Kane County Board votes to put draft version of 2027 budget on display

Kane County’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 is now on display for the public to review.

At its meeting on Tuesday, the Kane County Board OK’d putting the draft budget on display, approving the measure as part of the meeting’s consent agenda.

The draft budget, as it stands, totals just under $403 million, with the county’s general fund spending at this point balanced without the use of reserves.

Now, the proposed budget must remain on public display for 15 days before the budget can be officially adopted. It’s available online on the county’s website, and hard copies will be available at the Kane County Board Office and Kane County Clerk’s Office, both located at the Kane County Government Center at 719 S. Batavia Ave. in Geneva.

Like last year, the county board’s recent budget-making efforts have largely centered around addressing a looming budget shortfall in the county’s general fund, which the board has been addressing since 2023 by dipping into the county’s cash reserves.

But using reserves to balance the county’s annual budget won’t be an option forever, county staff members have cautioned, warning that the county must make significant cuts or find new revenue before 2027 to avoid going into its required 90-day reserves.

One possible solution to these budget woes was a 0.75% sales tax referendum question. But it was overwhelmingly shot down by voters in 2025.

During the budgeting process last year, in the wake of the referendum question’s failure, the board took a variety of measures to close the gap, but ultimately ended up using about $6 million in cash reserves to balance the county’s fiscal year 2026 budget. That amount, however, is down from about $27 million used to balance the county budget the year prior.

This year, the county board has indicated it plans to use little to no reserves to balance the general fund portion of the fiscal year 2027 budget, tasking members with finding other ways to balance it.

Notably, the draft budget for this year does not at this point use any of the county’s cash reserves to balance its general fund spending, compared to around $6.4 million set to be used to balance the general fund in the 2026 budget, county budget documents show.

The board also appears to be moving at a faster clip than in recent years when it comes to getting the budget process rolling.

Last year’s budget was approved in mid-November, as was the county’s 2025 budget. The board has until Dec. 1 each year to approve the county’s annual budget.

This year, however, the county board has indicated that it’s looking to approve a 2027 budget as early as August.

But the proposed budget has to first undergo public review and feedback before it can be approved, which is why the board brought forward and passed the measure Tuesday to put the draft budget on display.

At the county board’s Executive Committee meeting last week, committee chair Bill Lenert explained that the board’s hope is to keep the general fund balanced, but reserves are available for emergencies.

“At this point, we’ve got a budget that we feel is reasonable,” Lenert said. “Everybody here had to suffer some. I mean, to say that this is a budget that everyone is happy with and that everyone is fully behind is not true. But they have all agreed to it.”

At that meeting, concerns were raised by board member Deborah Allan about the county’s raises for non-union employees in 2027, saying they should get a raise of 2.7% in line with the Consumer Price Index, rather than the 2.5% that was approved previously.

Lenert pointed out that departments and elected offices can increase that amount from 2.5% to 2.7%. But that some may not be able to do that because of budget constraints. He also noted that the county could have an emergency resolution in 2027 for the additional funds if a department wanted to make that increase.

Board member Clifford Surges also raised concerns at that meeting about the impact of the budget on the Kane County Division of Transportation.

The measure to put the draft budget on display, however, was ultimately recommended for approval by the Executive Committee, with only Allan and Surges voting against it.

It then came to the full board for final approval on Tuesday and was passed as part of the meeting’s consent agenda.

So, what’s in the draft budget now on display?

The county’s budget is divided largely into two sections — the general fund and the various special funds, which represent dollars restricted to certain uses. The general fund is the fund that has been facing a shortfall.

The general fund spending in the 2027 draft budget totals about $131.6 million, according to the draft budget worksheet. That’s about $1.4 million higher than the county’s 2026 amended budget, per the county’s numbers.

But that number is — at least at this point — balanced with the county’s expected revenue, thereby not requiring the county to further spend down its reserves.

The county’s other non-general fund expenses total a little over $271 million in the draft budget, making for a total of just under $403 million in projected spending for fiscal year 2027, according to the county’s figures. In comparison, the county’s amended budget for this past year totaled a little under $410 million, per the county.

The full draft budget can be found at kanecountyil.gov/pages/finance.aspx.

After it’s on display for at least 15 days, the draft budget can go for final approval by the county board. The board is expected to vote on the budget in August.