URBANA -- Champaign County Board members Tuesday approved using $100,000 from a courts construction fund to pay for new video arraignment system at the courthouse, as well as the replacement of a failing sound system in the courtrooms.

Both systems date back to the opening of the courthouse in 2001.

The appropriation will be included in the budget for the year beginning Dec. 1.

"Much of the time it seems to work, but some of the time it doesn't," said Urbana Democrat Tom Betz, an attorney. "This is definitely a system that is outmoded. I'm kind of surprised that some of it has lasted as long as it has."

Another Urbana Democrat, Chris Alix, said that after inspecting the system he believes it was poorly installed, and that  "I'm not certain the system we have is worth investing a significant amount of money in."

But two other Urbana Democrats, James Quisenberry and Brendan McGinty, expressed skepticism that the systems could be replaced for $100,000.

In other budget news, County Administrator Deb Busey said spending in the current year is running about $625,000 under projections while revenue is at about 101 percent of projections, meaning the county should end the current fiscal year on Nov. 30 with a relatively healthy fund balance of 11.85 percent of appropriations.

The county board also voiced support for the continued operation of a halfway house for federal prison offenders at the Prairie Center Health Systems Inc. facility near downtown Champaign. For almost 20 years Prairie Center has hosted about 15 inmates at a time for three to six months. The grant is worth about $450,000 a year to Prairie Center.

 Nine of the 27 board members, including all of those who are farmers, were absent from Tuesday's committee of the whole meeting: Republicans Ron Bensyl, John Jay, Brad Jones, Steve Moser, Alan Nudo, Steve O'Connor and Jonathan Schroeder. and Democrats Carol Ammons and Alan Kurtz.