The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Bellwether: “The county calls the shots, we just make sure they do it right”
Bellwether LLC will continue to serve as the full-time, contracted Hancock County administrator, following approval of a letter of agreement at the county board’s regular meeting Nov. 18.
As administrator, the Bellwether representative acts as the human resources department for the county, reviews the annual budget and levy, drafts resolutions, and conducts cost studies of services to help set fees, as well as other services.
This is the third year Bellwether has served as the county administrator. Justin Greeley is the operations consultant who works most often with Hancock County.
Greeley stressed that Bellwether does not run the county.
“A lot of people worry that if Bellwether comes in, we will do things our way, that Bellwether makes the calls. We don’t. The board calls the shots, we just help the board accomplish what they want to accomplish,” said Greeley.
Greeley brings the knowledge of working with state statutes and regulations. Of the 102 counties in Illinois, Bellwether has done work in 86 counties.
“We are able to pool experience from other counties.”
They offer full human resources services.
“Any time a department head or county board member has questions, we check to assure that they are doing things the right way, the legal way.”
Greeley reviews information that saves time for the county board and office holders. For example, they recently did a cost study in the county clerk’s office.
“By Illinois statute, that office can’t just set those fees themselves. We come in and do a study of costs associated with each service. We don’t want county departments to be ‘for-profit’. We just want the person using the service to pay for the service. That takes a lot of time.”
Bellwether has assisted with the review of solar power project applications for the special use permits. He reviews the applications to be sure they are compliant with all statutes and assures that all requirements are met.
“Solar project permitting is a two-step process. A different person, Tom Dale, does the building permit reviews. That gives the county checks and balances,” Greeley said.
Before Bellwether became their administrative agency, the county had used them for specific projects, to review budgeting or do cost reviews.
“The good thing about the contract is you get all of our services. That is where the county saves money.
“We have the experience. I am always learning about new statutes. When they have a questions they tell me what they want, and we make it happen.”
The county board renewed the annual contract with Bellwether for $60,000.
Board Chairman Mark Menn stressed that the county has saved money from suggestions made by Bellwether, such as streamlining services, and avoided liability with their knowledge of regulations.
“What we get is well worth what we pay for their services,” Menn said.
FY26 Budget Approved
At the meeting, the board approved the budget for the new fiscal year beginning December 1, and the levy for the 2026 year. The budget is $5,559,094 which covers the county general fund as well as other agencies.
The levy of $6,176,524 is an increase of 1.5 percent over last year’s request. The levy is an “ask” for funds to meet the budget. The county only receives the amount generated by the tax rate applied to the final assessed value of the district property, which is yet to be determined.
Menn thanked Wayne Bollin, finance committee chairman, for his leadership in completing the budget. Board member Steve Lucie urged the board to work toward actually lowering the levy amount from previous years.
To close out the fiscal year on Nov. 30, the board approved paying a list of bills that were received after committees had met. County Clerk Holly Wilde-Tillman was approved to pay any additional bills that arrive before the end of FY25.
The board approved an engineering service agreement with Hutchison Engineering Inc. of Jacksonville for $214,156 to make plans for improvements continuing north on the Connable Road between the Ferris Road to Rt. 96 east of Nauvoo.
Resolutions that allow use of Motor Fuel Tax funds in the county were approved, with $850,000 for maintenance and $300,000 for improvements. Under the Illinois Highway Code, counties must approve these resolutions to be able to use their MFT funds.
As discussed at the October meeting, the board gave final approval to raise the amount that employees pay for insurance from $60 to $80 per month. This is about 8 percent of the total monthly cost of insurance.
The board approved a lease of $700,000 with the Hancock Building Commission for county buildings. The building commission has ownership of the courthouse, jail and sheriff’s office, and ambulance building.
In Other Action
A contract retaining Kurt Dittmer as conflict public defender was approved, with a 30-day termination clause.
An appellate prosecutor resolution was approved for $10,000. This allows for assistance in handling appeals, and help on major cases and conflict of interest cases as needed.
The board learned the State’s Attorney Bobi James has a new assistant, Mariah Wallace, for $67,000 a year. She will work four days a week, mainly with juvenile cases, drug court and traffic calls.
In other action, the board: