The Tazewell County Board on Wednesday approved a three-year contract with the sheriff department's deputy sheriffs and sergeants.
The back-dated contract covers the period from December 2024 through the end of November 2027. It has a 5% salary increase effective Dec. 1, 2024, and a 4% raise as of this Dec. 1 – the first day of the county's fiscal year. Another 3% increase goes into effect Dec. 1, 2026.
The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council assisted the deputy sheriffs and sergeants with contract negotiations. No board member commented on the contract, and the vote was unanimous.
The end-of-year board meeting Wednesday lasted about a half-hour, with around 15 minutes taken up by a presentation by Probation Department Director John Horan.
The board will meet Dec. 17 only if needed.
Courthouse attic insulation project
Other items unanimously approved during Wednesday's meeting include:
• Hiring low bidder Illinois Construction Group of Peoria for an attic insulation project at the Tazewell County Courthouse. The low bid was approximately $35,500. Peoria-based P.J. Hoerr obtained the bids and will be the construction manager;
• Lowering the speed limit from 45 miles per hour to 35 mph on a section of Sheridan Road from the eastern Pekin border east one-third of a mile to California Road;
• Increasing the pay for members of the Zoning Board of Appeals from $60 to $75 per meeting. The last pay increase – from $40 to $60 per meeting – was in 2004;
• Transferring jurisdiction of a section of North Main Street from North Street north a half-mile to Cruger Road from the county to the city of Washington. The Washington City Council approved the transfer Monday;
• Receiving $4.5 million in motor fuel tax funds from the Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT] for general maintenance of county roads in 2026;
• Paying $96,000 to the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission for zoning and planning services in 2026;
• Contracting with Central Illinois Fire Inspection Services of Morton to perform fire and health safety inspections of commercial buildings during the 2025-26 fiscal year. Also, contracting with Glen Gullette of Pekin to do residential building code and electrical inspections; Tucker Plumbing of Pekin to do residential plumbing inspections; and Richard Young of Creve Coeur to do residential and commercial electrical inspections.
• Contracting with Cloudpoint Geospatial of Metamora to do 911 addressing for $6,000 during the 2025-26 fiscal year.
• Reappointing Sarah Sies of Pekin to the Schaeferville Fire Protection Board, and Jeffrey Keyser of Mackinaw to the Mackinaw Valley Water Authority Board, each for a three-year term.
