 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.
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.
[to top of second column]
 |
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.
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]
Related link
|
