Kane County approves 2023 budget with no new taxes, but increases likely for 2024
With some board members pinching their noses and others outright voting "no," the Kane County Board approved a 2023 budget Tuesday. In doing so, board members who won reelection this month showed a willingness to begin talking about various tax increases for 2024 as soon as possible.
The $394 million spending plan passed with a 17-6 vote with one absence. It uses savings and some remaining federal COVID relief money to close a $17.5 million budget hole. The board spent much of 2022 debating ways to plug that hole once all the county's savings are gone.
All of the solutions involved some form of a tax increase or the creation of a new tax. With all 24 county board seats up for reelection, the board didn't have the political will to push any of those taxes forward.
But 2023 doesn't include any county board elections. And Democrats now have their largest majority on the board than any previous time in recent Kane County history.
Two Democrats who won reelection despite pushing for a property tax increase throughout 2022 - Vern Tepe and Michelle Gumz - put forward a last-ditch effort to include a 3% property tax increase in the 2023 budget.
"I do not agree with the budget as it sits today," Gumz said. "We are shortsighted. We are fixing this budget hole that is being dug year after year without forethought. We can't continue to pretend this is not an issue."
The board rejected that plan. Only Gumz and Tepe voted for it.
"This is a very, very, last-minute proposal," said board member Jaret Sanchez. We should be exploring these kinds of changes in their due time. Any disagreements with it need to happen next year in the budget process."
Tax cap law prevents the county board from increasing property taxes by more than 5% or the consumer price index. With high inflation, the board could have put in a 5% tax increase without asking for voter permission this year. If inflation stays high, that will remain a possibility for the 2024 budget.
Even then, a property tax increase would not address what is expected to be a similar budget hole for 2024. That opens the door for a possible referendum to create a new county sales tax. The board would most likely earmark that tax for public safety expenses, which represent a large portion of the county's general fund expenses. More money for law enforcement has also, typically, received more support from voters who would normally reject most other tax increases.
The 2023 budget includes a 3% raise for nonunion county employees. Raises for union employees are not yet determined as contracts remain in negotiation. Those negotiations have never resulted in union employees not getting a raise, even when the talks have gone to arbitration.
All these will be factors for the new county board to debate. The new and reelected board members will be sworn in next month.
The 2023 fiscal year begins on Dec. 1.