The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Joy Swearingen, Quill Correspondent
The Hancock County Board wants the decisions on re-opening county businesses to be in the hands of local officials. A resolution seeking that authority passed at the board meeting May 20, but was not as strong as some residents and board members wanted.
The first resolution that came to the board, passed through from the building, grounds and insurance committee, stated the board believes Governor Pritzker has gone too far in limiting what businesses can be open and restricting actions of citizens. It set a plan for county businesses to begin opening on a gradual basis, set in two-week increments. By the end of the third period the county would be completely open.
"The Hancock County Board would declare a return to business under specific guidelines, working in concert with the Hancock County Health Department," explained Patsy Davis, board member supporting the resolution brought to the board.
"I think we owe it to small businesses in Hancock County to step out of the box and approve this resolution," Davis said. "Then if Pritzker comes out with something else extending the sheltering-in-place for another month, we would have this in place."
Attending the meeting via phone connection, Carthage Mayor Jim Nightingale urged the board to consider a different resolution, similar to ones already approved by several county towns and sent to the governor.
"I am going to be disappointed if we have two different resolutions going to the governor," Nightingale said. "I don't want to be anti-business. We have worked very hard for our businesses, but I don't want to jeopardize some of these peoples licenses."
State's Attorney Rachel Mast explained the difference in the resolutions.
"What they (the mayors) have done is pass a resolution "requesting' modifications. Your resolution is modifying the governor's order. So they are very different documents."
She asked if the health department has been asked if they can monitor and give guidance in the plan.
There was concern among some board members about how taking action to open the county might affect receipt of state and federal grants and future funding.
"I think the intent is they hope these resolutions will cause the governor to react to treat this with a regional method along geographic lines, not with the broad brush approach," added County Clerk Kerry Asbridge.
In the end, the board approved an amendment to the proposed resolution, which changed its content to the content of the mayors' resolution. It was approved with "No" votes from Mark Menn, Dennis Castlebury, Patsy Davis and Pat Cramer. Gary Dittmer abstained.
Tax payment dates set
The dates for county property tax payments were set giving residents more time to pay the first installment. The first payment is due Aug. 3, with the second one on Sept. 3.
Tax bills should be mailed to residents by the end of May. Normally the first due date is set 30 days after bills are sent out, however the board felt it was good to give citizens additional time to pay taxes.
"One of the concerns, though, is that, for some taxing districts, their sole source of income is taxes," explained Asbridge. "The treasurer wants to be sure they have enough funds to conduct day to day responsibilities."
Jenny Meeks of Carthage was hired as interim coordinator for the county ambulance service. She will begin immediately working with current coordinator, Terry Griffin, until she retires at the end of June. Meeks will continue until a final decision is made on hiring a new coordinator or agency to manage the ambulance service.
In other business, the board: