Union County Board approved a resolution authorizing the county to join the Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network, a mutual-assistance compact for public works agencies that the presenter said provides legal protection and shared personnel during emergencies.

The presenter — identified in the record as a staff member — told the board the network works by allowing member agencies to request and send personnel and equipment to neighboring jurisdictions during storms or other incidents. "So essentially how it works is, the member agencies that are part of the network, something happens, there's a tornado, there's flood, you know, or some kind of... then you call on IPW man and surrounding agencies that are also members... will send vehicles and personnel to help their neighbors," the staff member said.

The staff member described the arrangement as "a cheap insurance policy," noting the county's annual membership fee would be $250. They cited recent regional examples in which mutual aid was used, including mutual-aid assistance during an eclipse event in Carbondale and a large storm response in Rockford. The staff member added the intergovernmental agreement supplies legal protection when county personnel provide services outside county lines: "...if we happen to send somebody to Massac County or to Pulaski County... and one of our guys gets injured, then we have protection because we have this intergovernmental agreement to be outside of the county performing work," the staff member said.

Board members moved and seconded the resolution; members recorded as voting "yes" in the transcript include Mister Hoggle, Mister Pitts and Mister Miller. The motion was approved as presented.

The presenter said the network's membership fee is population-based and reiterated the benefit is faster recovery after large storms or other incidents by bringing outside crews to assist local public works operations. The board did not record further conditions or amendments to the resolution in the public transcript.

The agreement authorizes Union County to participate in a statewide mutual-aid network intended to facilitate the sharing of vehicles, crews and other public-works resources among member jurisdictions.