Watchdog group tepidly endorses DuPage budget

An independent financial watchdog group based in Chicago is giving lukewarm support to DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom's budget proposal.

The Civic Federation urged more transparency, reduction of elected officials and better long-term planning to maximize tax dollars. The group commended the budget for freezing property taxes.

Ultimately it gave the budget "qualified support." Officials from the organization said that's the lowest level of support they offer.

With an eye on the additional dollars generated by the county's increased sales tax, the watchdog group preached planning when it comes to earmarking the new revenue.

"With new revenues come new responsibilities," President Laurence Msall said. "New spending should be linked to a rational planning process so taxpayers have a way to evaluate the quality of new or enhanced programs."

In the 50-page report accessible at civicfed.org, the group calls for the county to change the coroner's position from an elected post to a hired medical examiner's office and to combine the recorder and county clerk jobs. It also urges the county to examine privatizing the convalescent center, something Schillerstrom has attempted in the past.

The county has yet to pass the proposed $462 million budget. Schillerstrom said he has faith in the county's five-year budget plan.

"We remain committed to ensuring our budget process is open and transparent," he said. "We continue to make our budget a forward-looking document, which is why it's coupled with the strategic plan, which is a vision for the future of DuPage County."

The Civic Federation is a nonpartisan government research organization funded by major businesses and service firms in the region, Msall said. It has been operating for more than 100 years and regularly issues reports on various budgets from Chicago, Cook County, Chicago Public Schools and the state. This is the fourth year it has issued a report on the DuPage County budget.

Reaction to the report was varied from board members. Some members of the finance committee agreed with some recommendations, but opposed others.

Finance committee Chairman Patrick O'Shea said there are plenty of opportunities for the public to participate in the budget process, despite concerns from the group. The group calls for formal budget hearings instead of the multi-committee format the county employs.

"I don't think it's too complicated now," O'Shea said. "Having everyone report at once becomes cumbersome because of the size of the budget."

Msall said one of the biggest concerns his group has with the county budget is the lack of ties between spending and the county's five-year strategic plan.

"You can't identify how they're tied together," he said. "Our support is qualified because we are not able to assess whether the county is able to make the best strategic decisions through their spending."

Board member Brian Sheahan is one of 12 finance committee members, but he agrees the county needs to have more transparency in the budgeting process and should invest in technology to help.

"I don't see why we can't have a real-time budget online that's updated daily," he said. "There's no reason why we can't have every line item on the budget updated on at least a monthly basis so that every citizen can see what the county's financial position is."