[0:04] All right, good evening and welcome. It

[0:06] is 6 pm on uh August 18, 2026. I call

[0:11] the Stalk Township Board of Trustees

[0:13] meeting to order. Uh roll call, please

[0:15] clerk.

[0:17] » Supervisor House

[0:18] » Here. Commissioner Smith present.

[0:20] » Cesar Dyer here.

[0:22] » Trusty Bradlo here.

[0:24] » Trusty Acres here.

[0:25] » Trusty Sha Williams here.

[0:27] » Trusty Thurman here.

[0:30] Okay.

[0:32] All right. Uh, first and foremost, I'd

[0:33] like to say welcome to our newest

[0:35] trustee, Brick, and uh, glad to have you

[0:39] on board then. So, if we could please

[0:41] stand for the pledge, please, and if our

[0:43] newest trust could lead us.

[0:44] » I told you.

[0:47] » All right. Pledge allegiance to the flag

[0:50] of the United States of America and to

[0:53] the republic for which it stands. One

[0:55] nation under God, indivisible, with

[0:59] liberty and justice for all.

[1:02] » That

[1:02] » I told him you were going to throw him

[1:04] under the bottle, so he might want to

[1:05] know how to say it like froze earlier

[1:08] this year.

[1:10] » Okay.

[1:12] Um, next item we have is approval of the

[1:15] agenda. Um, does anyone wish to

[1:20] uh make or can I get a motion to approve

[1:23] the agenda? I'm sorry.

[1:24] » A motion.

[1:26] » I'll second.

[1:29] » Um, anyone wish to make any changes?

[1:33] I apologizes. Um, somehow I forgot to

[1:34] put page numbers on it this time. So, no

[1:37] page numbers. Um, okay. All those in

[1:39] favor of the agenda as presented signify

[1:42] by saying I. Please.

[1:44] » Any oppositions? extensions. Agenda is

[1:47] approved.

[1:49] Next up, we have presentations. And so,

[1:51] familiar faces with us tonight. Angela

[1:53] Meyer, who's CPA with Newark and

[1:55] Associates, who spent some time with us

[1:58] um the last few months doing our annual

[2:00] audit. And so, we all have uh the audit

[2:03] in front of us tonight.

[2:05] » Yes. So, as Mary said, you have the

[2:07] audit in front of you. We're going to

[2:08] start with the letter that we u write to

[2:10] you, the board. So, that's in the back.

[2:12] Um, if you want to pull that out, we'll

[2:14] start with that. So, our professional

[2:16] standards require that at the conclusion

[2:18] of the audit, we communicate certain

[2:20] matters to the board. And this is how we

[2:22] do it by writing you this letter here.

[2:25] Um,

[2:28] so on pages on page two, um, some of the

[2:32] things we're required to communicate

[2:33] with you if if there were any new

[2:35] accounting pronouncements. Um, there

[2:38] were not. Um, we're also required to say

[2:41] if we had any difficulties dealing with

[2:43] management or in completing the audit

[2:45] and I'm pleased to say we did not. Um,

[2:47] was went very smoothly. Um, all the

[2:50] information that we requested was

[2:52] provided. Um, so no no disagreements

[2:55] with management, no difficulties in

[2:57] completing the audit. Um, it went very

[2:59] well this year.

[3:02] Following that are the audit journal

[3:04] entries. Um so the audit journal entries

[3:07] are a variety of entries. Um

[3:12] the financial statements of the township

[3:14] are GAP basis which means they're full

[3:17] acral but in daytoday operations the

[3:21] township does not always record

[3:23] everything on a full acral basis such as

[3:26] deferred inflows and outflows. Those are

[3:28] things that we book as an audit entry um

[3:31] to present gap financial statements. So

[3:34] that's what some of these entries are.

[3:36] Um you'll see that there is reversing

[3:39] prior year payables and then recording

[3:41] this year's payable. Next year will

[3:44] reverse what was booked this year to

[3:46] record the next year. Um so it it looks

[3:48] like a lot of entries, but it doesn't

[3:50] mean anything was done incorrectly. Um

[3:53] it's just a function of the audit to

[3:55] pull the financial information into a

[3:57] full acral um format. Um there are also

[4:01] some reclassification entries. Um

[4:04] sometimes we break things apart into

[4:07] more specific account categories just

[4:09] for presentation purposes. So once

[4:12] again, it doesn't mean anything was done

[4:13] incorrectly. Um it's more of a a

[4:16] reporting entry just to make the

[4:19] financial statements um easier. you

[4:22] know, maybe on our trial balance and how

[4:24] we have things linked and pull through

[4:26] to our statements, it's easier to list

[4:29] them out. Um, so there were no entries

[4:32] that I would say were concerning or that

[4:36] gave me pause like what what's going on

[4:39] out here. Um, I'd say from an accounting

[4:40] standpoint, everything was recorded very

[4:42] well. Bank accounts were reconciled,

[4:44] which is what we like to see.

[4:47] And then after that is a discussion of

[4:51] internal control um

[4:56] significant deficiencies and material

[4:57] weaknesses. So we don't audit internal

[5:00] controls as part of the audit. We're

[5:02] only doing a financial statement audit,

[5:05] but we gain an understanding of what

[5:08] controls are in place over the financial

[5:10] reporting process. And if we notice

[5:13] anything that would be a material

[5:14] weakness or significant deficiency, then

[5:17] we're required to point it out, but it's

[5:19] definitely not all inclusive in that we

[5:22] don't audit the internal controls

[5:24] specifically.

[5:26] Um, so there's really not a significant

[5:28] change from prior years. As I've

[5:30] mentioned in past years, with a smaller

[5:33] governmental entity, it's hard to get

[5:35] away from segregation of duties and

[5:37] preparation of financial statements just

[5:39] because you have a limited staff to work

[5:41] with. Um, so with segregation of duties,

[5:45] you want to segregate custody of assets

[5:48] from recording from reconciliation. And

[5:52] when you only have a couple people in

[5:54] the office, that's a that's really hard

[5:56] to achieve. Um, I will say that

[6:01] you've over the years that we've been

[6:03] doing the audit, you've made great

[6:04] progress in trying to segregate things

[6:06] as much as possible with the staff that

[6:08] you have. Um, so when we have a

[6:13] discussion of saying cash dispersements

[6:15] at the township level aren't fully

[6:18] segregated,

[6:19] it's just Mary and the admin assistant.

[6:22] And so with two people, sometimes it's

[6:24] hard to split those duties up. Um, so

[6:26] that Mary's not doing everything. Um,

[6:29] but she has included a sheet for you

[6:33] guys that she's probably going to talk

[6:35] to you guys about a little bit more in

[6:37] depth that shows how she has tried to

[6:39] segregate the financial um, duties

[6:43] there. and we just pointed out in our

[6:46] letter maybe a few other things or ways

[6:49] that we think she could um maybe

[6:52] consider to help segregate them further,

[6:54] but you've made a lot of good progress

[6:56] in that. Um the other one is preparation

[7:00] of the financial statements. So that's

[7:02] basically saying that you rely on us to

[7:05] make those full acral entries so that

[7:08] you can have full gap financial

[7:10] statements. And so that kind of goes

[7:11] back to staffing without

[7:14] » [laughter]

[7:14] » An accounting professional with a good a

[7:17] deep understanding of financial

[7:18] statement presentation on staff. It's

[7:21] not something you could do on your own

[7:22] or that we expect you to. So, I'd say

[7:24] 90% of our clients all have that comment

[7:28] and it's really not something to be

[7:29] concerned about. It's just letting you

[7:32] know that

[7:34] you don't that we are providing that

[7:36] service for you and you don't have

[7:38] someone on staff doing it. And also that

[7:41] as a board your responsibility of review

[7:44] is even more important. Um with

[7:47] segregation of duties especially um you

[7:50] get quite a bit of information before

[7:52] the board meeting in your board packet

[7:55] um with the list of invoices and bank

[7:58] statements and so your review of those

[8:01] things is really valuable as another

[8:04] level of oversight.

[8:09] Mary, did you want to jump in on any of

[8:11] that before we talk about the financial

[8:12] statements themselves?

[8:14] » Um,

[8:16] no, just the Well, yeah. Um so

[8:22] every year in in this report it we talk

[8:26] about segregation of fees and so um you

[8:30] know as Tiffany has completed completed

[8:32] a full year now and um we've been able

[8:35] to create systems and I've able been

[8:39] able to learn what her strengths are and

[8:41] everything. We have um found ways to try

[8:44] to segregate things a little bit more.

[8:47] So, this is what we do. Hopefully, um,

[8:50] when she sends you that report prior to

[8:52] the board meetings that has all the

[8:54] check reconciliations,

[8:56] um, you know, you're looking at those,

[8:57] comparing them to what's in the board

[9:00] packet, making sure that things are, um,

[9:04] you know, all all aligning there. Um and

[9:07] Andrea had some further recommendations

[9:09] of currently I keep the check stock of

[9:12] the um unwritten checks or you know the

[9:15] the blank checks and so she suggested

[9:18] that maybe uh her administrative

[9:20] assistant keep those in a locked area

[9:21] and then I just take what's as needed

[9:23] and Tiffany is recording on her

[9:26] spreadsheet that she sends to you the

[9:28] check numbers. So that's another system.

[9:31] And then um uh the check reconciliations

[9:35] um after I go into QuickBooks and

[9:37] reconcile the checks and produce these

[9:39] reports that are in the board packet,

[9:41] right? That's what you want.

[9:42] » So like the bank reconciliation, so when

[9:45] you reconcile the bank account.

[9:46] » Okay. Yep. and and those are included in

[9:49] the board packets that either one of you

[9:52] um compares what I came up with in the

[9:55] QuickBooks report to what resource bank

[9:58] sent us to make sure that the totals are

[10:01] the same and every single um activity

[10:06] that's whether it's a debit or credit in

[10:08] there

[10:08] » Matches up.

[10:09] » So we talked about maybe the admin

[10:10] assistant doing that role or maybe a

[10:13] trustee. it would just provide another

[10:15] person kind of checking over Mary's work

[10:18] to provide a check on on a reviewer

[10:22] oversight of that so that she's because

[10:25] she's able to sign the checks and she's

[10:26] also able to record the checks in the

[10:29] system and then she's reconciling them.

[10:31] So, not saying she would, but

[10:34] hypothetically, if she was to write a

[10:36] check um

[10:39] for personal use or to

[10:42] for some other reason, the bank

[10:45] reconciliation is a good way you would

[10:47] catch that because you would see that

[10:50] maybe it's it wouldn't be recorded in

[10:52] QuickBooks, but now all of a sudden you

[10:53] have this check on the bank statement

[10:55] that doesn't match over here and you're

[10:57] saying, "Well, we need to look a little

[10:59] bit more into this check." So that's why

[11:02] it's a good way to kind of have that

[11:04] oversight when somebody has all the

[11:07] responsibility.

[11:11] » I think that's all I have to add. Thank

[11:14] you.

[11:14] » So then in front of you, this um packet

[11:17] here are the audited financial

[11:19] statements.

[11:21] So it's going to start with our opinion

[11:22] on the audit once you get past the table

[11:24] of contents there. Um, so our opinion on

[11:27] the audit is the first item and we

[11:29] issued an unmodified opinion which is

[11:31] also referred to as a clean audit

[11:33] opinion. So that's the best audit

[11:35] opinion you can receive. Um, so you

[11:37] should be very pleased with that.

[11:40] Um, it just goes through and kind of

[11:41] lays out what our opinion was, what

[11:44] management's responsibilities for the

[11:46] financial statements are, and what our

[11:48] responsibilities as an auditor.

[11:52] And then after that, we get into the

[11:54] financial statements. And it's going to

[11:55] start at a very high level with the

[11:57] governmentwide financial statements and

[11:59] then as you move through it'll move to

[12:01] the fund financial statements and

[12:03] ultimately when we get to the back it'll

[12:05] get to your budget's actual. Um

[12:08] so not to say that there's no value in

[12:10] the governmentwide financial statements.

[12:12] there is it's just at a very high level

[12:16] and so a lot of boards find more of the

[12:20] information as they move through the

[12:22] packet because it's broken out into a

[12:24] lot more detail. Um so we'll kind of

[12:28] skip through that in case unless anybody

[12:30] has any questions. Um page five is when

[12:33] you're going to start to get to your

[12:34] fund financial statements and this is

[12:37] what you're probably a little bit more

[12:38] used to seeing because it's going to be

[12:39] broken out by fund. Um, so you'll have a

[12:43] little bit more detail of what the cash

[12:47] is in each fund or where the liabilities

[12:51] are.

[12:52] And following that is the income

[12:55] statement on page seven. Um, so that'll

[12:58] kind of let you know how you did overall

[13:00] for the year. Um,

[13:04] as far as income or expenses there.

[13:08] Following that are the notes to the

[13:10] financial statements and the notes to

[13:12] the financial statements just provide

[13:14] more information on the statements that

[13:19] um proceed it. So it gives you more

[13:21] in-depth information of the accounting

[13:23] policies of the township. Um how what's

[13:28] the policies for compensated absences?

[13:30] What's the policies for sick time? Um

[13:33] how are things calculated? Um, so it

[13:36] just delves a little bit deeper into

[13:38] those matters. What makes up

[13:40] investments? What types of things does

[13:43] the township invest in? So that's where

[13:45] you're going to find that information.

[13:47] Um, probably one of the more useful ones

[13:50] for a lot of boards is note four on page

[13:53] 15. So this is going to be a breakdown

[13:56] of your fixed assets. So on that first

[13:59] page, fixed assets, not a depreciation,

[14:01] are all just lumped together. So this is

[14:04] going to give you a little bit more of a

[14:06] breakdown of your land, your buildings,

[14:09] equipment, infrastructure, and then how

[14:11] much depreciation has been taken on

[14:13] that. And it also gives a breakdown on

[14:15] depreciation as far as how much is

[14:17] general government. So general

[14:19] government, think town,

[14:22] GA, and then roadenbridge. That's pretty

[14:25] self-explanatory there.

[14:28] Um, and then on the next page is a note

[14:32] that's a little bit newer for you guys.

[14:34] It is debt because you took out a loan

[14:37] for the new building. So, that's going

[14:40] to show how much was taken out and how

[14:43] much was repaid. And then you will also

[14:45] have a schedule um for the debt payoff.

[14:48] So, you can kind of see over the next

[14:49] several years what the outlay for that

[14:53] debt payoff looks like.

[14:56] Um, following that on page 17, it starts

[14:59] to get into the IRMF

[15:01] note disclosures. Um, so that's going to

[15:04] give you a lot more information on the

[15:06] IRF plan

[15:11] and um

[15:14] when we get through that we get to the

[15:17] required supplementary information. So

[15:21] this is information that GASBY, the

[15:24] governmental accounting standards board,

[15:26] thinks is important to accompany the

[15:29] financial statements to put the

[15:31] financial statements um in context and

[15:33] provide additional information. So pages

[15:36] 23 and 24 are just a lot more

[15:38] information on IRF. you have a 10-year

[15:40] schedule if you want to see how the

[15:44] retirement plan for IMREF has been

[15:47] funded and how that's looking over a

[15:49] 10-year. Um, it's a nice historical look

[15:52] back there.

[15:54] But then you're going to get into the

[15:56] budget to actual. And I think this is

[15:58] what a lot of boards find the most

[16:00] useful because you can kind of see at a

[16:02] much more detailed level how you

[16:05] performed compared to the budget that

[16:08] you were expecting. Um and so that's

[16:12] what follows on the next few pages. The

[16:14] only other thing that is really

[16:16] different this year in this year's audit

[16:18] is you do have a new fund and it is the

[16:20] road capital fund. Um, so this is the

[16:23] first year that that fund has had

[16:25] activity and that fund was set up um for

[16:28] the new building.

[16:31] Are there any questions on the financial

[16:33] statements or the audit process in

[16:35] general?

[16:39] I know it's a lot to take in, a lot to

[16:42] read and look at. So, if you do take

[16:45] time to look at it over the next couple

[16:46] days and you come up with a question or

[16:48] something doesn't

[16:51] you you want a little more explanation

[16:52] on something, um Mary and Craig both

[16:55] have my email, so feel free to reach out

[16:57] and I'm happy to try and answer anything

[17:00] um that may come up or any questions

[17:02] that you may have. The only other item

[17:05] outstanding is the Illinois Comproller

[17:07] AFR report. Um, and

[17:11] Mary has approved that. So, we will get

[17:13] that filed. Um,

[17:16] and then that takes care of all your

[17:18] audit requirements for the year other

[17:20] than what needs to be sent to the county

[17:22] that you'll take care of.

[17:24] » And, um, we'll be voting to approve the

[17:27] audit at next month's meeting. I didn't

[17:29] want to do it tonight because I want to

[17:30] give you a chance to review it. Reach

[17:32] out to Andrea if you have questions. So,

[17:35] um, you know, you have the next 30 days

[17:37] to, uh, formulate your your vote, um, if

[17:42] if you want to get further clarification

[17:44] on anything.

[17:48] » Well, thank you very much for letting us

[17:49] serve you again this year.

[17:50] » Thank you.

[17:53] » Let's give you this.

[18:04] Bye

[18:05] » Bye.

[18:08] » Okay. Well,

[18:11] pleased that all went well. And

[18:15] » Well, troopers aren't here. No.

[18:19] » I do not believe.

[18:24] » Okay. Uh, next we have public comment.

[18:26] No members of the public. So, we'll go

[18:28] into reports, uh, supervisors report.

[18:32] Um,

[18:34] if you follow our Facebook page,

[18:36] hopefully you're seeing more marketing

[18:38] of Peace Park. Um, we're we're already

[18:42] making sales, so I'm excited about that.

[18:45] Um, and then we're wrapping up the final

[18:47] details for the memorials and the sign

[18:50] and um, post for the sign and just a lot

[18:54] of decisions all at once that It's kind

[18:57] of overwhelming. Um, but uh, thanks to

[19:00] Clerk Mccclaclin, we were able to do

[19:02] that wonderful aerial uh, video that

[19:06] gives a u, a great um, bird's eye view

[19:10] of the peace park. Um, and then I sent

[19:13] you all a calendar invite for the grand

[19:17] opening um, that's going to be on or

[19:19] dedication ceremony that's going to be

[19:21] on October 16th. That's a Friday. Um, so

[19:25] I do hope that you can join us. It's I

[19:27] I'm thinking it'll be late afternoon. Um

[19:30] but uh we kind of have to put the whole

[19:33] program together of what it's going to

[19:35] look like.

[19:36] Um

[19:38] uh since the last meeting on August 6,

[19:40] we had our senior summit. Um thank you

[19:43] to all of those who could volunteer to

[19:46] our presenters. Um Kim did an

[19:49] exceptional job um uh with the event

[19:53] again this year. um no attention was uh

[19:56] or no detail was uh not prepared for. Um

[20:00] we had um some folks from the uh uh

[20:05] senior coalition out of St. Charles come

[20:09] to check it out, observe it, see how it

[20:11] ran, said that they had heard about it

[20:13] out in their community. Um so I I really

[20:16] love that the attention that this event

[20:18] is getting. Um all the participants were

[20:21] very happy. I sat in on a couple

[20:23] sessions. Um, great information was

[20:26] shared. The, um, uh, Farm Bureau was

[20:30] wonderful to work with, very

[20:31] accommodating.

[20:32] And, um, since the senior summit, um,

[20:35] for the next couple of weeks, we have

[20:38] what is called the Thrive Encore series.

[20:41] And that, um, is sessions out in the

[20:44] community for some of our more popular

[20:46] topics. um because people's oftentimes

[20:50] either have a hard time decision

[20:52] deciding what session they want to go to

[20:55] um and so we like to offer we thought

[20:58] this would be a way to offer something

[21:01] um outside or if they can't if they

[21:03] couldn't make it that day.

[21:04] [clears throat] Um

[21:07] so um overall just very pleased with how

[21:10] everything is going with the senior

[21:11] summit.

[21:13] Um on August 11th um I um participated

[21:18] in the Decalp Metro expansion planning

[21:20] and environmental linkages study

[21:23] meeting. Um I was asked to serve on the

[21:25] technical advisory group and so uh it

[21:28] was a fascinating meeting. It was hosted

[21:30] at NIOU. Um there were individuals from

[21:34] Union Pacific, Metra, NIOU, the city um

[21:39] uh um the the group um

[21:45] can't remember the name of it, but but

[21:46] it's like a a urban planning group that

[21:49] um is doing the study for the city. Um

[21:52] so they talked about writership.

[21:55] Um they had all kinds of demographics

[21:57] for that. Um and so this is the first of

[22:00] 12 meetings. Um so uh this is just a

[22:05] necessary stage that or thing they have

[22:08] to do um to move on to the next phase of

[22:12] um you know requesting that the the

[22:14] lines

[22:16] passenger rail be extended out here.

[22:19] Very very I'm multi-year process but um

[22:22] I'm really excited to be part of that.

[22:25] Um and then today um uh clerk mcclucklin

[22:29] and I both attended together from the

[22:31] start community and campus um welcome

[22:34] reception. It was a lunchon at parandas

[22:37] that was made up of um a lot of new

[22:42] faculty staff leadership at niu and then

[22:45] also throughout the community. So people

[22:47] were introduced um uh people from city

[22:50] departments, from uh nonforprofits,

[22:54] um niu leadership and it was just a

[22:57] great way to emphasize how uh so much

[23:01] wonderful collaboration happens in this

[23:02] community. Um so that was was very well

[23:06] attended as well. Um and then upcoming

[23:09] events, uh we have our

[23:12] uh vision and hearing screening clinic

[23:15] with the Decal or the um Lines of

[23:18] Illinois Foundation uh coming up on

[23:20] September 2nd.

[23:23] Um September 17th, IASH and iPass will

[23:26] be here again.

[23:28] And um October 3rd, we have our shred

[23:32] and recycle event for the fall.

[23:36] And then the 16th I mentioned is our

[23:38] peace park dedication ceremony 16th of

[23:41] October. And October 17th um the uh

[23:45] dedicate the grave dedication that was

[23:47] supposed to take place this last

[23:49] Saturday for the through the Daughters

[23:51] of the American Revolution um was

[23:53] rescheduled to the 17th because of

[23:55] Saturday's weather.

[23:57] And then today I received an email um

[24:00] for another um person that's buried in

[24:03] our cemetery that is going to have a

[24:05] medallion placed on their grave for

[24:06] recognition. Um that's uh George Ger and

[24:12] he's buried at Oakland Cemetery and he

[24:14] is the last Decal County

[24:18] um Civil War veteran

[24:21] » That must have been he's the last to

[24:23] survive. Um, so I'm I'm waiting to hear

[24:26] back if they're going to do a dedication

[24:28] ceremony because I thought we could

[24:29] combine them in the same day. Um, and

[24:32] then lastly, uh, September 1st, our

[24:34] committee on youth applications are due.

[24:37] And then also on September 1st is when

[24:39] we'll open our 2026 human service

[24:42] partnership applications and those will

[24:44] be available on our website.

[24:47] So, any questions about any of that?

[24:53] Okay. books report.

[24:56] Um

[24:58] on August

[25:00] 10th, 11th, 10th maybe, we had um the

[25:03] Founders back to school bash. My kids go

[25:05] to Founders. And so um and Jeff from the

[25:09] um [clears throat] Road Fisher. They

[25:11] came out with their um you brought two

[25:15] plow trucks, two big trucks. Yeah. And

[25:17] so that was really nice for the kids to

[25:18] climb into and see up there and they

[25:21] stayed um for that whole event. it was

[25:25] very rainy. Um, but we really

[25:27] appreciated them being out there. So,

[25:30] uh, and then I also want to highlight

[25:32] some other events that we have coming

[25:33] up. So, the township town hall, uh, is

[25:36] taking place this Thursday. Uh, if you

[25:38] want to go to that, it's at the Decal

[25:41] County Community Outreach building from

[25:44] 9:00 a.m. to 400 p.m. There's a variety

[25:46] of, um, topics being covered that day.

[25:49] Uh there's lunch being served and um

[25:52] just some really good information. Um I

[25:54] believe everyone's been sent that um

[25:58] yeah the schedule for it too. Um I know

[26:00] I'll be going out there and I can only

[26:01] stay for like an hour or so. So whatever

[26:04] you can go to is great. Um there's also

[26:06] the MCA you guys have in front of you.

[26:09] The symposium is coming up on

[26:13] September 29th. Um again a variety of

[26:17] sessions. um and things that they are

[26:20] covering. And then if you want to

[26:22] register, TOI is having their annual

[26:25] conference November 9th through 11th.

[26:32] Any questions for clerk?

[26:35] Thank you.

[26:37] Commissioner,

[26:38] » I'm just I've got quite a little list

[26:40] here and uh I'm going to first start by

[26:42] saying that we are still working through

[26:45] our QuickBooks and you'll I'll have more

[26:47] information So that's why you didn't

[26:49] receive anything. These two packets that

[26:51] were given out to everyone kind of give

[26:53] all the financial reports

[26:55] um up to date or uh for the road

[26:59] district portion of that. So we're

[27:01] hoping by September's meeting. I know I

[27:05] bet you it's like a recording coming out

[27:07] of me, but uh u we're there. We're

[27:11] getting there. So, um, and there's a lot

[27:13] of news on that that I can't really

[27:15] share, um, with the legalities of all

[27:18] that, but, uh, so yeah, moving forward.

[27:21] So, uh, June 27th, or I'm sorry, July

[27:24] 27th through the 29th, I was in East

[27:26] Pori at the Township Highway

[27:28] Commissioners, Illinois summer seminar.

[27:31] Learned a lot. It was um, I've been

[27:33] going since 13, I think, was my first

[27:35] year going. Um, one of the better ones.

[27:37] I have to admit they uh they as in we as

[27:41] I'm the vice president now. Um, and

[27:44] former president. I replaced Danny

[27:46] Henning that passed away unexpectedly as

[27:48] the vice president again. Uh, but

[27:50] anyway, uh, changed the whole format

[27:52] around. Had a lot of different and new

[27:55] speakers, uh, county engineers,

[27:58] um, and different, uh, engineering

[28:00] groups and stuff. Learned a lot more

[28:02] about roads. Um, and I'm always up for

[28:04] that kind of stuff. So that was really

[28:07] interesting. Um

[28:10] I and also uh moving on my uh Hunter and

[28:14] Ryan

[28:15] um have both left me for the summer and

[28:18] are back to school. So I guess they do

[28:20] not want to most cemeteries and do ditch

[28:23] work the rest of their lives. So they

[28:24] went back to school. Uh Hunter's last

[28:27] day was August 6th. He's a college

[28:30] student down in Southern Illinois. Um

[28:32] and then Ryan's last day was August

[28:34] 13th. So, my staff's kind of dwindling

[28:37] down. Um, a more important thing, moving

[28:40] on, um, I have to declare an emergency

[28:44] purchase under um, ILCS56-201

[28:51] um.7

[28:54] um, of the Illinois Highway Code um, as

[28:57] the highway commission in the Cal

[28:58] Township Road District to to abruptly

[29:01] secure salt for this season. Um, in this

[29:06] bundle of paperwork you got is a

[29:08] memorandum from the the purchasing

[29:10] program to the state of Illinois which

[29:12] is the central management services.

[29:15] um 247 entities statewide including uh

[29:20] most of Decalb County, the city of

[29:23] Decalb uh the local tollway shop uh the

[29:27] university myself and most all but one

[29:30] township that I'm aware of and one town

[29:33] in Decal County amongst a whole lot of

[29:36] other people did not get a salt bid uh

[29:39] this year. So reading on this memorandum

[29:42] and and talk and the emails that I've

[29:44] received from the state, basically they

[29:47] would lock you in if you wanted to go

[29:49] back out and they would put it out for

[29:50] an emergency bid again. Um you have to

[29:54] purchase you have to take the bid and

[29:56] you have to take 100% of your salt.

[29:58] Usually we're on an 80 um to 120% of

[30:02] salt. So um those prices that was not

[30:07] something I was comfortable with. Hence

[30:09] bringing me to the emergency purchase

[30:12] because it is not something that I would

[30:14] be able to put out for bid. Also, just

[30:16] to back up that information is a is a

[30:19] letter from uh the road district's

[30:21] attorney, John Reding Schaefer, that

[30:23] you'll see to address to me explaining

[30:26] why he has come up with the same um

[30:31] reasoning behind that I have as far as

[30:33] the no bid. I have secured salt

[30:37] um and uh it the salt I have secured for

[30:40] the for this season the 26 27 season is

[30:44] $140 per ton not delivered.

[30:49] So that um we can either we will haul it

[30:52] ourselves from Lamont to here um which

[30:56] or we will hire um transportation. The

[30:59] transportation costs are extremely high

[31:02] and could range anywhere from about $16

[31:05] a ton to $40 a ton.

[31:09] » Are there any advantages to having them

[31:10] delivered over

[31:12] » Yeah, it it would just I mean I have to

[31:15] put tarps on my trucks. I have to get

[31:17] eye passes, you know, and just and we

[31:19] can't. Our straight trucks haul

[31:22] approximately 12 ton. Semi hauls 25.

[31:26] So, um,

[31:28] » Well, what they charge per axle, that

[31:29] would I mean, the tolls alone.

[31:31] » Yeah. I I mean, so I I don't know yet.

[31:35] They're still working on the salt, but I

[31:37] wanted to make sure and secured this

[31:39] tonnage. Um, I've also lowered my

[31:42] quantity. We were my original to go off

[31:45] for bid was 350 or 350 ton. I dropped it

[31:48] to 200.

[31:50] um which the 200 not delivered puts me

[31:53] at $28,000 which keeps me under the

[31:56] $30,000 threshold of bidding. You will

[31:59] see in the letter from the attorney that

[32:01] he is of the old school and forgot that

[32:05] they raised it. So he um I think the

[32:07] third paragraph down on the first page

[32:09] he put $20,000. That is actually now

[32:12] been changed to $30,000.

[32:15] Um, and in comparison, last year we paid

[32:19] delivered here

[32:21] $782 a ton for solar.

[32:24] » Wow.

[32:25] » So that's the difference.

[32:26] » Yeah.

[32:26] » I got a quote from a gentleman that cold

[32:28] called me today from down by St. Louis

[32:31] » Of $310 a ton delivered here.

[32:36] » And that's what the range is. This $140

[32:39] a ton is treated that we treat here. It

[32:43] runs me anywhere from$25 to $30 a ton.

[32:47] So I can pick it up directly or have it

[32:49] delivered as treated salt. Their price

[32:52] of just regular salt was like 111

[32:57] which is more mirrors that 7802

[33:00] than we received last year. Still not

[33:03] delivered. So I would still be say the

[33:06] 140 to 160 delivered. So, I mean, it's

[33:10] it's really um we can afford it. I will

[33:14] say that. I mean, I found out at the

[33:17] summer seminar and and was making calls

[33:20] on the way home to secure salt. That

[33:22] because I wanted to be the first one to

[33:25] secure salt, not the last one to secure

[33:27] salt. You're going to hear numbers. I

[33:28] think city, the county, niu, and a bunch

[33:32] of them went in together.

[33:34] Um I don't know if they've secured it

[33:36] yet and their number is right around

[33:37] thatund 15 I think 108 somewhere around

[33:41] in there. Um and the problem being is

[33:44] the salt that I've already secured

[33:47] is on route from Egypt to the United

[33:50] States. A lot of these other companies

[33:52] are or placing orders overseas whether

[33:55] it be in Europe or in South America.

[33:58] Um so uh Chile is a big producer of salt

[34:02] Egypt and other places. I can go on and

[34:05] on. I've learned more in the last three

[34:07] weeks than I ever thought I'd want to

[34:09] know about salt. And the biggest deal

[34:11] was Cargill, one of the biggest

[34:13] producers in the state suppliers in the

[34:15] state of Illinois, did not bid any salt

[34:18] this year.

[34:20] Um, so that's what really hurt us. So,

[34:22] uh, it kind of it is what it is. You

[34:25] have to have it or we have to have it

[34:27] anyway. um you know to try and tell

[34:30] folks that there's no salt on the roads

[34:33] in an ice storm uh in this populated

[34:35] area is just not something I'm up for.

[34:38] So uh we can secure it

[34:41] and we're going to and I'll have more

[34:42] updates on the uh whether we deliver it

[34:45] or how we're going to work that. Um so

[34:48] that's kind of the worst news. Um we are

[34:51] finishing up Nelson Road and South Bald

[34:53] Road uh and paving there will start uh

[34:56] the week of September 1st and last about

[34:59] 2 or 3 weeks and then our annual uh road

[35:02] striping. Under federal law, you have to

[35:05] restripe your roads annually under the

[35:08] new MUCD

[35:10] book that um comes out about every

[35:14] 8 to 20 years. It seems like the feds

[35:17] put this book out. uh what it does and

[35:20] it's really now the driverless cars

[35:23] follow the stripes on your roads.

[35:25] » So I don't understand what's going to

[35:26] happen when they hit a gravel road, but

[35:28] that's not in this township. So I don't

[35:30] concern myself a lot with that. Um on

[35:33] Saturday, August 1st, we were at the

[35:36] resource bank um for a touch of truck

[35:38] program and got a wonderful card from

[35:41] the folks over on the Glidden Road. Um I

[35:44] did not was not aware they're 150 years

[35:47] oldund something like that. So they

[35:49] started out as a multinational bank and

[35:51] then that's when it became resource and

[35:55] then um as the clerk talked about on

[35:57] August 8th me and Jeff took the a

[35:59] snowplow and the greater to founders uh

[36:02] for that I'm uh the kids love this stuff

[36:04] you know they like to climb up the

[36:06] grater resource bank I was the only one

[36:08] that went with just one truck it was a

[36:11] little tighter parking lot but uh um had

[36:14] a great time at Founders. It rained and

[36:17] uh and it was hotter than you know what,

[36:19] but uh other than that, this old guy

[36:21] held on. So, um moving on to my last

[36:25] thing, uh the road district is has

[36:28] contracted with the new accounting firm

[36:30] for our QuickBooks and to stay on later

[36:33] on. As the auditor um that was here,

[36:36] Andrea, spoke about kind of that

[36:39] internal extra measure. That's what they

[36:42] were going to that's what they're going

[36:43] to do for the road district. They're

[36:44] going to quarterly reconcile everything

[36:46] backwards. They're right now going back

[36:49] into our books and [clears throat]

[36:50] having to start over from April one,

[36:53] taking payroll back to January 1 because

[36:56] a lot of that the numbers

[36:59] um aren't mirroring what should be

[37:01] happening. It's not that my staff didn't

[37:03] get paid properly, the taxes are proper.

[37:07] It's just QuickBooks is shooting out

[37:09] numbers that just don't make sense. and

[37:12] we were really steered in the wrong

[37:14] direction and took on the wrong

[37:15] QuickBooks.

[37:17] So, this firm does it all. They also

[37:19] will be auditing our portion of IMRF.

[37:22] They they are uh contracted with IMRF

[37:26] and it's just an extra layer that they

[37:28] will look at and then they're also put

[37:31] them in contact with the auditors to try

[37:33] and get our books as close as possible

[37:36] to, you know, minimize the time for the

[37:38] auditors to have to be here. like what

[37:40] exactly are you looking for? And with

[37:43] all these reconciles and the the pages

[37:46] from the auditors

[37:48] um they're trying to you know they want

[37:51] to figure all that out so that it's less

[37:53] you know abruptly at the end of the year

[37:56] too. So they will be staying on there's

[37:58] like there's three phases realistically.

[38:01] This first phase is just to get us up

[38:04] and running and then the second phase is

[38:07] kind of working with us and then kind of

[38:09] auditing us on a quarterly cycle of, you

[38:13] know, checking Amy's work, my new uh

[38:16] executive assistant, you know, with the

[38:18] reconciling of the checking accounts

[38:20] back and forth to the to QuickBooks to

[38:23] keep that updated. They are also digging

[38:25] back and I've sent them every audit that

[38:29] I have. They they found an account on

[38:31] QuickBooks that's out floating out there

[38:34] with not only the township's information

[38:38] because they they've worked with

[38:39] QuickBooks, this company has been in

[38:41] business since 1991.

[38:44] So, um, she's cuz she's asking questions

[38:47] and I'm trying to explain being the

[38:50] oldest man in in this room right now

[38:52] when it comes to being elected here

[38:54] because there was so many like we'd have

[38:56] a supervisor set up a QuickBooks and

[38:59] then let it go and then, you know,

[39:01] another person do it. So, she's just

[39:04] trying to weed through all that because

[39:06] as she's putting our name out there, the

[39:08] stuff's coming at her.

[39:10] » Yeah. So, it's really just uh kind of

[39:13] going through that and figuring it all

[39:15] out. And a lot of the numbers even years

[39:17] ago aren't coinciding with the audits,

[39:21] you know, and stuff like that can come

[39:23] back to really get us. So, um that's

[39:25] what they're trying to do. Um, it's

[39:28] crazy because when I walk in this

[39:30] building at 6:00 am, she's tied to our

[39:32] computers for just the road district

[39:35] part of the server for QuickBooks and

[39:37] that computers on in Amy's office at

[39:40] 6:00 a.m. there. She's working on stuff.

[39:43] So, I know they were when I was down

[39:45] here Saturday, she was working. So, um,

[39:48] she's doing her best to get the proper

[39:51] board documents to you folks and just

[39:54] to, you know, maybe slow down my gray

[39:57] hair coming out of my head on a daily

[39:59] basis so I don't rip it out trying to

[40:01] resolve all these issues. So, that's

[40:04] kind of where we're at. I'll have a lot

[40:05] more updates with that. And she might

[40:07] even be coming in to uh speak with all

[40:09] you guys um here in either probably be

[40:13] October. So, um, if that happens. Uh, so

[40:17] yeah, that's it for me. If there's not

[40:19] any questions,

[40:21] » You pass the warrants down, please.

[40:23] Signature pages.

[40:27] » Thank you.

[40:30] » Okay. Assessor's report.

[40:32] » Uh, last month I attended a land

[40:35] valuation class for part of my

[40:36] continuing education

[40:39] uh in Neighborville, July 29th through

[40:42] the 31st. Uh we are scheduled to move on

[40:48] August 24th. That would be on Monday. We

[40:51] are in process of packing everything up

[40:54] in containers so it's as simple as

[40:56] possible for the movers and we will be

[40:59] out of the building Monday.

[41:02] That's all I got.

[41:08] » Uh trustes reports. Trusty Acres

[41:11] » No report. Trusty report.

[41:14] » Trusty Thurman.

[41:15] » Trusty Shy Williams.

[41:17] » Uh, nothing besides I'm excited to be

[41:19] here for my first meeting, but otherwise

[41:21] I report.

[41:22] » Thank you.

[41:25] » Okay, we'll move on to bill paying.

[41:29] Um, may I get a motion to approve the

[41:32] August bills to pay? Uh, for town that

[41:35] equals $40,495.

[41:41] And for the road district,

[41:44] um

[41:46] August is $88,28243.

[41:52] And then the July audit reports, uh July

[41:55] for the road district is $59,81.35

[42:01] and for town 210,00

[42:05] $210,396.74.

[42:11] Second

[42:15] » Uh discussion

[42:18] any questions?

[42:20] Uh the July audit report for town was

[42:22] much larger than usual because of a a

[42:26] big payment for to the construction firm

[42:28] of Peace Park which um

[42:32] brought our Peace Park balance uh down.

[42:37] We pretty much spent all of uh the

[42:40] donated money now.

[42:43] Any questions?

[42:46] Okay. Roll call, please.

[42:48] » Trusty Thurman.

[42:49] » Yes.

[42:50] » Trusty Acres.

[42:51] » Hi.

[42:52] » Uh Trusty Shol Williams.

[42:54] » I.

[42:55] » Trusty Brilo.

[42:56] » Yes.

[42:56] » Supervisor House.

[42:57] » Yes.

[42:59] » Uh next, can I get a motion to receive,

[43:01] file, and approve the treasurer's July

[43:03] budget reports?

[43:05] » So moved. Second

[43:09] » Questions or discussion.

[43:15] » Hearing none. Roll call, please.

[43:17] » Trusty Acres.

[43:18] » Hi.

[43:18] » Trusty Chiola Williams.

[43:20] » Yes.

[43:20] » Trusty Breth,

[43:21] » Yes.

[43:22] » Supervisor Hus,

[43:23] » Yes.

[43:23] » Trusty Thurman.

[43:24] » Hi.

[43:27] » We have nothing under unfinished

[43:28] business. So, new business. Uh, can I

[43:31] get a motion to approve the minutes of

[43:32] the board of trustees meeting of July

[43:34] 21st, 2026?

[43:36] also move

[43:38] a second.

[43:42] » Um, any comments or any adjustments that

[43:46] need to be made?

[43:52] [laughter]

[43:53] All those in favor signify by saying I

[43:55] please.

[43:56] » I uh anyone opposed? Extensions.

[44:01] Okay, minutes are approved. Uh, no old

[44:04] business. So, other business, our next

[44:06] board of trustees meeting is September

[44:08] 15th, 2026 at 6 p.m.

[44:12] And with that, I'll take a motion to

[44:14] adjurnn, please.

[44:15] » A motion to adjurnn.

[44:18] » I'll second.

[44:19] » All those in favor of enjoyment, signify

[44:21] by saying I.

[44:22] » I posted.

[44:24] » We are joured at 6:44.

[44:28] » That's right.

[44:29] » Yeah. When I saw the agenda today or

[44:31] » Seen them shorter than that agenda, I

[44:33] was like, "Oh, this one's gonna be short

[44:35] compared to the last."

[44:37] » Yeah.

[44:39] » Hey, Mary, can I Oh, sorry.

[44:40] » No, go ahead. I'm sorry.

[44:41] » Can I buy another one of these shirts?

[44:43] » Um, because I noticed I must have got a

[44:46] hole in it when I was at the park. Just

[44:48] go down to Sports Sorts and order one

[44:51] and they'll invoice us for it.

[44:52] » Okay. Yep.

[45:05] That must be the German spelling.

[45:11] » I don't know where you got it.

[45:19] » Oh, and these in front of you. I just

[45:20] That's interesting information about the

[45:23] » Yeah, it is.

[45:29] Well,

[45:30] » One of my neighbors passed away a couple

[45:32] weeks ago and we wanted to do something

[45:34] for them kind of put stuff together. I

[45:38] think we we getting her something at uh

[45:41] Peace Park.

[45:42] » Oh, very nice.

[45:45] » Is that process set up yet or?

[45:47] » Yep. Yeah, actually I can grab you a

[45:51] » I know my brother's working on something

[45:52] for my post. So,

[45:59] » So on one side is the bench and the

[46:03] pavers and then on the other side is the

[46:06] trees. There's three different trees to

[46:08] choose

[46:11] » You know my nephew died a couple months

[46:14] to

[46:15] » Think about doing something too. Oh,

[46:19] » No, he's from He's the kid that

August Board of Trustees Meeting

Transcript