Vote cuts Kane sheriff budget by $1.5 million, with options for Kramer
Saying they felt they have no other choice, a Kane County Board committee gave preliminary approval to a $1.54 million cut to the sheriff's budget Wednesday while being careful to frame the plan as not detrimental to public safety.
The plan targets what board members deemed to be “variable costs” in Sheriff Don Kramer's budget. The move comes in response to Kramer canceling a contract with the U.S. Marshals to house federal detainees at the county jail.
The contract was expected to reap $2.5 million for the county this year. Kramer told board members he spiked the program to make the jail safer for guards and inmates.
The biggest chunks of the board's responding cuts include assuming a $500,000 reduction in overtime spending since guards have about 100 fewer inmates to keep track of. It also involves stripping the entire $500,000 dedicated to vehicle replacement costs for the sheriff.
Some board members worried cutting out entire line items in Kramer's budget may have unforeseen repercussions.
“The safety of our residents in Kane County is our No. 1 concern,” board member Barb Wojnicki said. “What I'm finding difficult here is putting a price on public safety. He made what I think was a mistake. But his reasoning was he did it for the safety of prisoners and prison guards.”
Board members supporting the cuts said not allowing the sheriff to purchase new vehicles for patrol should have no public safety impact if Kramer goes along with the suggestion. It's because Kramer has not come forward with his own proposed cuts that the board must move forward with this plan, board member Kurt Kojzarek said.
“We could very easily say, 'You cut $2.5 million from your budget; fix it.' Instead, we're giving him a road map. There was no attempt to work with us prior to the fact. There was just a lot of scrambling after the fact.”
County board Chairman Chris Lauzen pointed out that former Sheriff Pat Perez survived his first year in office with no money for vehicle replacement and saw no negative impact to public safety.
Board members said if Kramer doesn't like the plan, he can offer his own suggestions. But the law says no matter what budget plan the board approves, it's only the actual dollar amount they control. Kramer has full power to decide where to make the cuts within his own office.
So far, he has not made that plan public other than to say he won't give up $2 million of his operational budget.
Kramer did recently meet with Kane County Auditor Terry Hunt to review a transitional audit for his office. Hunt said he did speak with Kramer about the budget problem he is facing and suggested to Kramer he should have completed the hiring of a new finance director in his office before making any large revenue cuts to his office.
Hunt said Kramer is in the final stages of making that hiring. Kramer did not give any indications of where he plans to cut his budget. He was not present at the committee's meeting Wednesday.
This isn't the end of the cuts. The county board and/or Kramer must still find an additional $500,000 to slice to fill the entire hole created by the cancellation of the contract. The balance of the lost revenue will be offset by previous cuts and expenses saved by not caring for the federal prisoners.