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McLean County OKs records hosting contract and moves early-voting site to airport conference center
Summary
The committee approved an agreement to move recording data to a Tier 4 data center hosted by COT Systems and approved a conference-center rental agreement with Central Illinois Regional Airport as a new early-voting site; members discussed budget timing, transit access, and grant reliance for elections equipment.
County Clerk Kathy Michael presented several action items for the recording and elections divisions. The committee approved a contract with COT Systems to host recording data offsite (tier-4 data center in Ohio with mirroring in Milwaukee) to improve technical support and resilience; Director of Recording Mark Bounds explained hosting benefits, projected fees and that additional fees would be requested later as needed.
On elections operations, the committee approved a conference-center rental agreement with the Central Illinois Regional Airport (CIRA) to replace the mall as an early-voting location. Clerk Michael and Director of Elections Mark Singer said the site is suitable for an additional early-voting location and is served by public transit (the "Tan Line" bus). Committee members asked about previous mall costs and communication strategies to notify voters of the location change; Clerk's staff said they will use standard PR channels and partner with board members to spread the word.
The committee also approved a resolution amending funded FTE positions in the county clerk's office and accepted recommended FY26 budgets for the clerk's elections program. Members questioned a rise in the non-contractual services line (from a budgeted $115,000 to actual $276,000 this year); Clerk staff said additional election equipment purchases and grants explained the variance and that FY26 funding was an estimate that could change with grants.
All items carried by voice vote with no recorded opposition in the public portion of the minutes.
