Peoria County Election Commission Observer Report

8/22/2018: ​The Peoria County Election Commission held its annual meeting on August 22, 2018. Matt Bartolo and David Collins were reappointed and Sandra Burke was seated as the replacement for outgoing member Camille Gibson. David Collins was also reelected as the Chair of the Commission. A resolution was passed unanimously to honor Camille Gibson for her years of service.
Moving day for the Commission will be September 11, and is expected to take two days. The new phone number will go live on September 13. The staff will do their own packing, in part to save money, but mostly so they will know where everything is as they start to unpack. Signage should be up already. Refinishing the parking lot was a concern that was discussed.

There is a difference of opinion between the County Assessor's office and the State's Attorney as to whether the Commission owes real estate taxes. The attorney says that 55% of the building is rented to a county government entity and should be exempt from taxes, but the assessor says someone is making a profit from that rental so taxes should be paid.
In discussing the 2019 budget which must go to the County Board, the Election Commission felt that instead of following the recommendation of the County, a 2% raise should be given to all staff, rather than 2% to management and 1.5% to everyone else.
The schedule for early voting was approved. It will be held in the Brandywine location starting September 27. The Commission will use the Municipal Building (the old location) and ICC North during the week before the election. A new downtown location will be sought after the election. Other satellite locations were based on previous voting patterns in the County.
​Irene Pritzker, Observer