Former district president votes 'no' on forest preserve budget

The Kane County Forest Preserve District has a new 2018-19 budget, but at least one commissioner views the plan as a broken promise.

Commissioner John Hoscheit logged the lone "no" vote on the budget plan this week. Hoscheit is the longtime former president of the district. In an interview, Hoscheit said he voted against the budget because it runs counter to the promise made when commissioners purchased the ice arena building that now serves as the district's headquarters.

Some taxpayers, at the time, didn't agree with the purchase. It put the district in the ice arena business, which some saw as a competitor to private businesses. But the plan moved forward because it provided needed office space for district staff as well as a nontax source of income.

"We made a commitment that the revenue generated from the ice arena facility would replenish every dollar invested in purchasing it," Hoscheit said. "We've paid back more than half of the investment, so far, with that commitment."

The new budget puts the ice arena income into the district's overall general fund. The fund pays for the bulk of the district's operating expenses, including salaries. Commissioners have moved to transfer more dollars into the general fund in recent years. The fund is more flexible than others with legal restrictions, meaning district staff has more capacity to address expenses as they come through.

Pressure has increased on the general fund as operating expenses continue to increase. That's part of why commissioners voted to raise the property tax levy by the maximum amount the past two years. Hoscheit said adding the ice arena profits into the fund is "disingenuous."

"What we're doing now is subsidizing the operations with that money," he said.

Finance committee Chairman Mark Davoust agreed the plan is different from what's been done in the past. But he believes the new plan is better. Instead of using ice arena funds to pay off the facility, the new budget uses profits from farm leases. Even though the district has long-term plans to convert farmland to public recreational use, ongoing land purchases often involve large swathes of farms. Davoust said farm lease profits will provide more money (around $300,000 more) to pay off the headquarters facility than what the ice arena generates.

"We are not abandoning our commitment," Davoust said. "We are trying to plan responsibly. Yes, we are putting the ice arena money into the general fund. But, no, we're not using it to subsidize increased spending. We already accounted for that in the tax levy."