advertisement

Kane finance panel: No new vehicles for sheriff this year

No new cars for the sheriff's department this year is one way county board members may cut its budget to make up for the loss of $2.5 million from a canceled contract to house federal prisoners in the county jail.

The board's finance committee Wednesday recommended slicing the entire $500,000 budgeted for vehicles in fiscal year 2015. It also recommended cutting out the overtime line item of $509,000, and reducing the fuel budget by $100,000.

Those moves, combined with Sheriff Donald Kramer's decision to not have a $91,000-a-year grant writer, a $225,000 budget cut made earlier this month by the board, and the $344,000 the county won't be spending on food, clothing, water and clothing for the federal inmates, will cover about $2 million of the lost revenue, according to a presentation by Joe Onzick, the county's finance director.

The board's executive committee will consider the recommendation next month.

"Any perception that the county has lots of money defies even a cursory look at facts and numbers," Chairman Chris Lauzen told the committee, during a part of the meeting where the committee decided how to allocate leftover money from the fiscal year.

A day earlier, Kramer told the judicial and public safety committee, "I'm not going to give up $2 million worth of the operational budget," and later said the county had plenty of money to replace the loss.

Board member T.R. Smith, of Hampshire, criticized Kramer, a fellow Republican. Smith had attended the judicial and public safety committee meeting.

"I resented the fact that the sheriff acted like this was the TV show 'Let's Make a Deal,'" Smith said. "He wants us to spend taxpayer money to take care of a mistake that he made."

Smith endorsed Kramer's opponent, Kevin Williams, in the Republican primary in 2014. So did Lauzen.

Board member Cristina Castro pointed out that the county board can only suggest that Kramer follow the budget the board gives him, as he is an elected official with control over operating his own department.

Contracts for large purchases, such as for vehicles, have to be approved by the county board, however.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.