Riverfront Park along Front Street at the Illinois River in Pekin. The city is working with the Heart of Illinois Regional Port District on the idea of establishing a port along Front Street. (Photo courtesy Riverroad.org)

AREA

Caterpillar to close five plants, cut 820 jobs

Cutbacks continue at Caterpillar Inc., as the Peoria-based heavy equipment maker announces it will close five more factories in reaction to slowing global demand for construction and mining equipment. The latest actions will result in the loss of about 820 positions. In addition to cutting capacity, the company will demolish a mostly vacant engine manufacturing building in Mossville to save money.

The company’s latest actions are part of a strategy outlined in September to trim Caterpillar’s workforce by about 10,000 positions and close or consolidate about 20 facilities through 2018. The company said it has shed about 5,300 positions so far.

The latest plants designated to close are in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi. They mostly produce components for Caterpillar machinery and engines. Their operations will be merged into other Caterpillar plants or assigned to parts suppliers outside of the company during the next 12 months to 18 months.

TAZEWELL COUNTY

Next auditor’s salary, workload will be cut

Tazewell County’s next auditor will have fewer responsibilities compared to the last auditor and, therefore, will earn less.

By a recent vote of 16-4, the Tazewell County Board decided to shift a hefty portion of duties performed by the previous auditor — namely purchasing and budgeting — back to the county administrator’s office.

For years, current auditor Vicki Grashoff has been handling those duties, which were neither accounted for in her salary nor demanded by statute. That auditor’s compensation, meanwhile, was decreased from $70,000 to $50,000 in a 17-3 vote. The original proposal asked for the pay to drop to $42,000. That was amended to $50,000, however, following questions of fairness to the next officeholder.

Her retirement this year was an opportune moment for the board to push through reforms it has long wanted in the office, board members said.

PEKIN

City to hire firm to find city manager candidates

The Pekin City Council has agreed to hire a search firm that will find candidates for the city manager position. Former City Manager Darin Girdler resigned Jan. 28. City officials hope to hire his replacement by fall.

Interim City Manager Sarah Newcomb will send out a request for proposal to find a firm for the job. Such a firm’s fee will be about $20,000. This will be the first time the city will use an outside firm to find city manager candidates since it has adopted the city form of government. The process takes about three to four months.

Questionnaires for the City Council have already been completed and a job description for the position has been written. After a firm is selected, the council will need to approve the contract with the firm so it can start looking for potential job applicants.

Port feasibility to be studied

The establishment of a possible port on the Illinois River along Front Street will be part of a new study conducted by several area organizations that will look at the logistics as a whole for the port. The Pekin City Council has approved spending $10,000 on the $90,000 study.

In 2012, The Heart of Illinois Regional Port District (TransPORT) planned to construct a port to be completed by 2014, but after two years of no construction and a poor economy, the idea had been put on hold.

The new study will look at a port from a broader aspect. The study will look at a multi-modal aspect of a possible port, or how multiple forms of transportation in a location can benefit an area.

If a port is constructed, Pekin could be open to more economic opportunities because the city will be able to attract businesses that rely on infrastructure and transportation.

The new study will take into account what kind of services the port will provide; such as whether the port will service grain transportation, roll on and off equipment, such as tractors or serve as a warehouse site.

–Tazewell County News Briefs–