Du Page County Finance Committee met June 16.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
1. CALL TO ORDER
8:00 AM meeting was called to order by Chair Robert L. Larsen at 8:00 AM.
2. ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Chaplin (Remote), Covert (Remote), DeSart (Remote), DiCianni (Remote), Eckhoff (Remote), Elliott (Remote), Hart (Remote), Healy (Remote 8:25 AM), Krajewski (Remote), Larsen (Remote), Noonan (Remote), Ozog (Remote), Puchalski (Remote), Renehan (Remote), Rutledge (Remote), Selmon (Remote), Tornatore (Remote), Zay (Remote)
ABSENT: Member Zay was having technical difficulties at the point of the roll call, but was able to connect a few minutes later.
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
Conor McCarthy, Assistant State's Attorney, read in the comments from Dr. Darlene Ruscitti, Regional Superintendent of Schools on the repurposing of the space in the 505 building, turning them into court rooms. Currently the Regional Office leases the space for training educators. The lease was to run through November 2021.
Conor McCarthy explained with the signing of bill SB2135 into law on Friday, meetings that do not have a majority of members physically present, will be required to take a roll call vote on all matters.
The bill adds Section 7(e) to the OMA. It permits public bodies to meet remotely (without a majority of the board physically present) where the following conditions are met; (i) The Gov has issued a disaster declaration in the area where the Public Body is located, (ii) the head of the public body determines that because of the disaster an in person meeting is impractical or imprudent, (iii) all members participating remotely are verified, can hear one another and can hear all discussion and testimony, (iv) members of the public can hear the discussion and votes of all members (unless physical attendance is impractical due to disaster, then telephone or weblink must be provided), (v) at least one member of the public body, the chief administrative officer of the public body, or the chief legal counsel of the public body is physically present at the meeting location, (vi) all votes must be conducted by roll call, (vii) a verbatim recording of all meetings must be kept and is subject to FOIA.
4. CHAIRMAN'S REMARKS - CHAIR LARSEN
Chairman Larsen thanked staff. They have been doing an incredible job. They put together the detailed presentation today. They identified the commitments we already have, commitments that we anticipate, issues that are likely to arise, and compiled suggestions from the committee and elected officials. The topic in public comment about reconfiguring the court rooms was only brought up yesterday. We are not voting on anything today. This board should provide policy guidance on where we go from this point forward to the end of the year.
5. CARES ACT DISCUSSION
The committee discussed each section of the presentation. The presentation is attached hereto and made part of the full committee minutes packet.
Current Approved Expenditures & Appropriations from CARES Act Funding
Thus far the board has approved $7 M for the Small Business Relief Fund, $20.5 M for the capital program, and $1,608,753 for emergency expenditures and IT. Basically $29.1M has been accounted for and approved by County Board.
Additional DuPage County COVID Funding Considerations
These requests will have to go through a vetting process to make sure all are COVID eligible.
Sheriff/Jail improvements consisted of many small upgrade projects. The largest expenditures were for laptops and antimicrobial mattresses. Their total was $1,313,225. Mark Boggs from the Sheriff's Office was available for questions.
Health Department requests for ongoing response efforts ($7,350,550), public education and messaging ($2,500,000), COVID-19 testing ($3,444,902), case investigation/contract testing ($955,262), telehealth investment ($351,000), IT software and infrastructure upgrades ($500,000), alternate housing ($1,100,000), and if/when possible mass vaccinations ($350,000). Karen Ayala, Director of the Health Department, described the needs of the Health Department. She noted that these items have not been through the Board of Health for approvals, these are just estimates of needs. Some of these estimates are based on experience with H1N1. The funding request would be $16,551,714
Adam Johnson, the Chief Deputy in the County Clerk's Office outlined for the board his estimates. These estimates are based on mandates to Clerks from SB1863 which are specific to this next election. These include the mailing of vote-by-mail applications to all voters from the last three elections, establishing a countywide Election Day voting center, expanding early voting hours, and maintaining previous statutory requirements while implementing state guidelines for safety and health practices. It is anticipated there will be an increase in vote-by- mail requests. The Clerk's Office projection was for $3.5 M broken down by printing, postage and communication, ($1.5 M) Labor ($750,000), Cleaning and PPE ($500,000), and Equipment and Systems ($750,000). The next election was discussed. The committee had no objections to Clerk's office going beyond what the state is recommending and mail applications to all registered voters for mail-in ballots.
Clerk of the Circuit Court, Chris Kachiroubas, had requests which included IT requirements due to the loss of the Addison Field Court ($75,000), safety improvements ($40,500), and expenses related to noticing of defendants ($75,000).
Information Technology's request was for social distancing and remote work ($2,680,000). For infrastructure, hardware, and software ($2,125,000). Costs specific to departments are for Community Services to cover on-line applications, queue management system, and room monitoring ($95,000). The Care Center to cover costs for iPads, so residents can communicate with relatives/loved ones and software for training and mass emails ($80,000). Human Resources was looking for software for e-recruiting ($305,000 three-year upfront cost). Public Defender and the State's Attorney need Zoom rooms and scanners. ($75,000).
The 18th Judicial Circuit Court needs modifications for jury trial compliance ($3,500,000) and the technology to outfit courtrooms ($2,750,000). Chief Judge Daniel Guerin explained to the committee the difficulties of finding a large enough space to create a court room for jury trials that will still accommodate social distancing, particularly a 12 person jury. State's Attorney Bob Berlin was in agreement. He also explained logistic issues with jury trials for criminal cases. Public Defender Jeff York explained the impact of wearing a mask in terms of judging the credibility of a witness. The backlog of cases was discussed. Dr. Darlene Ruscitti discussed her needs for space. Part of the costs include moving the Regional Office of Education's training space.
Finance Department is recommending funds be retained to reimburse DuPage County for past and future expenses. Care Center COVID-19 Expense Reimbursement Fund could be allotted 1 M, and the DuPage County COVID-19 Expense Reimbursement Fund could be allotted $10 M.
Non-Profit/Residential Support (Community Services) - Mary Keating, Director of Community Services outlined additional federal funds that are being allocated to Community Development Block Grant, Community Services Block Grant, Emergency Solutions Grant, LIHEAP, and Older Americans Act. The total is $10,083,033 with restrictions on how the money is spent, but the expiration of these funds goes beyond the CARES Act date. She outlined some of the needs of the non-profit organizations. She proposed $3 M for rental assistance and $2 M for direct cost reimbursement for things such as IT equipment, PPE, cleaning supplies, and social distancing measures. $1 M would be set aside for food pantry assistance, and $1 M for residential and behavioral health. Funds could be shifted between these categories as needs arise. The committee discussed what these funds would cover and qualifications for these funds to serve those in most need.
Local Government Support - Sheryl Markay, Chief Policy and Program Officer, was looking for board direction for dollar amounts to be provided to various local government units and the process for distributing. A third party administrator was suggested to help oversee the program. She explained the various reimbursements that would be considered. Per capita allotments and reimbursement for commodities were also discussed. David Fieldman, Village Manager of Downers Grove, was available as a representative of the DuPage Mayors and Manager's Conference. He stated they would be happy to submit proof of expenses. The Park Districts were also discussed. The DuPage County Auditor, Bob Grogan, spoke about eligible expenses and how to limit the risks. Chairman Larsen asked for a sense of the committee if they were in support of a per capita availability of reimbursements as submitted, based on an agreement of what those expenses would be, with a hired third party administrator to review the submitted expenses. The board was unanimously in favor of this approach. With regard to Park Districts, they were in favor of reimbursing submitted commodities expenses without taking away money from the municipalities in the amount of $1 M. The committee was also in favor of a $2 M placeholder for expenses the nine Townships might incur. The committee was comfortable with $3 M for the Fire Districts.
Small Business Relief Fund - Greg Bedalov, CEO of Choose DuPage explained that the $7 M amount that was initially approved may be exceeded. He thought that another $3 M might cover the remainder. If the board was interested in changing the criteria for the business's qualifications, and if it is determined there is a need, the total to be set aside would be $17 M.
PPE Stockpile - Nick Kottmeyer is recommending $4.85 M funding level for PPE, noting the difficulty is in finding that amount to purchase. That amount is set aside.
Other County Initiatives - Member DiCianni had a request for a testing site on the east side of the county. A mobile testing unit was another idea.
Contingency - There was around $10 M left from the programs mentioned in the presentation. With the committee agreeing to set aside $1 M for the Park Districts, that number is now $9 M.
A. Meeting Presentation
1. CARES Act Funding Programs & Allocation
6. ADJOURNMENT
A. Motion to adjourn the meeting at 2:21 p.m.
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Tim Elliott, District 4
SECONDER: Julie Renehan, District 3
AYES: Chaplin, DeSart, DiCianni, Eckhoff, Elliott, Healy, Krajewski, Larsen, Ozog, Puchalski, Renehan, Rutledge, Selmon, Tornatore, Zay
ABSENT: Covert, Hart, Noonan
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