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The Marion County Board Tuesday night restored $163,200 in funding to the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.

The money had been collected in a property tax levy specifically for the U of I, but could not be distributed because the expenditure had been eliminated from the county budget as a cost cutting move.

Board Chair Steve Whritenour says because the money would be collected from the dedicated property tax levy, it would have no impact on the county’s budget.   He is also pleased with the creation of a seven-member committee to oversee the U of I programs in the county.

“We will be a lot more in touch with that,” Whritenour said. “Obviously we saw the show of support for the U of I extension program that was here at last month’s county board meeting. A few of the representatives were here again tonight. This is good stuff. This is how we open those lines of communication.”

The committee will include county board members Jack Riley, Brock Waggoner, and Dr. Michael Douglas and four members of the public.  The organizational meeting is expected to take place next month.

Budget Committee Chair Brock Waggoner feels problems in last year’s budget preparation with Bellwether have been resolved and he recommended a contract be entered for the coming year.  The board agreed to do so.  Among the changes is moving up the budget creation timetable so there is plenty of time to complete work on the budget prior to the next fiscal year that begins December 1st.

Waggoner announced the budget committee is asking county officeholders to voluntarily freeze hiring of new full-time employees.  Waggoner says that would help avoid layoffs of newly hired county workers if cuts need to be made in next year’s budget.

County animal control officer Ken Ferguson reminded the board that they still have no place to house dangerous dogs as required by state law.   He pointed to a recent situation in Central City that was fortunately resolved with the owners being located.  The owner of a building the county wanted to buy has decided not to sell, leaving the county with no current options for a location to begin its own animal control facility.  Healthy dogs picked up running at large are still being taken to the Barking Lot in Centralia.   Community Relations Chair Tracy Murray emphasized the importance of spaying and neutering dogs and getting them chipped.

The board was told Pre-Trial Services would be moving out of the basement of the public service building for larger quarters in the downtown area as of the end of July.   The coroner will be allowed to use part of the space to provide a separate office for his secretary.

Building Committee Chair Deborah Reed reported complaints being made about no parking being available around the courthouse and employees taking some of the spaces.  She reported the committee would work with the City of Salem for ways to enforce two-hour parking, including the possibility of bringing back tire marking.

The Marion County ESDA was given permission to participate in the state surplus program to be able to obtain no-longer-wanted equipment from various state agencies.

The board will call a special meeting to deal with an ordinance setting fees for the development of solar projects.  Supervisor of Assessments Mark Miller encouraged the board to take action quickly as they are missing out on much-needed revenue.

Board members were pleased with the new blinds that have been installed on the courthouse and public service building windows.   The old blinds had been removed when the new windows had been installed, and were causing bright sunlight issues on computers and the courtrooms.