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While planning for this year's county budget, the finance committee
anticipated the dips that have now been realized in lower revenues
from property, income, sales and other taxes.
Property and replacement taxes fund 20 percent of the county's
core operations, the "general fund," and 30 percent of all combined
departments and services. Across the board, revenues have been lower
but not too far outside what the committee projected during last
year's planning.
What is Logan County's current financial standing?
Month by month this year, the finance committee has seen Logan
County departments stay under budget, and the county board has
repeatedly commended our officials for their restraint.
While reviewing Logan County's year-to-date expenses up to
August, board chairman Terry Carlton said: "Overall we're right on
track at 74.9 percent, which is pretty much where we want to be." He
added, "Our department heads are managing their expenses very well;
most are under 60 percent."
Looking at the department figures, "budgeted year-to-date was
$5.6 million, but actual was at $4.2 million. That's good," he
concluded.
In Jan Schumacher's review of revenues, she said that property
tax was down some, replacement tax was only 66 percent but better
than last year, sales tax could look a little better, income tax was
down 50 percent, but the public safety tax was holding. She had good
news that some state reimbursements had come in on the state's
attorney's and assessor's salaries.
She also observed an increase in building permits, which not only
came as a pleasant surprise, but a hopeful indicator of future
growth. The permits that had been projected at $5,000 for the full
year are up to $19,000 year-to-date with three months remaining.
This month the committee is ready to begin the delicate task of
jiggling projected revenues over anticipated expenses and see where
next year's figures come out.
The biggest "fly in the ointment" planning for the coming year is
guessing how the state will live up to its obligations.
At the start of the summer, delayed state dollars subsidizing the
sheriff's, probation, public defender and the state's attorney's
offices inked red on the county's general fund. As payments
gradually caught up, that put August figures back in the black.
Word filtered down last month that the state would be making
permanent cuts in subsidies to some of the above county offices.
The committee is taking stock of this potential as it could hold
serious consequences. Sharing this concern, finance chairman Chuck
Ruben reminded members that once a budget has been adopted, it
cannot be decreased. The intent of the Illinois statue is to protect
offices from having funds taken away by the administrators or the
county board in mid-fiscal year due to bias for or against
individual officeholders.
In the event that funding would either be cut or not come in
during the county's fiscal year, the county would still be liable
for those costs.
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The largest budgeted use of county funds to all departments is
the health department at 22 percent. The department's 2010 budgeted
expenses were nearly $3 million. Its levy from the county was
$870,370. The Logan County Department of Public Health gets most of
its support through state and federal sources.
That department has been subject to substantial amounts of
delayed state payments this past year. In addition, many of its
programs were cut this spring, but the department continued support
of important programs where funding may be restored.
Administrator Mark Hilliard said they are seeing some of the
state funds come in, but it waffles from month to month, putting
them behind $300,000 to $500,000.
An important observation is that the recent catch-up payments
from the state have been made out of its new fiscal year that began
on July 1. Those who follow state spending speculate that it could
be as early as December when the state would again begin running
significantly behind in its payments.
Earlier this year the finance committee dealt with an example of
how the state has been shifting its financial burden to local
governments. While setting four-year salaries for officials in the
next election, it was noted that the state had cut the sheriff's
subsidy twice in amounts totaling nearly $10,000. The county picked
up that tab as well as scheduling to bring the sheriff's salary up
to the minimum of what other counties of comparable size and
economics are paying.
As the committee prepares to set the next budget, they are
anticipating the potential of either state cuts or the state's
inability to pay when it runs short on funds.
Carlton's concern is that it could throw hundreds of thousands of
dollars unbudgeted costs on the county. He called on officials to
review local fines or fees for services that could help offset the
losses.
The soon-to-be future?
Carlton told task force members that the United Counties Council
of Illinois is now encouraging counties to unifying with its
communities in overlapping services and departments wherever it can.
Counties and municipalities that begin this process now would be
ahead of the game.
While quite a complex prospect, especially where unions are
involved, the task force endorsed Carlton exploring the
possibilities of unifying services with communities in Logan County,
beginning with the city of Lincoln.
The chairman and board member Schumacher plan to attend a UCCI
conference on strategic planning for the county, which Carlton
believes will be enlightening and crucially important to the
county's future.
As the committee continues its work on the county's next fiscal
year budget this month, it may need to polish its crystal ball and
look deep to conjure an idea of what will come in the next year.
[By
JAN YOUNGQUIST]
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