2024 holiday schedule approved

OREGON — At the monthly meeting Tuesday of the Ogle County Board, Chairman John Finfrock said the county received official notification Tuesday from the Property Tax Appeal Board that it is no longer liable for $17.3 million worth of taxes following an agreement with Exelon/Constellation and the Byron Nuclear Plant regarding real property tax assessment that it approved unanimously in June.

"That was good news," Finfrock said. "So now we start fresh with Constellation. We passed that agreement with them and that was a really big step. I thank the people that were on that committee and worked to do that."

The agreement made the plant's equalized assessed valuation $500 million for the years of 2022-2027. Back in June, Finfrock called the agreement "good for all of the taxing bodies in the county." The county liability for $17.3 million was from 2012 on.

Finfrock said back in June that after the sixth year, it's expected that Exelon will possibly add more to its current station, at which point the county and taxing bodies could then renegotiate and possibly increase the taxing dollars after that.

Holiday schedule

The board voted 14-9 to approve the county's holiday schedule for 2024. It includes New Year's Day (Jan. 1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 15), Lincoln's Birthday (Feb. 12), Washington's Birthday (Feb. 19), Good Friday (March 29), Memorial Day (May 27), Juneteenth Independence Day (June 19), Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (Sept. 2), Columbus Day (Oct. 14), General Election Day (Nov. 5), Veteran's Day (Nov. 11), Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday (Nov. 28-29) and Christmas Day (Dec. 25).

Some board members took issue with the number of holiday dates.

"I can't and won't support this," One board member said. "I see we're talking about 15 days off. That's three five-day weeks in addition to their vacation time. Every time we turn around, somebody has another holiday they want. I just don't think it's right. It's excessive."

The board also approved its meeting schedule for 2024 and will continue to meet on the third Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. at the Ogle County Courthouse at 105 S. 5th St. on the third floor.

Meeting dates will be Jan. 16, Feb. 20, March 19, April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, Aug. 20, Sept. 17, Oct. 15, Nov. 19 and Dec. 17. The 2024 budget hearing will be held Oct. 28.

Ice abrasives

The board voted unanimously to appropriate $32,475 from the County Highway fund for ice abrasives and accepted a low bid for the materials from Steve Benesh & Sons for that amount.