Shelby Co, IL. (ECWd) –
The Shelby County Board held their regular board meeting Thursday night of last week which is the first time in years their meetings were held in the evening rather than the early morning when most people can not attend due to work obligations.
The meeting was for the most part uneventful compared to past meetings with a few exceptions.
Board member Earl Baker asked for an update on the illegal gun sales from the Sheriff’s office, use of the public property for private business (Shelby Engineering). Trustee Sifler demanded an invoice be sent to the former Chairman of the County Board, Bruce Cannon, seeking the return of funds for meeting claims he turned in that were not authorized for compensation. And probably the most encouraging item, the States Attorney pointing out to the Board the legal opinion of the Attorney General outlining that it was not legal to rent out farm ground, something we have been telling the board since February of last year.
The State’s Attorney confirmed there are numerous criminal investigations taking place regarding some of the above-mentioned matters and also stated she has asked for an opinion from the Attorney General regarding the leasing of farm ground and who is to pay the taxes. We have written extensively on the leasing of public property and who pays those taxes and look forward to reading any update to the AG’s prior opinion on the matter.
During a past meeting, now former board member Levonne Cheney had sought to have the Treasure removed for not paying certain bills and was put in her place by the County Clerk who advised: “Erica had nothing to do with not paying the farm taxes. The bill was never presented to the board as I have been asking Gina and the farm committee since March about paying these and never got an answer until these taxes were well past due.”
Considering it took the new State’s attorney only a month to seek advice from the Attorney General on a matter that the former State’s Attorney failed to even look into for 10 months, we are encouraged the county is getting on the right track on behalf of the taxpayers who elected them.
The video of the meeting can be viewed below.
1 Comment
PK
Posted at 21:29h, 19 JanuaryEven without the complimentary name tents, the difference is night and day!
Huge plus on the agenda’s provision for public comment near the beginning AND near the end of the meeting. Also great to hear someone thanking the board during public comment.