DuPage County seeks residents' feedback on services, spending
As officials work to draft DuPage County's proposed budget for the next fiscal year, they want to know what services are most important to the public.
They're hoping to answer that - and other questions - by inviting residents to respond to a new online survey.
"A survey is one of the foundations of how we create a budget," said Paul Fichtner, a DuPage County Board member who serves as chairman of the finance committee. "This year, we're doing a more comprehensive survey and looking forward to getting more responses."
In addition to picking the three services most important to them, respondents are asked how the county should respond to possible reductions in state and federal funding. DuPage officials recently learned that decisions by the state will cost the county roughly $1.7 million in revenue during the next fiscal year, which starts Dec. 1.
The county board has until Nov. 30 to approve a budget.
County board Chairman Dan Cronin is scheduled to present his proposed spending plan to the full board on Sept. 26.
In the meantime, department heads and countywide elected officials are talking to board members about what they would like to see in the next budget.
Cronin said officials "highly value" the feedback from the survey.
"Like DuPage families, we too have a budget we must live within," Cronin said in a statement. "And like DuPage families, we must balance rising costs with available revenue. We use the survey data as a guide to develop a county spending blueprint that is fiscally responsible and meets residents' needs in the most cost-efficient manner possible."
In addition to budget-related questions, the survey seeks to gauge whether respondents have a favorable view of DuPage County government.
One question asks if respondents support the county's efforts to pursue consolidation and other government reforms with the DuPage Accountability, Consolidation and Transparency Initiative.
Another asks respondents if they support the idea of folding the duties of the DuPage Election Commission into the county clerk's office.
Cronin has said he's prepared to seek a binding referendum to return election oversight to the county clerk's office - power stripped from that office in the early 1970s to create the election commission. Officials say the consolidation would streamline county services and reduce costs.
This year's survey runs through early next month. Roughly 1,100 residents responded to the one conducted last year.
DuPage residents can take the survey at surveymonkey.com/r/DuPageBudgetSurveyFY2018 or by visiting the county's website at dupageco.org and clicking on the "budget survey" link.