Big issues on tap in Kane County

Spending to help complete several high profile projects in Kane County will be the featured part of the county board agenda next week.

The biggest ticket the board will be asked to punch is locking in the budget to move the county's 911 center from its current location on Fabyan Parkway to the Government Center. That project has long been under study and now has a projected cost of up to $1.2 million. The board already approved a portion of that cost by setting aside $492,000 of public safety sales tax money.

The second big ticket item will be tacking another $754,000 onto the cost of the new Kane County jail. The resolution before the board asks officials to recognize the jail came in about $300,000 under the overall $66.2 million budget, and earned $1.75 million of interest on the money during the actual construction of the jail. The resolution then asks the board for permission to spend about $754,000 of the interest income on buying food service, laundry equipment and supplies for the jail. The county originally planned to contract with Aramark for that equipment and supplies on an annual basis. Staff, looking to cut costs, believes the county can save about $144,000 a year by purchasing the equipment and supplies outright.

The county board will also be asked to renew the contracts for the two firms that lobby in Springfield for the county. Raucci & Sullivan Strategies, LLC will do most of the heavy lifting on all issues impacting the county except for transportation. For that work, the firm will be paid about $4,200 a month. Meanwhile, Illinois Governmental Consulting Group, LLC will handle all the transportation lobbying for the county at a cost of $3,000 per month. Both firms or members of the firms have made small political contributions to board Chairman Karen McConnaughay in the past.