Commissioners decline requests for highway crews to work on private cemetery projects, citing liability and policy

Several private requests asking the Union County Highway Department to use county equipment and manpower on cemetery work prompted board discussion on May 9; commissioners indicated the county will not perform work on private property.

A commissioner said the county highway engineer reviewed the requests and advised against doing private work. The highway engineer wrote that using taxpayer resources on private property creates the appearance of favoritism, could open the county to liability for damages, and would produce an unmanageable volume of similar requests. The engineer also cited the county’s participation in IPWMAN (an Illinois intergovernmental mutual‑aid network) as relevant to liability considerations.

The commissioner who raised the topic said the highway department already has a backlog of county work and that doing private cemetery projects would be difficult to administer equitably. Board members agreed with the engineer’s recommendation and discussed alternatives such as encouraging private contractors to perform pro bono work or seek charitable donations.

No formal vote was taken; the item was presented as "other business" and the board discussed policy direction. Commissioners instructed staff to follow the highway engineer’s guidance and not to authorize routine county equipment or personnel for private property maintenance without a specific, board‑approved policy or indemnity agreements.