Kane County layoffs could be result of new cuts

Kane County government employees might be the next workers to join the ranks of the unemployed as officials will now turn to the payroll to balance a budget that's worse than expected.

County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay called on fellow elected officials Wednesday to back an additional 5.5 percent budget cut across the board and implement it as soon as possible.

"The economy has failed to rebound in the time that we had hoped for," McConnaughay said. "It does not appear that it's going to turn around at any time in Fiscal Year 2009."

The plan calls for cuts that equal the loss of sales and income tax revenue and development fee income. Sales tax income is expected to fall $1.9 million below expectations. Unemployment is fueling an $800,000 shortfall in expected income tax. And a slowdown in new commercial and residential growth has development income $890,000 below budget. All told, the county needs to recoup $3.8 million through new cuts.

The county finished the last fiscal year about $2.7 million in the red, leaving the county's rainy-day fund too low to help with the current shortfall.

Departments were already asked to cut back coming into the current fiscal year, and the health department already saw layoffs last year. Now, more of their colleagues from all departments might join them.

"There is no getting around the fact that at this point this begins to affect our personnel line item," McConnaughay said.

That means layoffs unless the county can negotiate some form of wage freezes, pay cuts and/or furlough days with its unions, she added. An emergency meeting will be called with the unions to begin discussions.

County board member Jim Mitchell, of North Aurora, suggested an across-the-board cut is not the way to go. He said all consultant contracts, lobbying contracts and travel expenditures should be chopped before employees if that proves to make the most sense. Board member John Fahy, of West Dundee, joined him in a call to review the budget by line item to find the necessary cuts.

However, the bulk of the finance committee and McConnaughay said that's a task that's failed in the past as department heads ultimately put the cash back in their budgets through amendments down the road. McConnaughay also said she believes there simply aren't enough items in the budget left to cut to get all the way to $3.8 million without also dropping employees.

The issue now moves to the full county board while department heads begin work on a potential list of new cuts.