Logan County Board passes next fiscal year budget
2015 reduces reserve
 

[November 11, 2014]  LINCOLN - After lengthy discussion and a decision to table the mine’s rezoning request at the Logan County Board’s Regular session on October 21, the primary issue of the remainder of the meeting was the passing of the budget and tax levies for the next fiscal year.

The next budget is from December 1 of 2014 through November 30 of 2015.

Chuck Ruben made motions to approve the list of tax levies first, and the relevant amounts:

• The general fund levy in the amount of $1,373,381
   
• The bond and interest levy in the amount of $45,225. This levy was abated by the county board later in the meeting.
   
• The liability insurance levy in the amount of $170,000
   
• The County Health Department levy in the amount of $372,357
   
• The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund levy in the amount of $659,750
   
• The County Highway Fund levy in the amount of $405,000

• The County Bridge Fund levy in the amount of $150,000
   
• The Highway Matching Tax levy in the amount of $215,000
   
• The Ambulance Service Fund levy in the amount of $285,650
   
• The Tuberculosis-Sanitarium levy in the amount of $46,000
   
• The Senior Citizens Tax Fund levy in the amount of $70,000
   
• The Cooperative Extension Service fund levy in the amount of $90,781

The total amount of these levies comes to $3,883,144.

The levies were approved unanimously by the board members.

After the levies were passed, the FY 2015 budget came up for approval. The total revenue for the budget (which is a combination of the tax levies and any other outside funding source) is estimated at $13,909,238; and the total expenses are estimated at $16,350,978.

One of the key figures the Finance Committee watches is how much remains for carry over from one year’s budget to the next year, or the total fund balance. Due to property taxes coming in at the end of the fiscal year, a 25 to 30 percent reserve is recommended for cash flow to stay in the black at any given point in the fiscal year, as well as funds for the potential of a catastrophic event.

The amount that rolled over from last year into the current budget, according to the audit from last year, was $5,570,714.

With expenses exceeding the revenues in this budget, the reserve will help absorb the loss from a lack of revenue.

At the end of the next budget for 2015, $3,128,974 is expected to remain to roll into 2016.

Ruben made a motion to approve the budget for the next fiscal year. Ruben also thanked the members of the Finance Committee and the courthouse staff for their hard work in putting the budget together.

The board voted to approve the new budget with a vote of ten-to-one, with Andy Anderson voting no.

Board members present at the meeting were David Hepler, Chuck Ruben, Gene Rohlfs, Robert Farmer, David Blankenship, Pat O’Neill, Andy Anderson, Emily Davenport, Kevin Bateman, Jan Schumacher and Scott Schaffenacher. Rick Aylesworth was absent.

[Derek Hurley]