PUBLIC HEARING DATE SET FOR TIF DISTRICTS IN GREENVILLE
The Greenville City Council has passed another resolution in the TIF District process. In their last meeting, council members agreed on a place and time for a public hearing. City Manager Dave Willey explains that a TIF District allows a city to create incentives for developers through the use of additional taxes. These due from developer because they have made improvements to the property. Those taxes are then used for infrastructure improvements both at that site and other sites in the TIF District
The boundaries have been set for both districts. Willey said there is a downtown central district which includes roughly one block around the square, down 3rd to Harris Ave, and then from Harris almost to the RP Lumber site. The other one is a Rt. 127/I-70 TIF that includes all real estate from the Rt. 40/Rt. 127 interchange out to interstate.
A book called, "The Redevelopment Plan and Project", is available for each district. The book outlines boundaries and talks about how TIF Districts operate. Notifications of the new TIF Districts will be sent in the mail and a public hearing has been set for December 12 at 6:00 and 6:30 PM at Greenville City Hall.
BOND COUNTY INSURANCE COMMITTEE PRESENTS REPORT TO BOARD MEMBERS
The Bond County Board met for a special meeting Thursday night. Brooke Earnest, chairperson of the Insurance Committee presented to the board the report of insurance providers to be considered for FY06/07. Dental insurance was recommended to be provided by Met Life for a one-year rate with a slight increase from last year's coverage with Delta. Vision insurance was not a concern as there is still coverage for another year.
The Insurance Committee then recommended that the County stay with their current provider, GHP, but go with an alternative plan. The new program, GHP PPO 900, will have a $1,500 deductible per employee, in which the employee will pay the first $500 and the county will pick up the remaining $1,000. The committee believes this will benefit the County, while not losing much for the employees. A motion was carried by the Bond County Board to accept, approve and enroll in the committee's recommendations for dental and health insurance.
BOND COUNTY UNIT 2 SCHOOL DISTRICT NOW PART OF CHARACTER PLUS
At Monday night's Unit 2 Board of Education meeting, Carol Knight, head of the Character Education Program, presented an update to the organization. For the past two year the district-wide initiative has grown and is now affiliated with a more prominent, national program called Character Plus. Knight stated that with this new affiliation it would allow the district better access to seminars and conferences with incredible teaching tools. The services are available to administrators, faculty, support staff, parents, school board members and sometimes students.
By being a part of Character Plus, Unit 2 will be able to send a certain number of participants to seminars at no cost. Knight explained that the Belleville School District has been a part of the program and has already received $30,000 in yearly services. Seven teachers in our district recently benefited from Character Plus by attending a Ruby K. Payne workshop in St. Louis. Bond County Community Unit 2 is one of six districts state wide that has joined the national organization.
