Kane Co. budget hearings up tension between board, elected officials

Kane County Circuit Court Clerk Deb Seyller showed up to Tuesday's budget hearing with the county board with doughnuts for everyone. She left with glares and a challenge to prove she's cut her staff as drastically as she claims.

Seyller was just one of several department heads asked to publicly explain why they haven't made the full 5.5 percent budget cut the county board told them to implement months ago. As of Tuesday, the county is slated to be $1.6 million over budget even if it spends all the $1.5 million in contingency money it set aside specifically for this year. There is a larger reserve fund of about $16.5 million the county board doesn't want to touch for fear of not being able to meet payroll.

For the most part, department heads in the county court system justified their overages on the basis of fluctuating crime rates and new, unfunded state mandates. County board members said those overages are appropriate uses of the $1.5 million contingency.

Other elected officials, such as County Clerk Jack Cunningham, promised the board his department would be on budget and avoided much questioning.

Seyller's office is $92,000 short of the cuts the board demanded. She is exploring a possible lawsuit against the county board because of the mandated cuts. Seyller has no current plan to find another $92,000 to trim. She said layoffs are not an option because her staff is a skeleton crew after cutting 10 positions. County board member Bill Wyatt refused to believe Seyller has lost that many employees. Wyatt asked for the names of all of Seyller's employees before the cuts and the names of her current staff to prove the staff reduction occurred.

"I'm talking names, not job descriptions," Wyatt said. "I want names. Can you get us a list?"

"How many times do I need to say yes?" Seyller said after Wyatt rephrased his demand several times.

Following a break, the county board brought in a payroll department employee who said she had no information indicating a reduction of 10 employees ever occurred in Seyller's department.

"Are you still willing to provide us your (list)?" Wyatt asked again.

"Yes," Seyller responded.

"Please provide us with a name, not just a job description," Wyatt said.

"I got that last time (you asked)," Seyller replied.

After the meeting, County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay said she plans to form a citizens' advisory committee as soon as possible so taxpayers can give elected officials who haven't made their budget cuts ideas about how to get it done.

"This isn't about unforeseen costs," McConnaughay said of the ongoing budget problem. "This is about less money to run the operation than a year ago. You have to reduce the size of the operation."

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