County To Change Property Tax Software
By Alex Haglund
The Washington County Board met at the Washington County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 14, for their regular monthly meeting, a brief one, during which a switch to a new tax software system for the county was approved, as was a project to install a sound system into the county board room.
Four county offices – the treasurer, the supervisor of assessments, the county clerk and the zoning department, will all be making use of the new software.
The system currently in use is a DOS program from Thomson Reuters, formerly Manatron, and the involved offices have agreed that they are ready for a change.
The new program comes from the vendor Devnet, and the contract will include the new software, license and a maintenance agreement.
The change will begin effective April 1, when the County Board of Review has finished for the year, allowing the transition to begin before next year’s taxes. The contract is for a five year license.
Sound System
The sound system for the county board’s meeting room was proposed by building committee chairman Gary Suedmeyer.
The system, to be purchased from Comm Squad of Lebanon, will consist of microphones, amplifiers, speakers, and their installation and wiring, as well as setup, testing and training on the system.
The total cost for the system will be $6,995, and the motion was approved, with Paul Todd voting against and all others voting for it.
Zoning
The board approved a special use permit for Scott Zoeckler, to allow the location and use of a mobile home as a residence.
State’s Attorney
State’s Attorney Dan Bronke’s report to the board was approved as presented.
Bronke also told the board that he would not be at the meeting for April – he will be at Project Heroin at Okawville High School, in order to help inform the public on the dangers of heroin.
County Clerk
County Clerk Nancy Heseman’s report was approved as presented.
Heseman also asked the board to approve paying the election bills. The spring election will be held on April 4 and Heseman would like to be able to pay the judges that assist in the election as soon afterwards as possible.
Emergency and Ambulance
Ambulance Committee Chair Victor Shubert presented the ambulance department’s monthly report, which the board approved.
Shubert also told the board that the ambulance department was to begin transitioning to an outside company for billing. In the longterm, Shubert stated, this will save the county money.
Highway
County Engineer Mitch Burdick spoke did not have any resoltuions to present, but did give a brief report on the county road tour. Burdick said that the road tour was very well attended, with members of the road and bridge committee and the county board chairman attending the nearly-day-long tour.
Personnel
Two appointments were approved by the county board. First, Ron Auld was reappointed to the Washington County Farmland Assessment Board, for a term through April 1, 2020.
Second, Pat Rolf was appointed to the Washington County Board of Mental Health, replacing Lawrence Schaff for an unexpired term through January 1, 2021.
