Easy come, easy go was not the modus operandi of the Cook County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, February 8 as they discussed office furniture requests with three department heads. The department heads – County Attorney Tim Scannell, Planning and Zoning Director Tim Nelson, and Assessor/Land Commissioner Mary Black – indicated they had worked hard to find the best value for what they believed their offices desperately needed.
Maintenance Director Brian Silence helped explain the reasons for the requests, which totaled $22,604.16 plus tax and shipping. Tim Nelson’s furniture is falling apart, he said. Changes in the configuration of Tim Scannell’s office involve security issues. Ergonomic problems in Mary Black’s department could result in liability issues. In addition, old desks are not set up for computer systems, he said.
Personnel Director Janet Simonen said the furniture in these three departments is about the oldest in the courthouse.
The board talked with staff about how to most efficiently address the issues. Commissioner Sue Hakes asked if they could save money by installing the furniture—which includes desks, tables, lighting, and file cabinets —themselves. Some of the warranty is lost if they install the equipment themselves, Silence said, and the office supply company could probably do the work in half the time it would take county employees to do it.
Scannell reminded the board that his request had been approved in his budget last summer. His office is being reconfigured to be more workable for people coming in to sign documents, and more filing cabinets are needed.
“I’m struggling with it all because we didn’t raise the levy and our federal funding is going down,” Commissioner Hakes said. She did support Scannell’s request since it had been approved in the budget.
Commissioner Martinson supported the request for the Attorney’s Office because it had already been approved in the 2011 budget, and he said it sounded to him like Tim Nelson’s furniture was the worst off. Nelson’s request states, “The existing office furniture is older than the rest of the other department pieces, and the functioning of the drawers is hindered due to the warping of the wood over the course of time. I am proposing to purchase a stronger but less expensive laminate to replace the two existing wood pieces.”
Scannell said his and the other departments tried to find good quality furniture at reasonable prices. They would save money by purchasing all their furniture at the same time.
The furniture for the Planning and Zoning Department and the Assessor’s Office would come from the Building Fund, although the specific requisition was not in the budget. Brian Silence asks for such funds when he makes budget requests for the Building Fund each year, Janet Simonen said.
Where could they save this money that was not budgeted? Commissioner Hakes wondered. Commissioner Fritz Sobanja wondered if they could get the same prices if they did not include furniture for the Assessor’s Office. Mary Black said she had not come to the meeting expecting to have to compete for funds for the furniture she was requesting. The board discussed the possibility of coming up with a policy regarding using the Building Fund for unbudgeted purchases.
A motion to purchase the furniture and equipment passed with three ayes and one nay, from Commissioner Sobanja. Commissioner Jan Hall was absent.
What will be done with the old furniture? Some could be sold at an auction or county rummage sale, Silence said. Some is so bad it will be thrown out. Some could be reconfigured for other areas.
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