Union County Special Board Meeting 11.02.2026

Union County, Illinois, special board meeting on November 2, 2026, focused primarily on reviewing departmental budget requests and potential purchases. Highway requests included a wheel loader estimated at about $225,000, to be purchased through the Sourcewell contract rather than a separate bid; a $22,800 forestry-head attachment, to be funded mostly from prior-year available funds; and a $13,000 diagnostic tool with a $8,960 four-year service agreement. Board members indicated support for these items. Other equipment discussed included a one-time $29,400 county fuel-pump system replacement, animal-control automatic feeders and waterers, ambulance monitors already budgeted, and ambulance-quarter furnishings. The board also discussed a sheriff’s department zero-turn mower and previously approved vehicle, body-camera/taser, and CAD expenses. GIS software modernization was presented at $5,000 initially and $2,500 annually; members indicated support. Several requests were deferred or constrained, including making animal-control kennel positions full-time and the victim’s advocate position. A 5% increase for Southern Seven and a $150,000 legal-counsel budget were supported in discussion.

The circuit clerk described declining revenues in court-related special funds and requested support for software, data-security, texting, internet, and app costs. Members discussed funding eligible expenses from their designated accounts, including e-citation costs from the restricted e-citation fund, but the transcript does not show a single final vote on the full budget package. Contingency funding was supported for a victim-advocate grant shortfall and a public-defender grant shortfall. A request for a circuit-clerk employee’s retroactive pay adjustment prompted a dispute about a memorandum of understanding and transparency; no action was taken on it at this meeting. The meeting ended with a unanimous motion to adjourn.