Saturday, September 11, 2010
 
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County gearing up for fiscal 2011 and future

Part 1: Budget preparations

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[September 11, 2010]  August, September and October are big months for those who oversee Logan County's finances.

In August the Logan County Board's finance committee reviewed year-to-date revenues and expenses through July, the three-quarters mark of the current fiscal year. The figures supplied by the treasurer's office serve as a good indicator of how the 2010 Logan County fiscal year will wind up come Nov. 30.

At the end of August, the committee officially launched its process of planning for the 2011 budget with two mornings, eight hours of listening to requests from department heads and officials planning for next year. Committee members pored over the written proposed budgets showing revenues and expenses, asking each official about changes, which weren't many -- most were the same as last year.

The committee also invited representatives of historic sites to present their requests, which are funded under the tourism fund. Local tourism is funded by a 5 percent sales tax on hotel and motel stays. The greater bulk, 4 percent, goes to the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County. The remaining 1 percent is split between Main Street Lincoln and various historic sites.

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This year historic sites had $45,000 in requests, but there is less than $20,000 available to distribute.

During this year's historic sites hearings, Phil Bertoni came forward to present a one-time request. Mount Pulaski is planning its 175th anniversary, and as the second-oldest Logan County community -- Middletown being the oldest -- they are going to do their best to make it a big event. Tom Martin is serving as chairman of the all-year event that will feature five big days in June. The kickoff would be a premiere event at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield for special recognition, inviting citizens who have moved away and Logan County residents. Other activities include renting large air-conditioned tents to go up around the square for entertainment and food. The committee is fundraising to meet a budget of $100,000.

Also as part of the budget process, the committee will decide the distribution of levy funds from property assessments. The money is distributed to support the county's general operations, liability insurance, matching tax and county employee retirement funds, as well as health department, highway, bridge, ambulance, tuberculosis, senior citizens and Cooperative Extension funds by levy.

The levy amounts are based on property tax. Logan County is subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, which uses the Consumer Price Index in calculating property tax extensions. Logan County Clerk Sally Litterly handles the processes. Litterly has received notice from the Illinois Department of Revenue that the CPI for property tax extensions payable in 2011 will be 2.7 percent.

Previously, for several years the levy funds for some departments such as the health and highway departments have been shifted to aid the general fund.

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Highway engineer Bret Aukamp has said that it is time to restore those funds, as putting off the normal road and bridge maintenance projects from this time forward would result not only in much higher costs, but also create a downward spiral that would result in a number of road and bridge closures in the future. The areas that would be affected are not primary passages but are important to infrastructure that supports our rural and farming communities.

The health department also spoke for its full levy this year. Administrator Mark Hilliard said that currently they are seeing some of the delayed state funds come in. But, he said that those payments waffle month to month, keeping them in arrears between $300,000 and $500,000.

The health department's finance officer, Sally Gosda, said the health department is falling behind. Not only is the state behind on payments, but there have been cuts and also, more often, the grants don't allow for some expenses, such as IMRF and even administrative costs. Yet the state continues to require more work be done to get those grants.

What has been a big benefit to the county in the last couple of years has been the number of grants that elected officials and other department heads are now pursuing aggressively, and often getting results. The county has received a variety of grants that provide for new equipment, services or energy savings that have helped offset expenses and move forward.

The county's financial consultant, Andy Lascody of Springfield accountants Sikich Gardner & Co., sat in on the budget hearings and has kept track of all the above figures that would be looked at this month as the budget process continues.

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With current general fund figures, current, past and future annual budgets, the last audit and budget requests all in hand, the finance committee moves forward this month to make the hard decisions on cuts, set levies and create a preliminary draft of the next fiscal year's budget.

If all goes well, a final draft would be ready for final tweaking and full board approval at the adjourned November session and ready for the start of the next fiscal year on Dec. 1, 2010.

[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]

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