Winnebago County Board approves sheriff’s equipment purchases, sends advisory referendum on federal scholarship tax credit to March ballot

At its county board meeting, Winnebago County commissioners approved several procurement resolutions for the Sheriff’s Office, amended the effective date of a contract with security vendor Force Matrix, adopted a county noise ordinance and voted to place an advisory referendum on the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit on the March primary ballot.

The most contested item was a resolution authorizing an agreement with Force Matrix. Mr. McDonald said the contract’s stated November 1 start date improperly required payment for a period when the service was not in use and moved to amend the effective date to Dec. 15. "Can we make this effective December 15 instead?" he asked; Mr. Sweeney seconded the motion. The board approved the amendment and then the amended agreement unanimously.

The board also approved several routine purchases for the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office using CIP 2026 funds, with amounts listed by committee: $469,688 for six replacement patrol vehicles; $158,000.831 for two replacement canine vehicles (figure as…