Sheriff, Kane County board dig in over budget fight

Given another try, Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez still hasn't convinced county board members he needs all the money he's asked for in either 2009 or 2010.

And at least one county board member wants to renew discussion of layoffs.

Perez has the largest budget in the county, and, as such, was the key figure in day two of 2010 budget hearings with the board's Judicial and Public Safety Committee.

Perez pitched a budget that spends less in 2010 then he will in 2009, but still fails to make the 4.5 percent cut the county is targeting for next year. Indeed, his 2010 plan doesn't even cut spending down to the level the county board asked him to reach for the 2009 budget.

Perez spent much of the hearing trying to convince the county board to give him full credit for revenue he brings to the county through activities such as securing grants and processing evictions, cash that funnels into the county's general fund. The sheriff said some of that money should offset the cuts the county board wants him to make.

In particular, Perez wants a thorough accounting of what happens to federal money the county receives to offset the costs of housing illegal immigrants who've committed crimes in the county jail. That money, he said, disappears into the general fund.

"If the money is being earned on the backs of our employees, and it's our responsibility to administer that money, I can tell you right now that I am not comfortable with that," Perez said. "If there was impropriety about how that money was spent, it falls back on our agency. And I have no idea how it was spent."

Finance Director Cheryl Pattelli said the money ultimately funds Perez' department.

Perez then said its much easier for departments like the state's attorney's office to make cuts because, with no employee unions, they never have to worry about contract disputes or formal grievances.

After the meeting, board member John Fahy said Perez' cuts just aren't good enough. Fahy said he expects discussions about Perez' budget to get ugly again when the sheriff's 2010 proposal hits the Finance Committee. Layoffs or wage cuts will be the center of the debate, Fahy predicted.

"We are willing to fund a department who we believe has made a legitimate attempt to make a budget cut," Fahy said, suggesting Perez hasn't made such an attempt. "We're going to have to sit down with (the sheriff). It's going to involve getting into his personnel and having that discussion."