Chairman: Balance will get McHenry Co. through '09's challenges

Navigating through what's expected to be a daunting 2009 will require McHenry County leaders to strike a balance between the growing demand for government services and the economic reality of declining revenues, County Board Chairman Ken Koehler said Tuesday in his annual State of the County address.

Koehler told board colleagues the county is well-positioned to take on that challenge, but will not succeed without welcoming new ideas while holding firm to some old, proven principles.

"We must do what we have always done: Conservatively manage the people's money to provide the services needed for a safe and healthy county environment," Koehler said. "I sincerely believe that if we are true to these principles and continue to conduct business as past experience dictates, we will weather this economic storm and come out stronger and for the better."

Koehler's address, his fifth since becoming county board chairman in 2004, struck a balance of its own: Recounting the county's successes of the past year while looking ahead to the challenges of the new one.

Among the recent successes, the Crystal Lake Republican said, was the opening of a new animal control facility in Crystal Lake, the graduation of seven former criminal defendants from the county's mental health court and the installation of a Cary-based consulting firm to run the Valley Hi Nursing Home.

"Valley Hi turned a corner and is stabilized under the new leadership of the Revere Group," he said. "Our new Valley Hi administrator is bringing a new level of professionalism to the facility."

The year ahead, he said, will see the completion of a long-awaited comprehensive land-use plan, a plan from the county's Groundwater Protection Program Task Force and a new paratransit initiative with Pace.

But all of that will have to occur in an economy that, Koehler said, will present the board with challenges unlike any seen in recent memory.

"Many of our fellow citizens in McHenry County are facing hard times," he said. "County government must find ways to make sure our citizens are directed to the resources that are available to assist them."

James Kennedy, the ranking Democrat on the county board, agreed with the tenor of Koehler's speech, saying it was time for everyone in county government to do more to help struggling residents.

"We're going to have to work harder to provide quality services with less revenue," Kennedy said.

Board member Randall Donley said the speech was not especially uplifting, but added that may have been appropriate given today's climate.

"It wasn't much of a 'rah-rah' speech, but then again, what's there to 'rah-rah' about?" he said. "There are a lot of challenges ahead."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related documents</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="/pdf/mchstatecounty09.pdf">McHenry County State of the County speech </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>