Kane board members say sheriff will show up next week

Kane County Board members recently compared Sheriff Don Kramer's absence from several meetings about his budget problems to the movie "Groundhog Day."

Every meeting was the same. The board would fret over, then slash Kramer's finances without his feedback.

But now Kramer's shadow will reappear before the board next Thursday. Board members hope it results in at least six fewer months of bad budgeting.

Kramer has shunned most media interviews since his election last fall. But county officials who met behind closed doors with Kramer a week ago said the sheriff indicated he would resume his monthly reports and attend other budget discussions as needed.

The sheriff's budget problems began early this year with Kramer's decision to cancel a $2.5 million contract to house federal marshal detainees. Kramer said previously he made that decision because the jail is understaffed.

Now county officials also have increasing concerns about the possibility of the sheriff's office falling well short of the $1.2 million budgeted for income from foreclosure fees. The sheriff's office collected $321,600 in such fees as of this month. The county expected $500,000 in foreclosure fees by this point.

That's just one of the issues Kramer will likely be grilled about when he reports to the county board's judicial and public safety committee next week.

Kramer may be better prepared to answer such questions now than he has at any other point during his short tenure. That's because his re-emergence appears to be directly tied to his latest new hire - his own personal finance director.

Various county officials and employees could not or would not provide information Thursday about the identity, salary and qualifications of Kramer's hire Thursday. But the two county board members Kramer most needs to mend fences with already have high hopes for the new employee.

County board member Cristina Castro is chairman of the committee Kramer will report to. She confirmed Kramer requested a preliminary meeting with her and finance committee Chairman John Hoscheit. Kramer brought along Chief Deputy Tom Bumgarner, announced his new finance director and described him as having municipal finance experience.

"We had a lengthy discussion, and everybody agrees that we need to move forward," Castro said. "This is kind of an effort of good faith. As you know, he's got issues. But it was a very productive meeting."

Castro said Kramer provided positive feedback regarding the approximately $1.8 million in cuts the board already approved for the sheriff's office. But there is a pending $500,000 in additional cuts that Kramer wants time to analyze, and perhaps tweak, after consulting with his new finance director and the county's overall finance director, Joe Onzick.

Castro said she isn't sure how long it will take to get Kramer's financial director up to speed. As long as progress on cuts proceed within the next couple of months, she's confident the county can avoid a last-minute budget crisis.