Decennial Committee Meeting

Click here to watch the first Shields Township Decennial Committee on Efficiency held on Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 5:45pm.

Agenda

10.19.23_decennial_committee_agenda_.pdf
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Shields Township
906 W. Muir Avenue, Lake Bluff, IL 60044
Regular Meeting of the Shields Township Decennial Committee on Efficiency
Thursday, Oct 19, 2023, at 5:45 p.m.
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AGENDA
 

1. Call to Order & Roll Call
2. Public Comment – Three (3) minutes per speaker
3. Introduction – Purpose and Schedule
4. Review of Jurisdiction and Powers
5. Review of Programs and Services
6. Survey of Residents in Attendance
7. Other Business
8. Adjournment

 
 
 
Serving our communities since 1850

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MINUTES

10.19.23_decennial_committee_meeting_minutes.pdf
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Minutes – Shields Township Decennial Committee on Efficiency
Meeting October 19, 2023
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STATE OF ILLINOIS,)
Lake County,               )
Town of Shields          )
 
            THE TOWN BOARD OF SHIELDS TOWNSHIP held its Decennial Committee Meeting on Thursday October 19, 2023, at 5:45 p.m.
 
PRESENT    
                        Lisette Rothing          Deputy Clerk
                        Jeff Urso                      Supervisor      
                        Brady Andersen         Town Trustee
                        Matt Garrity                Town Trustee
                        Michael Machnicki    Town Trustee
                        David Weil                  Town Trustee
                        Carl Kitzerow              Committee Person
                        Kathy Blahunka         Committee Person
ABSENT
                        Carl Evans                   Committee Person
 

1. Call to Order & Roll Call – Supervisor Urso called meeting to order at 5:45pm
2. Public Comment – Three (3) minutes per speaker – No Public Comment
3. Introduction – Purpose and Schedule – Counselman Kimzey states the purpose is to simply reiterate the schedule of these meetings and provide context for the topics covered at the present meeting. A calendar of dates was presented to the committee for approval of the upcoming decennial meetings and was approved by all parties. A grand report will be due at the last Decennial Meeting in November 2024. The Township will talk about functions and responsibilities, general assistance, record keeping and road assessments. It’s also a good time to talk about what the Township does well and what they can do better. It’s an opportunity to eliminate gaps and redundancies.
4. Review of Jurisdiction and Powers – Supervisor Urso is pleased with what the Township has accomplished thus far in a short amount of time under the new administration. Entering into an IGA with Waukegan Township has been extremely beneficial to all our Shields residents, especially in North Chicago. This allows the residents to have a closer facility for help with General and Emergency Assistance. Waukegan Township has also opened their Senior Center to the North Chicago residents of Shields Township allowing all seniors a place to go if they are in need. We have also contracted with a vendor who does commercial and residential assessments with a system that is far more advanced than the County. This allows for more efficient and cost-effective ways to help our taxpayers value their property in a timely manner. Finally, we are looking to try and digitize a lot of the old documents that need to be retained for the foreseeable future. This could take a lot of time but is something we want to investigate doing.
5. Review of Programs and Services – Committee Person Kitzerow reads a report on behalf of Assessor Helton. He states Shields Township has outsourced the valuation of Shields Township properties to AccuBase Solutions. They provide superior technical support and current updated market data for our office. The IMS system that has been used is an amazing system that allows everything to be done promptly, efficiently and is more cost effective. AccuBase has developed a review process with our residents regarding how their valuation were established and whether an appeal to the Board of Review is even necessary. AccuBase defends our assessments with Taxpayers at the Board of Review. This allows the Shields Township Assessor to substantially reduce his staffing needs. Supervisor Urso moves on to talk about road maintenance, especially in the unincorporated areas. He addresses residents concerns like water mitigation and has decided to use the county engineer to do some studies on how to help the problem. Shields also contracted out the grass cutting in the unincorporated areas and are looking to contract out tree removal and ditch digging to alleviate costs and bring up efficiency as well. A long-term IGA with a neighboring community would be ideal for the future of Shields Township. Committee Person Blahunka talks about how outsourcing our social worker with Waukegan Township was a great idea. It allows a second location for those in need that reside in Shields Township. The IGA with Waukegan also gives another location for our seniors to use the Patricia A. Jones Center, a senior center for North Chicago residents.  Dickinson Hall is for the senior citizens in district 115. They are also an important partnership with their enrichment programs for seniors in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. Finally, Mothers trust was our third grant recipient helping local families with things like shoes, clothing, eye exams and home stability programs. They have helped over 250 families in North Chicago alone this past year. Committee Person Blahunka reiterates that these partnerships continue to be effective ways to help the community and make the Township more efficient.
6. Survey of Residents in Attendance - Supervisor Urso commends his staff for picking up the pieces and working hard to make this Township run more efficiently. He also thanks the patrons of Shields Township for coming to the board meetings to voice their opinions about the community.  
7. Other Business - None
8. Adjournment – All in favor of adjournment. Trustee Garrity motions, Trustee Weil Seconds.  Meeting Adjourned at 6:23pm.