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Recorder of Deeds Tells Cook County Board that Talks Have Not Yet Begun Concerning Merger with County Clerk's Office

10/28/2018

Cook County Board Finance Committee - Budget Hearings
Oct. 23, 20018 afternoon session

Cook County Land Bank
Cook County Clerk
Recorder of Deeds

Commissioners Present: Daley, Boykin, Silvestri, Morrison, Goslin, Schneider, Gainer, Moody and Deer.

As the observer for this meeting, I was struck by 2 things. The reports went extremely quickly especially compared to last year. This year no department took over 20 minutes as compared to well over an hour each last year. Also the commissioners asked very few substantive questions. Mostly they had comments and compliments for the heads of each department.

Highlights of each department include:

Cook County Land Bank
Director Rob Rose explained the mission of the land bank is to buy up abandoned and foreclosed properties and resell them to potential owners at reduced prices. The main group of buyers for these properties are homeowners. The main geographic areas of focus are the west and south sides of Chicago and the southern suburbs. When no buyers can be found, the Land Bank is responsible for upkeep of the property including lawn care and snow removal.
Some of their successes include:

They are on track to meet their performance management goal of acquiring 800 properties by the end of this year. Next year they hope to reach 1000. They started in 2014 with only 34 properties.
They have rehabbed over 350 of these properties so far and have sold over 275 of these.
Their budget is completely self-supporting as of last year. This has been achieved through sales and grants.
They have been working with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) on flooding issues. For example, Riverside Lawn, an unincorporated area next to the suburb of Riverside, has serious flooding issues due to the DesPlaines River. The land bank has acquired problem areas and turned these into green spaces that absorb the water overflow. This process included buying out some homeowners whose properties continued to flood, razing the properties, and turning the land into green space.
Their goal next year is to sell over 400 more properties .

Commissioners Gainer and Boykin thanked Mr. Rose for his great work and leadership.

Cook County Clerk:
David Orr explained that his office is not just about elections, though it seems that way at this time of the year. His office handles tax revenue collection from over 1500 separate taxing bodies in Cook County. And if you want to get married in Cook County his office provides the certificate.
During his tenure as Clerk, Mr. Orr cited some successes:

There will be new voting equipment for the next election cycle. He hoped to have it ready this year but one of the losing vendors sued. He said this was a pattern with this company.
His new election website is up 107% in viewers so far this election season.
His budget has not gone up at all in recent years. He is asking for 14 less FTE’s for fiscal 2019.
Online marriage certificate applications are now available. About 1/2 of all new couples have used this application.
Taxing bodies can now use an online system to file their information with the county. About 1/2 are now doing so.
Early voting and mail-in ballots are up. On the first day of early voting (Oct.22) there were already 25,000 votes case in suburban Cook. This is a record for the midterm elections.

Commissioners Daley, Gainer, Boykin, and Morrison thanked him for his years of service and for making the Clerk’s office more efficient and professional.
Commissioner Silvestri thanked him for making a paper back- up ballot mandatory when using the touchscreen.
Commissioner Schneider said that he has defended the Clerk’s performance vehemently over the years whenever the right wing of his party criticized him.
Lots of good luck wishes could be heard as he left the room.

Recorder of Deeds
Karen Yarbrough said that her office always brings in more money than she spends. Since she took over in 2012 her numbers of FTE’s are down 50%. Some of her successes include:

Online filings. These are up 55% so far this year.
She has been running seminars throughout the county. One example is the “Property After Death” seminar that has been well attended.
She will be rolling out a new “blockchain” technology next year. This will include a flat fee schedule for each document instead of a price per page.

Commissioners Boykin and Moody thanked her for her seminars and service. They both complimented her on how professionally the office was run since she took over. Commissioner Boykin also thanked her for saving Fred Hampton’s house in Maywood. This house (the childhood home of the Black Panther leader) was still in the family. The underwater mortgage was something that was unknown to the family after the owner’s death. Ms. Yarbrough worked on getting the mortgage manageable with the help of pro bono legal help.

Commissioner Morrison asked about the merger between her office and the clerk’s office. She said that no talks have begun yet on formulating a plan for the merger. In other counties, she said the county boards have given out plans for such a merger, but she has not received any instructions from this board. But she has plans to get the 2 staff groupings together early next year. David Orr has also promised to help with this process. She has a team in place to instruct her on the workings of the Clerk’s office.

Observer - Jan Goldberg

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Departmental Budget Hearings Underway on $5.9Billion Cook County Budget

10/27/2018

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee - Departmental Budget Hearings
October 22, 2018

Bureau of Finance - Budget Overview
Office of the President
Office of the Independent Inspector General

Commissioners present at least most of the time: Moody, Daley, Schneider, Suffredin, Boykin, Deer, Arroyo, Moore, Fritchey, Gainer.

Overview of the Budget - Ammar Rizki, CFO, and Tanya Anthony, Budget Director:

Budget is at $5.9 Billion and the $81.2 million deficit was closed by “structural changes.” There is a 3% increase in the operating budget with a 32% increase in Cook County Health (CCH) due to increased enrollment in County Care. About $500 million in uncompensated care accounts for much of this increase. CCH receives a $102 million subsidy from the County. A .3% increase in FTE positions is mostly in Health area (CCH)—about 246 employees. CCH anticipates balanced budgets for the next 3 years.
An increase in sales tax revenues is anticipated ($52 million more than 2018) due to the good economy. The prediction is for a mild recession in 2020. Cigarette, Clerk of the Court Office, Treasurer, and Sheriff revenue is down. Supplemental funding toward pensions for County workers in the past few years has saved this liability. The plan is to achieve 100% funding by 2047 if the county stays on track in making more supplemental payments.
Comm. Suffredin asked the Budget Dept. to consider charging municipalities a percentage for collecting their property taxes. This would be a big hit for municipalities. He also mentioned that the property tax levy for the County has stayed the same for many years. He seems to suggest that these two areas are possible revenue sources in the future.
Comm. Boykin noted there are currently 725 vacant positions in the general fund plus the vacancies in CCH. He asked about property tax rebates for poor homeowners and tax holidays. Comm. Schneider asked whether positions vacant for 12 months or more are really needed.
There is a new Policy Road Map which encompasses the following categories:

Criminal Justice
Health
Economic Vitality
Environmental Justice
Public Infrastructure and Assets
Operational Stewardship (efficiency and cost effectiveness)

Comm. Daley several times reminded the other Commissioners to submit questions in writing that are not answered at the meeting. The answers will then be posted on the website.

Office of the President - Lanetta Hayes Turner, Chief of Staff:

This office encompasses only 5% of the County’s budget. FTEs have increased by 24 since last year.
The county has reduced debt by 11% since 2011; and reduced land holdings by sale, lease or demolition.
In technology, the ERP (operations) and BUS (criminal justice) systems are well under way and being used by many departments. This observer could not get exact numbers on this. Key performance indicators are being stressed, so it appears that some form of performance management is being used.
In the area of improved services, the county is formally checking its 5,000 rental units and mentoring minority and women businesses to be able to get county contracts.
Comm. Fritchey questioned the need for new positions in the President’s office and increases in personnel services, Veterans departments.
Animal Control was a topic commented on by several commissioners—high kill rates, surplus budget of $7 million, opening new shelters, and doing more in this office for animals and their owners.

Office of the Independent Inspector General - Pat Blanchard, Independent Inspector General (IIG):

This office has investigated corruption, waste, misconduct, monitoring contracts, etc. The office received 394 complaints and issued 50 reports just this year covering tax evasion, improvements in Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS) billing, political hiring and firing, etc. with many recommendations.
The budget is about $2,200,000 with 16 FTEs. The budget has been cut a lot over the past years.
The cost savings for the County is very high because of this office’s work.
Discussion centered around the possibility of the IIG entering into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) for his services. A draft agreement has been written which would cover 2-3 years as an intergovernmental agreement if approved by the Boards of both entities. Two employees plus hourly charges would be charged to MWRD. Some commissioners looked to this agreement as a template for other municipalities and governments to subcontract IIG services and guidance.
Comm. Suffredin expressed concern about the confidentiality of the IIG reports and has submitted an ordinance penalizing those who leak the confidential information contained in the reports..

Observer - Karin Hribar

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Establishment of Independent Revenue Forecasting Commission Approved by Cook County Board

10/25/2018

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - October 17, 2018
Commissioners Present: All but Commissioners Butler and Goslin

Approved Items of Interest:
The following items referred from Committees of the Board were approved with no discussion:

Justice Advisory Councils’ proposed grants/contracts (Agenda Item 18-5381)
Change in the rules for the Board to take Lunch Breaks from 12:00-12:45 during their meetings (Agenda Item 18-38444)
A proposal to create an Independent Revenue Forecasting Commission (Agenda Item 18-2073)
Establishment of the Complete Count Committee to develop and implement outreach strategy for the 2020 census to ensure the census counts everyone. (Agenda Item 18-6056)

Other Items Approved:

Commissioner Garcia discussed a series of grants for Violence Prevention (Agenda Items 18-6308, 18-5381)
Superintendent of Roads and Highways, John Yonan, requested funding for 24 Items. The items included construction contracts, funding for maintenance, and Intergovernmental Agreements.
Commissioner Silvestri presented a contract with Motorola for maintenance of the interoperable radio system (Agenda Item 18-4951) He also presented a request from the Sheriff for funding to replace aging magnetometers and x-ray machines throughout the county. (Agenda Item 18-6142)
The sheriff also submitted a proposed Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Proviso Township HS Dist. 209 and Forest Park, IL for the Sheriff's office to provide school community liaison officers to Proviso East since the school is located in unincorporated Cook County. The School District will pay the salary of the officer. (Agenda Item 18-6114)

Item of Interest for future meetings:

Comm Boykin introduced a resolution to hold a hearing on the use of county vehicles for personal or political purposes. This is in response to the IIG report dealing with an abandoned county vehicle that was found with campaign materials inside. Referred to Finance Committee. (Agenda Item 18-6495)
On the New Items agenda there was a resolution urging President Donald Trump and the Department of Homeland Security to maintain the current interpretation of the Public Charge Rule and oppose any change that would negatively impact immigrant families. Comm. Garcia described the proposed Trump Administration change as a “most drastic regulation” that would have a direct impact on our country. Comm. Garcia requested that the Board act on this item at this meeting as he wanted to be able to be a sponsor and to vote on it and he may not be able to be at the next meeting since he is running for a different office in the November election.. All present agreed it could be voted on and all commissioners present agreed to be sponsors. It was approved. (Agenda Item 18-6425)

Observer: Beverly Graham Meeting Length: 1 hour and 50 minutes

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Cook County Board Focuses on Economic Issues

10/14/2018

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - September 26, 2018

The Board approved the following resolutions:

18-5634 Amended what was previously an IT security ordinance to broaden it to include consolidation such as shared services and platforms as well as standardization. Includes but is not mandated for all the offices of County elected officials.
18-5013 Created a bulk user fee at the CC Board of Review - $1,000 per user per annum effective immediately.
Amended 16-6437 Ordinance to create a Board of Review and Administration Fund to be used to offset the costs incurred to perform the additional duties required to fairly and impartially review the assessments of all property within Cook County.
18-5810 Passed a wheel tax amendment to include a stickerless option for the 2019-20 license year. The tax will be pro-rated for new residents and seniors are exempt for an unlimited number of vehicles.
Approved a planning grant from the city of Chicago to fund a County transit plan.
Approved the appointment of Dr. Heather Prendergast to the Hospital System’s independent board and the reappointments of Ada Mary Guggenheim and David E. Muner to the board.

Deferred Items:

18-2073 A proposal sponsored by Commissioners Garcia, Boykin, Goslin, and Suffredin to establish a Consensus Revenue Forecasting Commission for CC was again deferred after the board approved some substitute language. If approved it calls for the Commission to develop a consensus revenue forecast on an annual basis to be updated quarterly. Referred to Finance Committee.
18-4879 A proposal to the municipal bond ordinance for an increase in its revolving line of credit in the amount of $50 million to finance capital projects. Referred to Finance Committee.
18-6145 Resolution supporting the development of worker cooperatives in Cook County to help create and maintain sustainable and dignified jobs. Referred to Business and Economic Development Committee.
18-6056 Resolution to establish the Cook County complete count committee to develop and implement an outreach strategy for the 2020 census. Referred to Bus & Econ. Dev.
18-3844 Resolution calling for the County Board to break for lunch from 12:00 noon to 12:45 pm on days of the meeting of the Board of Commissioners, committees, and sub-committees. Referred to the Rules and Adm. Committee.
18-6109 Resolution changing the age requirement from 18 to 21 to buy Tobacco products in Cook County. Referred to Leg. & Intergov. Committee.
18-6115 Resolution opposing the current US EPA and Illinois EPA’s approval of the Stergenics Company’s operation in Willowbrook, IL. [to protect Suburban Cook County residents from toxic air pollution] Referred to Legislation & Intergovernmental Retlations Committee.

Observer: Diane Edmundson

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Recorder of Deeds Tells Cook County Board that Talks Have Not Yet Begun Concerning Merger with County Clerk's Office

Departmental Budget Hearings Underway on $5.9Billion Cook County Budget

Establishment of Independent Revenue Forecasting Commission Approved by Cook County Board

Cook County Board Focuses on Economic Issues

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