Finance committee forwards assessor staffing additions and five-year CIP to full board

On Feb. 9 the Grundy County Finance Committee voted to forward two personnel items for the assessor's office and the county's five-year capital improvement plan (2026—2035) to the full county board with positive recommendations.

Assessor staffing: Committee members reviewed two new job descriptions for the assessor's office created after the departure of the former assessor and the contract hire of Stephanie Kennedy. The new roles—a property tax coordination coordinator and a field appraiser coordination coordinator—are intended to help clear backlog and align county staff with township assessors. Finance staff said the assessor's salary estimate for the current staffing level would run about $260,000 versus $385,000 budgeted, leaving roughly $125,000 available to cover the two positions for the remainder of 2026; staff cautioned the 2027 budget would reflect any full-year cost increases. A presenter who described the office's condition said Stephanie Kennedy found the office in disarray and recommended an organizational chart with supervisors and captains to separate key functions.

Capital improvement plan: The finance director presented the 2026—2035 plan, noting only added notes since the last draft. Deb moved to recommend the plan to the full board and Eric seconded; the committee voted in favor.

Votes at a glance: The committee voted to forward (1) the five-year capital improvement plan, (2) the Tyler Technologies procurement (see separate coverage) and (3) two assessor-office job descriptions to the full county board with positive recommendations. The committee also approved board member vouchers of $2,900 and deferred final action on treasurer's claims until signatures were complete.

What happens next: Each recommendation will go to the full county board for final approval, where contract authority, appropriation decisions and permanent staffing allocations will be decided.