Thursday, October 30, 2014

The Most Important Quality in a Leader + The Most Important Endorsement

Over the last two weeks, I've listed shared several endorsements with you.  All very good people with great things to say in recommending me.  And I thank them.

Now comes my latest mailer.  It has two messages:
  1. I listen to my closest advisers - my family, as well as to my constituents.
  2. The most important and best endorsement I can ask for is from my family.  They take this election very seriously and have helped me every step of the way. Thank you, Donna, Cordelia, Virginia, Jim, Joe, Josh, Maria and John Paul!
Please come out and vote for me on Nov 4th (or before then, as early voting is now open at the county building).

Thank you for reading my blog.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

And Now, For Something Completely Different - The Silly Season

This election stuff is a bit serious sometimes.  So I thought a little levity might be worth the 30 seconds to watch this video and short article from (S)Newsweek



Monday, October 27, 2014

10 Ways The Internet of Things Will Change How Our County Will Work in the Future.....Including Sangamon County

This is from govtech.com.  It reminds me of all the technology that has matured over the years at Sangamon County.  From y2k to making wi-fi available to the public anywhere in the building, we are seeing this unfold in front of us.

Many items and services are now available via a click on a web site, including paying tax bills, filing court documents, requesting an absentee ballot or looking at a zoning map.

This article and its attending link do a great job peeking into the future. Click here to read it.

Until next time.
tim

Top 10 Ways the Internet of Things Will Impact Our Cities

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a rapidly growing movement of Internet-enabled devices and people who are intelligently connected throughout our communities. It is leading to many new intelligent use-cases, and is poised to make our communities more efficient, sustainable and livable in the future.
Here are the top 10 areas where the Internet of Things will impact our cities in the future -- view our slideshow above for more detail on the ways each of these areas will be affected.
  1. Retail
  2. Infrastructure
  3. Transportation
  4. Education
  5. Governance
  6. Homes
  7. Environment
  8. Health care
  9. Industry
  10. Energy 

http://www.govtech.com/photos/Top-10-Ways-the-Internet-of-Things-Will-Impact-Our-Cities.html

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Who Has Endorsed Tim Moore for County Board?

My friend, Larry Bomke, former State Senator, recently endorsed me for County Board, District 22.


Thank you, Larry!

My friend, State Senator Sam McCann, recently endorsed me for County Board, District
22.


Thank you, Sam!

My friend and neighbor, John Milhiser, our State's Attorney, has endorsed me for County
Board District 22.

Thank you, John!








My friend and County Auditor, Paul Palazzolo has endorsed me for County
Board District 22.

Thank you, Paul!

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Q: What Does The Community Resources Committee Do? A: Helping Our Neighbors Help Themselves!

The Community Resource Committee has oversight of the Community Resource Department and the Illinois Worknet Training Center.

As a part-time-farmer-wanna-be, I really liked the Community Gardens program (sponsored by PNC Bank), along with the Farmers Market at the Community Resources and Health Department Building.

There are many grant-funded programs this Department and its committee oversee - from rental assistance to scholarships.  Most of these are offered as a hand-up to people who are "on the edge" and just need help to get through a tough time.  Other programs are skill-based or academically oriented.  Still more are job assistance....such as dental repair! It's tough to interview if you can't :) smile!
 
The committee supervises the Community Resource Department administration of the several grant programs that flow
through the County.  These are tax dollars coming back into our county through such Federal Grants as the Community Service Block Grant Program, the  Heating Assistance, Weatherization  and other grant programs. The Community Resources Department assists clients in receive job training, rental assistance, food and clothing and dental assistance. The IL Worknet Training Center provides assistance for displaced workers and job training through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) for five central Illinois counties.
 


Fall Scholarship & SCBG Scholarship
General Resource Guide
 

To Contact the Community Resources Department or the Employment Training Center,
visit or call the office at:

Sangamon County Department of Community Resources
2833 South Grand Ave. East, Suite C100, Springfield, IL 62703
(217) 535-3120

Partners in the Illinois Employment and Training Center
1300 South Ninth Street, Springfield, Illinois 62703
(217) 782-3846 Ext. 236

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

What Does The Public Health, Solid Waste and Zoning Do?

The Public Health, Solid Waste and Zoning committee's job is to oversee all matters pertaining to county planning, zoning and subdivision, (but not related to highways, roads and bridges) and work with the Zoning Office and the Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission on these land-use matters.   The Committee also has jurisdiction over public health within the county including animal control.  Recently, the Committee also took  on additional oversight of Solid Waste Management, such as land-fills and hazardous waste disposal.

When someone wants to use their land for a particular purpose other than its current designated use they have to get it zoned for that purpose.  Say you bought some farm land and wanted to build several houses on it, or maybe open a bait store.  Depending on how intense your development of that land will be, you would have to apply to the zoning office to have it zoned for that purpose.  The Committee would review that process.

Often, the Committee looks a zoning policy to determine if the use of the land makes sense from a growth perspective, especially if there's something new on the horizon, like wind farms.  The Committee then works with Regional Planning to help developers and builders follow the plan of how land should be used in the County.  For example, you may not want a bean-canning operation right next to a residential subdivision.

There are many zoning classifications, but mainly you have: Agriculture, Residential,
Business, and Industrial.  Each has it's own restrictions and permitted activities (uses).

In the area of Public Health and Safety, the Committee works with the Health Department in overseeing its budget and hiring process.  Again, where policy issues are involved, the Committee provides input to the Health Department Director.

During my previous time on the Board, we were instrumental in helping the Health Department consolidate its locations into the renovated "Cub Foods" building at 2833 South Grand Avenue East, Springfield.  This is now the location for all the Public Health Department Offices.


The Public Health Department does MANY things, too numerous to detail for this single blog post.    From inspecting restaurants and water-wells to giving flu shots, to tracking serious illnesses in the County. So for now I'll cover that another time in more detail.  But here's their site and their office hours below.
(217) 535-3100
Mon & Thr:  8 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.;
Tues, Wed, & Fri:  8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Until next time,

That's my view from the County!
tim
















 
 






Meeting Dates: The committee meets on the third Thursday of each month at 6:15 p.m. in Room 201.