent. Finance Chair Payne told the board the committee was able to negotiate a 15-month coverage period so the policy’s expiration coincides with the end of the calendar year rather than the fiscal year.
Under the new policy, insurance costs per employee will increase form $946.75 to $1,049.35. The county covers 90 percent of the cost for employees. In addition to the remaining 10 percent, employees are responsible for the total cost of adding spouses and/or children to their policy.
Payne said the committee has switched to Dowland Financial, Carlinville, as the county’s insurance agent for the convenience of employees. The agent advised the committee that Blue Cross-Blue Shield is not offering new policies with prescription coverage but the county was grandfathered to retain that coverage for employees.
“If we left the prescription plan, we wouldn’t be able to get it back,” Payne said.
We more than 190 workers in the Courthouse, Highway Department and Department of Public Health eligible for health care coverage, last year’s expenditures for health care coverage was nearly $2.2 million.
BRIDGE ENGINEERING AGREEMENT
On the recommendation of the Road and Bridge Committee and County Engineer Tom Reinhardt, the board voted to enter into a contract with Cummings Engineering Corp., Springfield, to design a replacement 1,100-foot bridge to carry Carlinville Cut-Off Road over the east fork of Otter Creek. Total cost of the contract is $162,934.
The Illinois Department of Transportation plans to build the bridge in 2029.
“It’s basically free money,” Reinhardt told the board.
In separate actions, the board approved two 50/50 project petitions.
The county will cover half of the $11,000 cost to replace a 66-inch, 50-foot, culvert on Pike Lane in Dorchester Township, and the $9,500 cost to replace as 60-inch, 46-foot culvert on Hettick Road in Western Mound Township.
MASS TRANSPORT GRANT
The board took action to approve three separate documents related to the county’s eligibility for a $156,169 in federal matching funds administered the Illinois Department of Transportation to help fund the Macoupin County Mass Transportation Program. Specifically, the documents authorize the county to apply for the grant, agree to the terms of the grant, and certify that no one lobbied any public officials to secure the grant award.
COURTHOUSE CLOSURE
State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison informed the board that the courthouse will be closed at 2:15 p.m., Monday, Sept. 22, for a planned power outage. Ameren is expected to cut the power at 2:30 in order to connect the building’s main power supply to an emergency generator.
Garrison said the Courthouse will close at 2:15 to give members of the public time to finish their business and leave the building. Closing the building is necessary because security systems and elevators will be inoperable during the outage.
No action was required on the part of the board, Garrison said. The Sheriff’s Office and Presiding Circuit Judge will issue administrative orders to authorize the closure.
CARPET AND LIGHTS
The board gave the Building and Grounds Committee power to act on securing and accepting a bid to replace carpeting in the Traffic and Criminal Division of the Circuit Clerk’s Office. Committee Chair Harry Starr said the carpeting is starting to form ridges that pose a tripping hazard.
Starr also advised the board that ceiling tiles and supporting grids were removed on the ground floor of the Courthouse for the ongoing HVAC project. The committee originally planned to tackle new lighting at a later date, but an electrician advised it would be more cost effective to do it while the tiles are down.
The estimated cost to install LED lighting on the ground floor is $7,215, or $16,520 for the entire building.
Starr said Ameren may have grant money available or incentives to help defray the cost.
BUNKER HILL APPOINTMENT
In other action, the board approved appointment of Mark Vaughn to the Bunker Hill Fire Protection District Board to complete the unexpired term of Jacob Schwegel, ending April 30, 2026.
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FELONIES
Christopher L. Black, 43 of Virden, is charged with home invasion/causing injury and two counts of aggravated battery of a peace officer in connection with a January 4 incident.
Casey W. Sobberi, 40 of Wilsonville, is charged with burglary in connection with a January 3 incident.
Eugene Arnold, 62 of Royal Lakes, is charged with aggravated battery/great bodily harm, aggravated battery/use of a deadly weapon, and domestic battery/bodily harm in connection with a January 6 incident.
Michael A. Upton, 34 of Palmyra, is charged with twelve counts of child pornography and possession of methamphetamine (5 grams) in connection with multiple dates in 2025.
Bryer D. Greff, 31 of Virden, is charged with aggravated battery/public place, resisting a peace officer/firefighter/corrections employee, and two counts of disorderly conduct in connection with a January 7 incident.
Shayne W. Dugger, 26 of Palmyra, is charged with possession of methamphetamine (<5 grams) in connection with a September 28 incident.
Sarah L. Winston, 36 of Carlinville, is charged with possession of methamphetamine (<5 grams) in connection with a November 4 incident.
TRAFFIC
Austin D. Courier, 30 of Vriden, is charged with driving on a suspended license in connection with a December 30 incident.
Courtney N. Lomelino, 23 of Virden, is charged with speeding 26-34 mph over the limit in connection with a December 25 incident.
William R. Dyer, 55 of Carlinville, is charged with leaving the scene, driver failing to give notice of a crash, transporting/carrying alcohol/driver, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, improper traffic lane usage, seat belt required/driver, and failure to reduce speed in connection with a January 4 incident.
Billy R. Austin, 44 of Modesto, is charged with expired registration, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and being unlicensed in connection with a January 4 incident.
Richard W. Wallis, 63 of Nilwood, is charged with driving on a suspended license in connection with a January 5 incident.
Stephanie E. Jennings, 34 of Girard, is charged with canceled/revoked/suspended registration in connection with a January 6 incident.
Bruce A. Day, 60 of Carlinville, is charged with driving on a revoked license and operating an uninsured motor vehicle in connection with a January 5 incident.
Clayton R. Sampson, 19 of Palmyra, is charged with speeding 26-34 mph over the limit in connection with a January 6 incident.
Dakota R. Lavely, 20 of Troy, is charged with speeding 26-34 mph over the limit and operating an uninsured motor vehicle in connection with a January 5 incident.
Wayne E. Mitchell, 46 of Brighton, is charged with driving on a revoked license, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and expired registration in connection with a December 30 incident.
Monty M. Gardner, 55 of Brighton, is charged with driving on a suspended license and operating an uninsured motor vehicle in connection with a January 2 incident.
DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE FILED
- Catherine Harrison versus David Breen
- Margaret Putman versus Justin S. Putman
- Taunia R. Moore versus Blake A. Moore
MARRIAGE LICENSES
- Wade Logan Yates of Brighton and Anna Catherine Marcy of Riverton.
- Douglas Guennewig and Buffy Riddens, both of Staunton.
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 2026
An officer was dispatched to the 300 block of South 4th Street in Benld in reference to a domestic dispute.
An officer was dispatched to the 300 block of Charles Street in reference to a 911 call.
An officer was dispatched to South Hard Road in Benld in reference to an animal complaint.
An officer was dispatched to the 700 block of East Walnut Street in reference to a 911 call.
An officer was spoke with a male at the Gillespie Police Department in reference to harassment.
MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2026
An officer spoke with a female at the Gillespie Police Department in reference to neighbor trouble.
Jiles R. Lyons, 36 of Benld, was arrested on a Macoupin County warrant for failure to appear for possession of another’s credit/debit card.
An officer spoke with a male at the Gillespie Police Department in reference to an animal complaint in the 600 block of North 7th Street in Benld.
An officer was dispatched to the 200 block of East Burton Street in reference to an animal complaint.
An officer was dispatched to Osie Street and Handy Street in reference to a security check.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2026
An officer was dispatched to the 300 block of South Hard Road in Benld in reference to juvenile issues.
An officer was dispatched to the 400 block of West Burton Street in reference to a 911 call.
An officer spoke with a male at the Gillespie Police Department in reference to harassment.
An officer was dispatched to the 300 block of West Walnut Street in reference to a neighborhood dispute.
An officer was dispatched to the 300 block of North Francis Street in reference to a 911 call.
An officer was dispatched to the 300 block of East Elm Street in reference to an animal complaint.
An officer was dispatched to Macoupin Street and Walnut Street in reference to suspicious activity.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2026
An officer was dispatched to the 100 block of South 5th Street in Benld in reference to a burglary.
An officer initiated a traffic stop at Springfield Road and Virginia Street in East Gillespie. Debra A. Brooks, 65 of Carlinville, was issued a citation for speeding.
An officer was dispatched to the 700 block of Adams Street in reference to ordinance issues.
An officer was dispatched to the 400 block of South Illinois Street in Benld in reference to criminal trespass to property.
An officer initiated a traffic stop at Macoupin Street and Osie Street. Kylee P. Cothern, 18 of Benld, was issued a citation for expired registration and operating uninsured vehicle.
An officer was dispatched to the 200 block of Springfield Road in East Gillespie in reference to a hit and run traffic crash.
An officer initiated a traffic stop at Springfield Road and Virginia Street in East Gillespie. Tiana F. McFarland, 28 of Staunton, was issued a citation for speeding.
An officer initiated a traffic stop at Springfield Road and Virginia Street in East Gillespie. Debra A. Brooks, 65 of Carlinville, was issued a citation for speeding.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026
The School Resource Officer was dispatched to the High School office in reference to a fight.
An officer initiated a traffic stop at Springfield Road and Illinois Street in East Gillespie. Darlene Karns, 70 of Gillespie, was issued a citation for speeding.
An officer initiated a traffic stop at 7th Street and Pine Street in Benld. Dylan S. Richards, 32 of Staunton, was issued a citation for suspended registration.
An officer was dispatched to the 400 block of South Illinois Street in Benld in reference to a security check.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2026
An officer was dispatched to the 300 block of Park Avenue in reference to criminal trespass.
An officer was dispatched to the 200 block of West Spruce Street in reference to criminal damage.
An officer was dispatched to the 200 block of South Montgomery Street in reference to a 911 call.
An officer spoke with a female at the Gillespie Police Department in reference to a theft in the 500 block of South Jersey Street.
An officer spoke with a male at the Gillespie Police Department in reference to an animal complaint in the 200 block of West Maple Street.
The School Resource Officer was dispatched to the 300 block of East Oak Street in reference to a juvenile issue.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2026
An officer was dispatched to the 100 block of Frey Street in reference to criminal damage.
An officer initiated a traffic stop at Macoupin Street and Pine Street. Racheal A. Aleshire, 47 of Gillespie, was issued a citation for driving while her license was revoked.
An officer initiated a traffic stop at Hard Road and Central Avenue in Benld. Amber R. Brackett, 31 of Gillespie, was issued citations for suspended registration and for no insurance.
An officer was dispatched to the 700 block of Springfield Road in East Gillespie in reference to a well-being check.
An officer was dispatched to the 300 block of East Elm Street in reference to an animal complaint.
An officer was dispatched to the 100 block of North Macoupin Street in reference to an intoxicated pedestrian.
An officer was dispatched to the 500 block of West Virginia Street in East Gillespie in reference to stalking.
All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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FELONIES
Micah J. Ramsey, 39 of Carlinville, is charged with aiding/abetting/selling a stolen vehicle and driving on a revoked license in connection with a December 27 incident.
Shawn M. McBride, 38 of Staunton, is charged with obstructing justice/destroying evidence in connection with a December 18 incident.
Riley G. Rhodes, 18 of Carlinville, is charged with possession/displaying an altered ID card in connection with a December 18 incident.
Shane S. Bell, 35 of Girard, is charged with possession of methamphetamine (<5 grams) in connection with a November 6 incident.
MISDEMEANORS
Ted. E. Hanner, 50 of Bunker Hill, is charged with obstructing identification in connection with a December 3 incident.
Brittany M. Lyons, 35 of Benld, is charged with criminal trespass to a building in connection with a December 19 incident.
Betty J. Jamieson, 75 of Carlinville, is charged with violating the animal control act in connection with a December 29 incident.
James J. Denby, 27 of Carlinville, is charged with criminal trespass to land in connection with a December 8 incident.
Tricia J. Pfeiler, 37 of Carlinville, is charged with battery/cause bodily harm and cruelty to animals in connection with a January 1 incident.
Rodney J. Rosentreter, 60 of Gillespie, is charged with criminal damage to property (<$500) and resisting a peace officer/firefighter/corrections employee in connection with a January 1 incident.
TRAFFIC
Rustin L. Reed, 19 of Springfield, is charged with speeding 26-34 mph over the limit in connection with a December 27 incident.
Passion M. Kinzey, 33 of Chicago, is charged with canceled/revoked/suspended registration in connection with a December 27 incident.
Ella R. Robinson, 20 of Bonne Terre, MO, is charged with speeding 35 mph over the limit in connection with a December 30 incident.
Julie B. Kruse, 55 of Staunton, is charged with driving on a suspended license and operating an uninsured motor vehicle in connection with a December 18 incident.
Gregory A. Knezic, 60 of Staunton, is charged with driving on a suspended license and improper use of registration/title in connection with a December 23 incident.
Dixie L. Moffitt, 73 of Worden, is charged with canceled/revoked/suspended registration in connection with a December 22 incident.
Dakota L. Schoondyke, 28 of Virden, is charged with driving on a suspended license and operating a motor vehicle with suspended registration in connection with a December 26 incident.
DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE FILED
- Debra E. Seago versus Carl L. Seago Jr.
MARRIAGE LICENSES
- David L. Ehlers and Shirley Marie Lee Haines, both of Bunker Hill.
- Steven D. Clattenburg and Billie Jo Croll, both of Virden.
- Robert J. Halpin and Chelsea L. Kirkover, both of Gillespie.
