Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS May 22, 2014 Volume 47, Number 12 - $1.00
State Bound
Ranger
Fourth Place
The Lady Hawks will be well represented at the state track meet this weekend. B1
Read about tourism activities throughout Ogle County. Inside
The OHS band and choir finished fourth in the IHSA Class B music competition. A9
Sullivan’s Foods will build new $3 million store By Vinde Wells Editor
store. Village Clerk Paula Diehl said Tuesday afternoon Mt. Morris will be getting a that Scott Sullivan, owner brand new expanded grocery of Sullivan’s Foods, has
decided to go ahead with proposed plans to build a new $3 million store at his current location on Ill. 64 in the village.
Sullivan approached the village with a plan to build the new store early this year, and asked for several incentives, including forming a tax
increment financing (TIF) district in the area where the store is located, real estate tax abatements, sales tax rebates, and waivers of water and sewer fees.
Village officials have been negotiating with Sullivan for the last few months. Diehl said the matter will be discussed at the May 27 village board meeting.
Decision was unanimous
as the sheriff’s credit card expenditures. However, board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron, said the matter could not be voted on then because it was not on the agenda. Petrizzo’s subsequent efforts to have the matter placed on the agenda were unsuccessful. In February, the board diminished the sheriff’s control over the Tow Fund by limiting how it could be spent and requiring the approval of expenditures by the county committee that oversees the sheriff’s budget. Gouker called for a forensic examination of the Tow Fund at the April 15 meeting. At that same meeting, the county board approved a resolution establishing the Tow Fund. Gouker said that although the board approved implementing administrative tow fees in 2011, the ordinance governing that did not actually establish the Tow Fund. The new resolution mandated that Tow Fund deposits are limited to only administrative fees collected when a vehicle is towed, impounded, or seized during a criminal investigation. It further requires that the Tow Fee will be handled by the Ogle County Treasurer’s office, rather than the sheriff, as in the past.
Forensic audit was authorized
175th Anniversary
By Vinde Wells Editor
Jeff and April Bold portray Robert R. and Sallie Hitt Sunday for a worship service at Disciples United Methodist Church commemorating the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Rock River Seminary by Methodists. The seminary was later purchased by the Church of the Brethren and became Mt. Morris College. The covered wagon pictured was provided by Bill Davis. Photo by Vinde Wells
County officials receive pay raises By Vinde Wells Editor Four elected officials in Ogle County will see hefty increases in their paychecks over the next four years. The county board approved raises Tuesday for the clerk, treasurer, circuit clerk, and sheriff by a 20-3 margin. Casting the no votes were board members Skip Kenney, Rochelle, Pat Suanders, Polo, and Pat Nordman, Oregon. Bruce McKinney, Rochelle, did not attend the meeting. The salaries for the clerk, treasurer, and circuit clerk will increase from the current $68,500 per year to $75,000 in 2015, then to $76,500 in 2016, $78,412 for 2017, and $80,765 for 2018. The sheriff’s pay will increase from the present $81,500 to $82,500 next year, $84,150 in 2016, $86,254 in
2017, and $86,842 in 2018. Board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron, said the raises should be looked at as adjustments to make up for recent years when those officials received no raises. “You will notice that in the base salary [$75,000] there is a significant adjustment,â€? he said. “That is because in the previous four years they got increases of only $1,000 for one year. The other three years were frozen.â€? Saunders voiced concern about how the county will pay for the raises. “My question is where will the money come from?â€? she said. “Most of our budget is for salaries‌If we have to make cuts to do this, are you willing to lay people off?â€? Saunders said the county’s tax base is “stagnant,â€? no agreement has been reached with Exelon for the assessed
value of the Byron Generating Station, and the county is currently in union contract negotiations with sheriff’s department employees. She said the proposed increase is 17 percent over the four years. “I agree with raises,� she said and proposed her own wage increase plan. Under her plan, the clerk, treasurer, and circuit clerk would get an additional $1,500 each next year, $1,000 in 2016, $1,000 in 2017, and $500 in 2018. The sheriff would receive an additional $1,000 in each of the first two years. Kenney said he supported Saunders’ plan. Nordman also voiced concern over where the money will come from. Rich Gronewold, Forreston, said he had no problem with the increase to $75,000
but questioned subsequent increases. He cited high unemployment in the area he represents and said 47 percent of the students in the Forrestville Valley School District qualify for free lunches. “My constituents are hurting,� Gronewold said. Board member Marcia Heuer, Oregon, said she wants to be sure the county’s tax revenues will be sufficient. Saunders asked Gouker if he had a plan to pay for the raises. Gouker said the county’s tax base has increased somewhat and sales tax and state income tax revenues have stabilized. “I believe out budget will be able to sustain this,� he said. By state statute, salaries for elected officials are set once every four years. The raises will take effect on Dec. 1.
American Legion Post 143 will host the annual Memorial Day Program on Monday, May 26, at the Mt. Morris Campus Band Shell. The campus is located at the corner of Wesley Avenue and Main Street, one block south of Ill. 64. The band shell program
begins at 10 a.m. Silver Star and Purple Heart recipient Doug Wean will be the main speaker. The program includes the reading of “The Gettysburg Address� and “In Flanders Fields� in addition to a vocal soloist. The Mt. Morris Fire
Protection District Color Guard will present the colors, accompanied by a member of the American Legion. The program concludes at 11 a.m. at the American Legion’s Veterans Memorial Fountain, also located on the campus. The names of deceased Mt. Morris veterans will be read
and wreaths will be placed in their honor at the Memorial Fountain. The Mt. Morris American Legion firing squad, the benediction, and taps will close the service. The public is invited to a potluck from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at the Mt. Morris Moose Lodge,.
Memorial Day is at the bandshell
In This Week’s Edition...
Births, A4 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B12 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6
Fines, B6 Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A9
It’s official — the Ogle County Sheriff’s Tow Fund will be getting a full forensic examination. By a unanimous vote Tuesday, the county board approved engaging the forensic services of Sikich LLP, Naperville, to examine Tow Fund expenditures and revenues since it was implemented in 2011 to the present. Sikich is the same firm that does the county’s regular annual audits. The fee for the initial investigation is $7,500 plus out-of-pocket expenses. If fraud is uncovered during the audit, the costs will increase to as much as $300 per hour for the investigators’ services. In their contract with the county, Sikich officials specified that the procedure should be called a forensic “examination,� rather than a forensic “audit.� Sheriff Michael Harn came under fire in the last several months over expenditures from the Tow Fund, which included purchasing a new vehicle, flowers for Secretaries Day, a tent at the county fair, and $4,000 for the department’s Facebook page to be managed. Last January, board member Richard Petrizzo, Davis Junction, made a motion for a forensic examination of the Tow Fund as well
Treasurer John Coffman said the Tow Fund was turned over to his office April 15 when received a check for $51,932.07 from the sheriff’s department.
Tow truck driver offers an apology By Vinde Wells Editor A Polo tow truck owner publicly apologized to Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn Tuesday at the county board meeting for comments made at last month’s meeting. Greg Wagner was one of three tow truck owners who attended the county board meeting April 15 to voice their concern about being taken off the sheriff’s tow rotation list. Wagner said that since that meeting he has been called by the sheriff’s department for tow service after traffic accidents. He said he spoke to Harn, who told him he had no knowledge of Wagner purposely not being called. “I want to apologize to the
Property Transfers, B5 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, A11, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
sheriff and the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department,� Wagner said. Harn did not attend either county board meeting. At the April meeting, tow truck owner Doug Aken, Oregon, spoke for himself, Wagner, and Stan Ubben, Mt. Morris. Aken told the board all three have been on the rotation list for many years but found themselves being called less frequently under Harn’s administration. Then on March 20, Aken said he received a letter from Harn informing him he was no longer on the list. The letter gave no reason. However, Aken said he believes it was because he supported another candidate in the March 18 Republican primary.
Deaths, B4 Richard H. Adams, John L. Brockwell, Rhonda K. Comer, Annabel Cunningham, Lois M. Cunningham, Harriet M. Fletcher, Jeannette H. Joiner, Judie Lamia, Harry R. Noble, Doris J. Sandvik
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