Kane County departments must find additional 4.5% cut for 2010
New charts projecting revenue coming to Kane County in 2010 showed tax income is vanishing right along with jobs, purchasing power and population growth. The bad news will not help tensions between the board and elected department heads who have struggled to make budget cuts this year. They were told to get ready for more cuts in 2010.
The forecast delivered Thursday by Finance Director Cheryl Pattelli to the county board's finance committee predicted about $2 million less will come to the general fund next year. That's the fund responsible for paying most of the bills, including payroll. Fueling the revenue projection is the expectation of ongoing diminished returns on investment income, sales tax income dropping by nearly $360,000 and a general lack of new development to fuel property taxes.
Pattelli said new property growth is the lowest she's seen in her 13 years of working for the county.
The result is county department heads will be asked to find another 4.5 percent to trim in their 2010 budgets. However, Pattelli indicated cuts will not necessarily be enforced across the board. Pattelli said County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay is asking for special hearings for each department to come in and describe how they'll make the cut or offer an explanation as to why they can't get it done. Pattelli said McConnaughay wants solutions by the end of October. The 2010 budget is due Nov. 30.
Finance committee members received the report in silence. Additional cuts aren't unexpected since county board members have warned all year that 2010 would be no better than the current budget.
The judiciary, state's attorney's, sheriff's and circuit court clerk's offices seem the most likely to balk against more cuts. Those offices have either not made the complete 5.5 percent cut for the 2009 budget, or expressed great concern about further loss of resources.
Pattelli will make a more in-depth presentation of the need for cuts when the full county board meets at the Sept. 29 Committee of the Whole meeting.