Kane County department heads balk at submitting budget cuts

Several elected Kane County officials said Friday they can't submit plans to cut their budgets until they know exactly what tools they have to do the trimming.

Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti joined Sheriff Pat Perez, Coroner Chuck West and the leaders of several other departments in a call to seriously consider early retirements and increasing health insurance premiums instead of layoffs.

The call comes as infighting begins among county departments over who should bear the brunt of the cuts.

Department heads have been asked to cut 5.5 percent from their costs to slash $3.8 million from the county budget this year.

Next week, those officials will meet with the full county board to debate the requested cuts. They've already made it clear they are not pleased about the process so far.

"My employees have all these questions of which I have literally no answers," Barsanti said. "What I'd at least like to do is have a discussion of alternatives, which in my mind we've never had."

West agreed, saying he wants the health department, which already went through layoffs last year, to be included in the cuts again this year. Anything less amounts to "major discrimination against elected officials," he said.

He and Kane County Circuit Court Clerk Deborah Seyller are suggesting some health department employees' salaries are too high in comparison to other county employees.

"I just see inequities in the way we've been running the county, and it needs to change," Seyller said.

Board Member John Fahy urged the department heads to leave anger and attacks on other departments in the past and move forward with all-inclusive budget discussions.

"That conversation is going to happen now," he said. "It was a communication error on all of our parts."

Department heads did mention changes they are contemplating to cut costs while awaiting word on the viability of early retirements and health insurance premium hikes.

The jail, for instance, is replacing the hot breakfasts inmates receive with a cold meal, and asking federal marshals if they have any female inmates to house in the under-occupied female wing of the new county jail. Meanwhile, Perez will unveil a plan for red light cameras in the county next month.