Boone County board members discussed whether county building projects located inside the City of Belvidere should be subject to the city’s plan review and permit fees, and whether the county can pursue an intergovernmental agreement to perform its own reviews for county projects.

Becky Tobin, county staff, said some counties maintain agreements with municipalities so the county performs its own plan reviews and avoids municipal permit fees; she said the county’s State’s Attorney’s Office can investigate whether a similar arrangement is feasible for Boone County. "If you wanted us to pursue that a little bit further, we could," Tobin told the committee.

Board members expressed frustration that the city charged permit fees for county projects that they view as county business. Marion Thornberry said historically there had been an understanding that the city would not charge the county for permits on county buildings. Others suggested the matter be pursued through the county chairman, the State’s Attorney’s Office and, if needed, direct discussions with Belvidere officials.

The county did not adopt a policy change at the meeting. Several members recommended staff investigate the legal options and whether recent permit fees might be recoverable; Tobin said some plan review work for the courthouse was already underway with the city and that immediate refunds, if any, were uncertain. Board members also discussed the option of direct, informal outreach at Belvidere council meetings and reestablishing an intergovernmental coordination body to discuss recurring cross‑jurisdictional issues.

No formal motion to change permitting procedures was made; Tobin and the State’s Attorney’s Office said they would research possible approaches and report back to the board.