There’s more than one way to slice a pie. Cook County Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers wrestled with this as he prepared options for rearranging some of the five county commissioner districts following changes discovered in the 2010 U.S. Census. He presented two options to the county board on March 20, 2012, one which would not require Commissioner Jan Hall to run a mid-term election campaign, an option Powers considered more “conservative.”
The 2010 census showed that Jan Hall’s district was too large and Fritz Sobanja’s district was too small. Districts must be within 10 percent of the average, which is just over 1,035 constituents for each of the five districts in Cook County, which now has a population of 5,176.
The more “conservative” option would require Fritz Sobanja and Jim Johnson to run again if their terms were not going to be up at the end of 2012 anyway. Under this option, the only district not to switch any census blocks with other districts would be Bruce Martinson’s. The board approved this option for use as a preliminary plan.
A county commissioner must run again if the sum of the number of people lost and the number of people gained in that district is greater than 5 percent of the average number of people per district. Census results sent to the county in May 2011 showed Jan Hall with 1,201 constituents, but software provided later showed she had 1,151, which allowed redistricting to take place without requiring her to run.
Auditor-Treasurer Powers will have a map of the proposed changes in his office and on the county website. Public hearings to discuss the proposed changes will be held at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 10 and at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 24 in the commissioners’ room at the Cook County Courthouse.
Auditor-Treasurer Powers also recommended splitting Jim Johnson’s district into two precincts, with Maple Hill being the dividing point. This will mean that two sets of election judges will count mailin ballots instead of one, allowing election results to be available sooner. This voting precinct has traditionally taken longer than the others to count.
In other county news:
. The board authorized a contract with Minnesota Counties Information Systems (MCIS) regarding sharing a new land and legal document records system vendor with 13 other counties. The previous vendor chose not to renew its contract with MCIS. The cost of converting to a new vendor will be over $20,000. Ongoing costs will include a 25 percent share of revenue with the vendor, but the previous vendor got a 50 percent share after credit card fees.
. The board approved a loan policy for volunteer fire departments needing money for equipment and buildings. Loans of less than $100,000 will be given at 0 percent interest. Loans above $100,000 will have an interest rate of 2 basis points below the 10-year T-bond rate, but not less than 1 percent. Loan terms can be up to 25 years.
. Information Technology Director Danna MacKenzie presented the Broadband Commission’s 2012 work plan for the board’s approval. Some of its current goals include working closely with Cook County Higher Education, continuing to work with
Arrowhead Electric Cooperative Inc., which is installing fiber optic lines throughout the county, demonstrating the usefulness of broadband with projects such as using technology to keep the elderly in their own homes, getting more government information online for public access, and videotaping and broadcasting local events. “What’s come out of this,” said MacKenzie, “is to rebuild PAC-13 [the local cable TV station] so it’s available countywide.” MacKenzie also reported that new platbooks are now available for $35 in the assessor’s, recorder’s, and auditortreasurer’s offices.
. At Personnel Director Janet Simonen’s suggestion, the board discussed the possibility of paying for snacks at a day-long all-staff safety training coming up this spring. Commissioners declined to authorize the expenditure, but several people in the room including commissioners and Simonen herself volunteered to donate money or provide homemade snacks.
Other business on March 13
. The board approved a capital
purchase request from the County
Attorney’s Office for a stand-up
workstation to be used by County
Attorney Tim Scannell.
The cost is $692.99, which will be
taken out of the county building fund
because it was not in the department’s
budget.
A purchase request from the
Attorney’s Office stated that it was for
“ergonomics/comfort.”
. The board voted to appoint
former county highway department
employee and curler Bill Parish to the
Community Center Board of Trustees.
. Commissioner Jim Johnson said
Cook County Historical Society
Museum Director Carrie McHugh
asked him if the county wanted to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of
the courthouse building. “Love it,”
Commissioner Sue Hakes said of the
idea.
“I’m for it,” said Commissioner Jan Hall.
By consensus, the board supported
the Historical Society’s offer to help
plan a celebration.
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