County Board approves new rabies tag fees
<span>CHESTER -- In its first meeting of 2015 on Friday, the Randolph County Board of Commissioners approved new rabies tag fees and set the amounts for both cell phone reimbursement and mileage rates.</span>
<span>Rabies tag fees will increase $3 to $6 for a one-year tag for neutered/spayed dogs, while a three-year tag will increase by $4 to $12. A one-year tag for non-neutered/spayed dogs will now cost $8, up from $5, while a three-year tag for non-neutered/spayed dogs will cost $18.</span>
<span>The commissioners also debated the mileage rate for county employees for 2015, with the 2014 rate at 56 cents per mile and the Internal Revenue Service rate at 57 cents per mile.</span>
<span>"Randolph County, in the past, has veered toward the IRS rate," said Commissioner David Holder. "It's not what we're required to pay, but I anticipate the IRS will change it in six months anyway."</span>
<span>The rate reimburses employees only when they travel for official business. Holder proposed dropping the rate to 50 cents based on the decline in gasoline prices, which are at their lowest level since 2009, according to AAA.</span>
<span>As of Friday, the lowest price for regular unleaded was $1.66 a gallon at a Circle K in Rantoul, according to IllinoisGasPrices.com.</span>
<span>The drop to 50 cents was approved unanimously by the commissioners.</span>
<span>"We can reset these rates every six months," Holder said. "We can come back in six months and change it."</span>
<span>The commissioners then discussed cell phone bill reimbursement, which had been set at $70 for all employees who were not given cell phones as part of their employment.</span>
<span>"I think it is fair to reimburse employees who use their cell phone for business and the question is how much?" Holder asked.</span>
<span>Randolph County Clerk Pat Laramore proposed reimbursing sheriff's deputies $70 and a lesser amount for courthouse employees.</span>
<span>"I know our office is the bulk of that," said Randolph County Sheriff Shannon Wolff. "If it wasn't for having phones in (the deputies') cars, we would be paying gas money for them to go find phones to talk to people."</span>
<span>Wolff said he would have to see what his deputies' bills are before recommending a rate drop. The commissioners briefly discussed tabling the issue until coming to a decision on giving sheriff's deputies the $70 reimbursement and dropping general employees to $50.</span>
<span>The last action item for the commissioners was an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Steeleville in regards to purchasing updated photographs from a recent flyover of the city.</span>
<span>Steeleville will pay $1 per parcel for photos of 1,776 parcels with the agreement that the city will not resell them.</span>
<span>"Steeleville requested files on flyover information regarding city maps," said Sue Stefani, chief deputy of county zoning.</span>
<span>The agreement was approved unanimously by the commissioners.</span>
<span>General assistance for the period was a total of $1,600. There were no administrative costs. The Randolph County Care Center reported 61 residents for the period.</span>
<span>Holder said that the county will contract with the Service Center to maintain general assistance for the next three years.</span>
<span>"Cindy Jones resigned (from the courthouse) and went to work for the Human Service Center," Holder said.</span>
<span>Jones' current appointment as the county's general assistance administrator will not expire until December of this year.</span>
<span>"We had budgeted $1,500 to the Human Service Center that was billed quarterly," Holder said.</span>
<span>The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners is scheduled for Jan. 16 at 9 a.m. at the Randolph County Courthouse.</span>
Highway Department:
<span>Randolph County Engineer Mike Riebeling told the commissioners he would be bringing bids for a new tandem dump truck to the board's Jan. 16 session. The bid process begins today for the vehicle.</span>
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