No raises for DuPage employees in Schillerstrom budget

DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom's proposed budget for the coming year anticipates a $3.9 million drop in revenue and offers no raises for county employees.

Schillerstrom, announcing the plan Tuesday, calls the $450 million proposal a "maintenance budget" that neither adds or subtracts anything major from county services. That represents a $30 million drop from last year, with most of the savings come from commodities and contracts, county finance officials said.

The proposal, Schillerstrom says, will reduce property taxes. His budget plan calls for $66.3 million in tax collections, $100,000 less than this year.

"This is a fiscally conservative budget," Schillerstrom said, "which is very appropriate for these difficult times.

Schillerstrom, a Republican, is running for governor, and worked in a few jabs against state leadership and blasted Springfield for lapses in funding for county services that rely on state dollars.

"The failure of leadership at the state level has had a direct impact on DuPage County," Schillerstrom said. "Their inability to come up with sound financial planning has put our communities at risk."

Some capital improvement projects were also included in the budget proposal, and Schillerstrom suggested the county borrow $77 million through a federal program that offers debt assistance.

Some board members remain skeptical about borrowing at this time.

"It seems everyone's thinking we're coming out of this economic problem, but I don't believe we've reached that point yet," said District 6 board member Jim Zay.

Schillerstrom said he'd focus capital spending on "core projects" such as a new kitchen in the convalescent center, information technology system upgrades and other deferred maintenance projects. Several transportation projects would be funded as well, he said.

The decision to forgo raises for the coming year was difficult, but necessary to ensure service is maintained at its current level, Schillerstrom said.

"One of the things we've worked hard to do is stabilize the budget so workers don't have to worry about losing jobs," he said.

Some employees, such as sheriff's deputies, will receive small "step" raises that are part of their employment contract, said Chief Financial Officer Fred Backfield.

The budget proposal also calls for no additional positions, except those that are funded through federal grants. Backfield said those amount to about 12 full-time posts. The jobs would then be eliminated in a year or two after the federal funds for them runs out.

Schillerstrom also suggested the county could earn money by turning the county's youth lockup into a regional juvenile detention center that other counties would pay DuPage to house their young offenders. Currently, the facility in Warrenville averages a third of its possible capacity each year, he said.

"The major impacts of state cuts have been to probation and youth homes," Schillerstrom said. "Reimbursement and grants have been cut over 50 percent. We must find an alternative to this lack of funding."

The county board has until Nov. 30 to pass the budget. The board's finance committee is holding three town hall forums across the county to discuss the budget later this month to gather input from the public. Those forums are slated to run from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. each night. The first forum is scheduled for Sept. 24 at Naperville's Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St. The second will be Sept. 28 at Downers Grove village hall, 801 Burlington Ave. The final forum is slated for Sept. 29 at Addison village hall, 1 Friendship Plaza.