Kane sheriff turns to RTA sales tax for solution

The possibility of Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez having a balanced budget this year moved past slim and into the none category Tuesday with news he will get zero new dollars from a federal grant on which he'd pinned his hopes.

It appears Perez will fall about $900,000 into the red, but he has a plan to make sure it doesn't happen again. The plan involves convincing the county board to rearrange its priorities for RTA sales tax money. Perez said the county devotes about 83 percent of that money to transportation, 3 percent to a contingency fund, and divides 14 percent among six public safety agencies. That results in the sheriff getting about $500,000 per year through 2011, according to the current plan. Perez said now is the time for the county to show it's as interested in residents' safety as it is in the safety of its bridges and roads.

"The current percentage shows me there's a pretty low priority placed on public safety," Perez said. "I'm not looking for new hires. I'm not looking for raises. I'm just looking for enough money to keep us afloat."

Current projections have Perez's office taking in about $300,000 more in new revenue than expected. If that holds, Perez feels confident all he needs is another $900,000 of RTA sales tax buoyancy to keep his budget floating in the black.

"I'm not saying it has to be changed permanently," Perez said of the amount of RTA funds he wants. "I just need a budget cycle or two budget cycles, however long it takes us to get through the downturn we're in. I just want a more fair and equitable distribution of those funds."

The starting point for that change is finding a way to keep the discussion between Perez and the board manageable enough for everyone to stay at the table. Perez said he regrets trying to walk out on the last budget discussion he had with the board with tensions flared over his department's organization.

"I was more disappointed in myself than I was in them," Perez said of his behavior at that meeting. "We're all human."

Perez is glad he stuck to his guns about keeping his number of sworn staff at 90 instead of cutting it to 87 as the county board originally planned. The thinking was Perez could make the cut as long as the county didn't count the salaries of officers paid for by the grant. With the grant failing to materialize, Perez would've either put himself further into the hole or cut payroll in some other way.

Moving forward, Perez said he'll bring his RTA proposal formally to the board with the message he will not use the money as an excuse that will prevent him from cutting waste in his department. Perez said he's proven he can cut. He has five fewer sworn staff than when he first took office. His fuel expenses are dramatically lower. And he's encouraging early retirement whenever possible. Last year, Perez came in below his $24 million budget. More cuts can only occur slowly, through attrition, he said.

"You can't just willy-nilly fire people to change your bottom end," Perez said. "I would have to have a just cause to terminate them. And when it comes to layoffs, you're talking about your least senior people (patrol deputies) leaving first."

Perez said lieutenants could become patrol officers again, but it could send a message that discourages employees from furthering their training and education to move up the ranks.

"And if they're gone, who does their duties?" Perez asked. "All I'm looking for is fairness."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=319793">County ties up big chunk of RTA sales tax money in transportation<span class="date"> [9/9/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>