DuPage County Board OKs $483.3M budget for fiscal 2021

DuPage County Board members on Tuesday approved a $483.3 million budget for the coming fiscal year that increases spending for public safety.

The 2021 budget, which takes effect Dec. 1, includes additional funding for the state's attorney's office, the sheriff's office and public defender's office.

"From the outset, public safety and public health have been my highest priority for this budget," board Chairman Dan Cronin said in a statement, "and we are focused on our commitment to keep our residents safe."

As part of the proposed budget, the sheriff's office was supposed to receive $47.3 million and roughly $10.2 million was allotted for the state attorney's office.

But on Tuesday, the board approved an extra $700,000 for the sheriff's office so it could hire three extra officers for its drug task force. Meanwhile, an extra $200,000 was allotted for the state's attorney's office so it could hire two additional lawyers. The public defender's office received an additional $100,000.

"Because of the current situation in DuPage County, not only with COVID, we're getting an influx of violent crime," board member James Zay of Carol Stream said.

The county will continue its fight against the pandemic using federal money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. DuPage has set aside $16.8 million to support public health initiatives, including the county health department's COVID-19 testing sites, contact tracing, purchases of personal protective equipment, and preparations for a mass vaccination program.

The county's spending plan sets aside $179.4 million for the general revenue fund, which includes the budgets of most county offices and departments.

DuPage's property tax levy was increased slightly to $69 million to capture new construction in the county being added to the property tax rolls. But the property tax rate will remain flat, officials said.

"Since the pandemic began, we worked to keep our costs low and trim expenses to put the county in a financially advantageous position," Cronin said. "This was not an easy budget to create, but thanks to our conservative fiscal approach, we're able to balance the budget without further burdening our residents."

To view the budget document, visit dupageco.org/finance.