Committee approves claims including renewable-energy account items; clerk cautions against charging for public records

The Iroquois County Tax and Planning Zoning Committee on July 1 approved the claims on its report and an additional set of claims tied to the county’s renewable-energy account, discussed a public-records workload raised by the county clerk’s office, and approved a resolution selling a delinquent parcel at the minimum bid.

Committee members reviewed a set of invoices that were not printed on the initial claims packet and moved to approve the claims listed on the report plus four additional claim packets that staff supplied at the meeting. A roll call during the claims discussion recorded votes of “Yes” by Ferguson, Sears and Mercedes when the committee approved the initially discussed claims. Later, when the committee approved the additional list for account 400 (the renewable-energy account), roll-call votes recorded Perkinson, Hughes, Barb and Shiger voting yes.

Staff discussed a $2,200 invoice from the Iroquois County Soil and Water Conservation District related to a Louis Creek solar report; committee members confirmed the item is on the renewal list for the 400 account and should be included in claims payment.

Brianna, the county clerk, reported that postage for voter mailings is increasing and said the office will mail voter cards in early July. Brianna also said longtime elections deputy Diane Circle plans to retire Dec. 1; the clerk is hiring to fill that position. Brianna told the committee her office has seen a large number of proxy-record requests — including title companies and commercial requestors — that have occupied an employee’s time and asked whether the county could charge for providing copies. She said the state’s attorney responded that the information is public record and that the county should be cautious about imposing charges, though staff will research whether other states treat commercial requests differently under FOIA procedures.

The committee approved a resolution to finalize the sale of a small, triangular parcel in Shavance Township (along old Route 45) to Caleb Tracy; the parcel sold at the minimum bid of $821 and was noted in committee documents as landlocked with no listed address. The committee voted to approve the resolution and forward it for recording; the motion passed on roll call.

Other administrative items: the treasurer reported that the county’s first installment distribution is due Monday morning and that first distributions will be out within 30 days. Zoning staff reported building-permit activity (15 building permits in the prior month, one AD and one solicitor license) and said problem-property cleanup is ongoing in Beaverville where the village clerk resigned before sending legal documentation. Zoning staff also said the county GIS zoning layer is under construction and a CVA hearing related to Louie Green Solar is scheduled for July 27.

Why this matters: the claims approvals include payments tied to renewable-energy review work and technical reports, the clerk’s report affects election administration and staffing, and the delinquent-parcel resolution finalizes county tax-sale proceedings. The clerk’s warning about public-record workload and the attorney’s guidance that records are public may shape how the county responds to future commercial-record requests without violating public-records law.

The committee asked staff to ensure claim packets are fully printed with account titles in future meeting materials and directed clerk staff to pursue legal research on whether fees may be charged for commercial record requests under FOIA-like procedures.