Rules set up possibility Kane County could raise property taxes again

Kane County officials debated potential ground rules to form the 2019 budget Wednesday.

The rules provide paths for property tax and fee increases as well as a potential budget cut reprieve that might help restore the electronic monitoring program for pretrial defendants.

The county board will develop a full draft of the budget by September. It will take a final vote before the conclusion of the fiscal year in November.

After five years of a frozen property tax levy, county board members raised taxes in 2017 and 2018 to include money from new property coming onto the tax rolls.

The suggested rules for 2019 show there is at least some expectation of a larger property tax increase on what will likely be a divided board if the issue arises.

The rules call for a straight roll call vote if there will be a property tax increase for new construction. There would then be a separate roll call vote for any property tax increase. State law limits non-referendum property tax increases to 5 percent or the annual Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. The CPI has been 3 percent or less since 2011.

The draft rules also suggest foregoing across-the-board budget cuts except as a last resort. The board imposed an across-the-board cut to balance the 2018 budget. It resulted in the end of the electronic monitoring program for potentially dangerous defendants awaiting trial. Though some board members dispute the accuracy of the claim, Chief Judge Susan Clancy Boles said cutting the program was the only way to achieve the cut the board demanded.

There is now an attempt to revive the program. The loss of state grant money will make the program more costly than ever for the county to fund. If Boles can avoid being part of an across-the-board budget cut, it may help sustain the long-term future of the program if board members can carve out money to restore it.

County board Chairman Chris Lauzen spoke in support of the ground rules as a way to avoid a repeat of last year's budget debate. About one-third of the board voted against the final budget.

Lauzen said the suggested rules will provide more transparency earlier in the process "so that we don't strain relationships on the board. People get hurt in that process. They get emotional. They get angry. We want people getting along."

Finance committee Chairman John Hoscheit also promoted the rules, though he disagreed with any lingering sentiment that some board members weren't allowed a full say in the budget last year.

"We want to include everyone," Hoscheit said. "But there are some members who are dedicating their time in other places or who choose not to be directly involved."