LaSalle County finance panel approves $9,132 NCICG membership fee

The LaSalle County Finance and TIF Committee voted June 10 to pay a $9,132 annual membership fee to the North Central Illinois Council of Governments and to remain a paying participant.

Committee Chair Tina Bush said the bill had come up for its annual payment and asked for a motion. Committee member Steve Aubrey moved to pay the bill; members voted in favor and the motion carried.

The discussion that preceded the vote focused on what members described as uneven value from NCICG. Aubrey said the county did not always use the group effectively and called some outreach “an afterthought.” He pointed to a recent NCICG email about an open‑spaces grant that, in his view, the county had not turned into a local application. Other members said NCICG has helped nearby communities win large grants and secure work on water systems and brownfield cleanup projects.

Committee member Tom Templeton recommended a more proactive approach by having elected officials and department heads submit their top project needs so the county could present “shovel‑ready” proposals to NCICG. Several members agreed the committee should take a more organized role in identifying projects for grant pursuit.

Members also noted a recurring additional bill of roughly $2,000 that follows the annual membership and remarked that members receive discounted billing as dues‑paying participants. Despite concerns, the committee approved payment to maintain membership and potential access to grant services.

The committee did not direct staff to cancel the membership or take further immediate action; members said they would pursue internal steps to better use NCICG going forward.