Will County Finance Committee met Sept. 1.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
I. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL
Chair Kenneth E. Harris called the meeting to order at 10:01 AM
| Attendee Name | Title | Status | Arrived |
| Kenneth E. Harris | Chair | Present | |
| Jacqueline Traynere | Vice Chair | Late | |
| vvHerbert Brooks Jr. | District 8 (D - Joliet) | Present | |
| Gloria Dollinger | District 10 (R - Joliet) | Absent | |
| Mark Ferry | District 13 (D - Plainfield) | Present | |
| Mike Fricilone | District 7 (R - Homer Glen) | Present | |
| Jim Moustis | District 2 (R - Frankfort) | Present | |
| Meta Mueller | District 5 (D - Aurora) | Present | |
| Rachel Ventura | District 9 (D - Joliet) | Present |
Present from State's Attorney's Office: M. Tatore.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Mr. Brooks led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. WC Finance Committee - Regular Meeting - Aug 4, 2020 10:00 AM
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
IV. OLD BUSINESS
V. NEW BUSINESS
1. Appropriating Grant Funds in the Sheriff's FY2020 Budget from the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) (Undersheriff Brian Conser)
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
2. Correcting Scrivener's Error on Resolution #20-225, Appropriating Grant Funds in the Health Departments FY2020 Budget for Contract Tracing for COVID-19 (Susan Olenek)
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Mark Ferry, District 13 (D - Plainfield)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
3. Transferring Funds within the Will County Health Department - Community Health Center FY2020 Budget for Expanding Capacity for Coronavirus Testing (Susan Olenek)
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Mark Ferry, District 13 (D - Plainfield)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
4. Appropriating Grant Funds in the Will County Health Department - Community Health Center FY2020 Budget for Capital Grant (Susan Olenek)
Will County, Illinois Posted: 9/15/2020 Page 2
Minutes Will County Finance Committee September 1, 2020
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Mark Ferry, District 13 (D - Plainfield)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
5. Abating the Taxes Heretofore Levied in Tax Levy Year 2020 for the Year 2021 to Pay Debt Service on $62,195,000 Outstanding Principal Amount of General Obligation Transportation Improvement Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2010, of The County of Will, Illinois. (Karen Hennessy)
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen)
SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
6. Abating the Taxes Heretofore Levied in Tax Levy Year 2020 for the Year 2021 to Pay Debt Service on $10,025,000 Outstanding Principal Amount of General Obligation Refunding Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2012, of The County of Will, Illinois. (Karen Hennessy)
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
7. Abating the Taxes Heretofore Levied in Tax Levy Year 2020 for the Year 2021 to Pay Debt Service on $5,480,000 Outstanding Principal Amount of General Obligation Refunding Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2014, of The County of Will, Illinois. (Karen Hennessy)
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
8. Abating the Taxes Heretofore Levied in Tax Levy Year 2020 for the Year 2021 to Pay Debt Service on $14,015,000 Outstanding Principal Amount of General Obligation Refunding Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2015A, of The County of Will, Illinois. (Karen Hennessy)
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
9. Abating the Taxes Heretofore Levied in Tax Levy Year 2020 for the Year 2021 to Pay Debt Service on $169,995,000 Outstanding Principal Amount of General Obligation Building Will Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2016, of The County of Will, Illinois. (Karen Hennessy)
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
10. Abating the Taxes Heretofore Levied in Tax Levy Year 2020 for the Year 2021 to Pay Debt Service on $62,455,000 Outstanding Principal Amount of General Obligation Building Will Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2019, of The County of Will, Illinois. (Karen Hennessy)
Mr. Moustis asked if Ms. Hennessy and Ms. Howard could put together a spreadsheet showing all the debt, with details.
Ms. Hennessy stated we can add it to a future agenda. We will likely be issuing bonds for the RNG plant. That would be a good time to provide information about all the current debt.
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Herbert Brooks Jr., District 8 (D - Joliet)
SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
11. Update of Sales Tax and Cannabis Tax Collections (Karen Hennessy)
Ms. Hennessy reviewed the information in the agenda packet. Through August, which are the collections through May, we have a $900,000 decrease in the corporate fund. That includes the $600,000 we paid to the Village of Crete. We are not seeing a horrible impact currently on the sales tax revenue as municipalities are. The biggest decrease is from State sales taxes and that is where we reimbursed Crete. We still have not started to receive the County option on the cannabis taxes.
Ms. Ventura asked are we projecting the county portion of the cannabis taxes will be the same as the state? Are we getting the same 3.75% from the state or is it a different number.
Ms. Hennessy replied I don’t have a way to estimate it at this point. The State is allocating 8% of their collections back to local governments. I don’t have a way to correlate that to what we are going to get.
Ms. Ventura asked was the $37,000 you mentioned 8%?
Ms. Hennessy responded they are taking 8% of the sales tax statewide and sharing it with local governments. I don’t have a way to determine if our 3% will be higher or lower. I don’t know where the sales are. Our county option only applies to sales in our County. There is only one place to buy in Will County versus another County where they have 10. We should see our first distribution in September. If it looks like it is corresponding with the State maybe there is a relationship we can determine, right now there is no easy way to do that.
Mr. Fricilone asked the 8% we are getting from the state; what is that based on? Ms. Hennessy replied I don’t know; I assume it is sales statewide.
Mr. Fricilone stated there has to be a formula if we are getting it per capita or something.
Ms. Hennessy stated I am not aware of the formula. I can reach out to the Department of Revenue and ask if they can provide it.
Mr. Fricilone stated if it is 8% of what they are collecting from Will County, then we could correlate we are going to get about half of that from our taxes. I assume they are basing it on Will County sales. It would not make sense to give us more or less.
Ms. Hennessy stated if we assume that, we will receive about $40,000 per year. It is not going to be a significant revenue source for us.
12. Transferring Appropriations within Various County Budgets (ReShawn Howard)
Ms. Howard stated this is a routine cleanup. Instead of doing it at the end of the year, we are doing the first one at the mid-year. This is mostly reclassification of capital assets.
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen)
SECONDER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
13. Authorizing County Executive to Execute Necessary Documents for Delinquent Tax Program (Jen Alberico)
RESULT: MOVED FORWARD [UNANIMOUS]
TO: Will County Board
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen)
AYES: Harris, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Traynere, Dollinger
14. Discussion of FY2021 Budget Proposal - Revenue (Discussion)
Mrs. Traynere arrived at this juncture.
Ms. Howard reviewed the revenue projections in the packet.
Mr. Fricilone stated I was in favor of starting the budget process earlier. However, I find it hard to project where we are going to end the year using a YTD of April 30. We are just looking at one third of the year of revenue, is that because of the new system?
Ms. Howard replied yes. We will present more up to date numbers to show where we are before the budget is finalized.
Mr. Fricilone asked if we start at the same time next year, what do you think that column’s date will be? If it is June 30th it would be half of the year for revenue and expenses. When I look at one third of the year, it is hard to extrapolate what I think it will be for the year. It was hard when the date of September 30th because we had expenses at the end of the year that we did not have throughout the year; it is really hard when you are looking at one third of the year.
Ms. Howard agreed it was hard. In formulating the estimate, I am juggling two systems, but I am able to see in real time the numbers. I will know before the budget is finalized, the revenue collections that have come. To date we have collected just over 50% of our revenue collections. At the same time period last year, the end of August, we had collected 61%; about an 11% difference. Sales tax is a small portion of the overall revenue and it has not been impacted as much as we expected. Some of the charges for services, we are down, but not a huge impact.
Mr. Fricilone asked do you think when we get budgets next year the column will be June 30?
Ms. Howard replied yes, next year we will have real time because the entire system will be live.
Mr. Moustis stated I have a concern taking the full CPI and new construction. The budget is built on the fact we will take the full CPI and new construction, which is $4.2 million. I am not supportive of taking the full CPI and since the budget is based on the full CPI, I will have a hard time supporting the budget as presented. We need to give people a break and taking the full CPI is going to create an increase in real estate taxes to most people in the County. I am not supportive of taking the full CPI or any of the CPI. I want to put that on the record. If we do not take the full CPI, where would you trim the budget? Usually, we talk about cutting the things people want or need the most. Surprisingly, our revenues are holding up. They look pretty good and I think they will continue to and I don’t think we need to take the full CPI.
Mr. Brooks asked if we don’t take the full CPI as presented, does that mean that it will not be a balanced budget?
Ms. Howard replied by not taking the full CPI, we would have make reductions. We would go back to the departments and ask where we could make reductions in their budgets. Then we would balance the budget based on the adjusted numbers.
Mr. Harris asked can you explain the formula? Was it the full CPI versus no CPI?
Ms. Howard replied it is basically taking the previous extension base and multiplying that by the previous year CPI, which gives you the new extension base. When you take CPI or make any adjustments you are taking out a portion of the formula.
Mr. Fricilone stated I know this discussion is on revenue. The money to the CAC is an expense but a revenue to them. When we made the pitch last year, we were looking at it as an annual contribution to the CAC. We asked for $500,000 and settled for $150,000 in hopes it would grow over the years, but we never thought it was a one-time contribution. We need that at the CAC to keep it afloat, especially this year with fundraising being nil. Everyone forgets the CAC saves us money on the Sheriff’s side. They do the interviews the Sheriff’s Department and other police departments around the county would have to pay to an outside agency, if the CAC is not doing them. Either way we are paying, but we would pay a much higher amount if we had to use an outside source. I know we are not on expenses, but I am seeing a lot of inconsistency on departments that don’t see an increase on the healthcare. If you have the same number of people, the healthcare is the same, but in several areas the healthcare is higher even though it seems they have the same number of people. Could you take a look at that for future meetings?
Mr. Brooks stated I thought the $150,000 to the CAC was an ongoing annual contribution. I spoke with Ms. Howard and she said it was not. What can we do to move this to be an annual appropriation so we don’t have to keep having this discussion every budget period?
Mr. Harris stated I looked through the minutes from last year and it was mixed. There was nothing definite it would be ongoing, but there were comments made about looking at their budget and providing justification. We said yes but we wanted to see what was going on. It is up for us, as a Board, to decide what we are going to do. We are going to have to find money from somewhere within our budget. Last year we made adjustments to our budget by delaying hiring. That is a discussion for the expense side, but it will affect the revenues side.
Mrs. Traynere stated I don’t have a problem with an ongoing contribution. I believe we should be supporting them. They are a beneficial resource to Will County residents and they save us money in the long term. I am very concerned, if they did zero in the way of fundraising since last year or even since the COVID crisis. There are many organizations raising funds. They are doing it in creative ways, but they are moving forward and I would be very disappointed if they have not raised any money since March. That would probably lend me to believe I don’t want to give them any money because they are just sitting there and not taking action. I am sure they have been very proactive and they have figured out alternatives. I think this should be in the budget at a minimal rate, on an annual basis and as funds allow, we should give more. I think it is hypercritical to say we should donate to this organization and then not support the increased spending with the CPI and new property. We never had this money before to donate to this organization. We do now, apparently, now that we are in charge of the budget process. If we are in charge, we should be voting for the CPI and the new property.
Mr. Moustis stated the CAC provides services to children who in many cases are victims and in very difficult situations. It is something that needs to be supported. It is the responsibility of the county. To say we should rely on these crucial services to some of the most venerable children in on our county on fundraising is something I did not favor. I never understood why this was only supported by fundraising. The County is responsible for these services, if they go away, we still have to do them with tax dollars. Regardless of their fundraising, many of the people certified to be CAC caseworkers do it on a voluntary basis. You can’t discount the value of the voluntarism provided and you need to put a value on that regardless of their fundraising efforts. The Sheriff’s budget was increased over $4 million from last year and then you want to talk about $150,000 for a vital service. It seems odd to me. Perhaps you should have carved $250,000 from the $4 million increase you gave to the Sheriff’s department in this budget. The Sheriff’s department requests it and we approve it. I think there is room to find $150,000 in funding for a county responsibility.
Ms. Mueller stated I am excited to talk about ways we can fund the CAC and other things in the county that support our most venerable citizens. Why haven’t we done this in previous years? This is an important service. I am for setting something in the budget annually because it makes sense when we support our children like this, it extends to their families and beyond. I am definitely looking forward to further discussion.
Mr. Fricilone stated this is not a donation. This is a service we provide at the County. I am asking for funding not donations. Also, in all of the maintenance packages throughout the budget, are we including costs for COVID related expenses for the future? If we are, I suggest we take it out of our standard maintenance package and put it in contingency. We don’t know if we will have those expenses and there are other reasons for that we can talk about later.
Ms. Howard asked when you speak of maintenance are talking about the County Board maintenance?
Mr. Fricilone replied I am talking about general maintenance for buildings. We have been doing a lot of things. Even in some of the line items it looks like we have signage that might be related to COVID and we don’t know if we are going to have that in the future. If the dollar amounts are in there, I would like to see them in a contingency fund.
Mrs. Tatroe stated as Mr. Fricilone and Mr. Moustis pointed out this is a County department. It is not a charitable organization. The CAC employees are County employees. As to Ms. Mueller’s question why we have not previously funded it; when the legislature first authorized the creation of CAC in counties, they provided for the opportunity to go out to referendum for a special tax. Will County did not feel they would have support for a referendum. DuPage and Kane had special referendums to fund their CAC. Mr. Glasgow was the State’s Attorney and he took the initiative to apply for federal and state grants and directed his staff to do fundraising. For decades it was supported that way. Unfortunately, there has been a tremendous uptick in the number of cases. The fundraising and grant aspect has become unsustainable to support the number of interviews being done today.
Mrs. Traynere stated I never meant to imply they were a charitable organization we just voluntarily decided to donate to. However, for many, many years we didn’t include them in the budget. We paid the employees and we gave them space, but we did not give them money. There has been an increase in services provided, but at the same time for all those years we did not give them a cash contribution. I don’t have a problem giving a cash contribution, I’m happy to do so; but that does not mean that they should not also raise funds. They have the ability and they have someone who works on that. I think the idea of a referendum is perfect. Instead of increasing the amount we contribute or donate maybe we should use those funds to support a referendum that would get them their own funding on a regular basis. Then we would not have to continue to have this discussion.
Ms. Mueller asked could we have chosen to fund this through the budget process? Was this never address because we received grants to cover what was needed?
Mrs. Tatroe replied until recently they just operated with the grants. The County did not provide funding to pay the employees, that came from the fundraising as well. The County provided space, telephone and internet support.
Ms. Mueller asked do we receive anything from the municipalities utilizing this service?
Mrs. Tatroe answered they have no legal responsibility. The CAC Director has reached out to various local governments units requesting they provide funding, because they clearly benefit. Various local governments have stepped up in the past and provided funding. I believe Ms. Las or someone from her staff could give you those numbers.
Ms. Mueller stated that is something I would be interested in learning more about, if we can get that information.
Ms. Ventura stated I think their services are important. My concern is how they are being funded. I think they should be charging the local entities for those services, including Will County. If we use their services, we should be charged accordingly. I am in favor of another one-time donation to figure out a different funding source, including a referendum. I think we should take this to the people to decide. If that is the avenue other counties have taken to get their department funded, I think it is the appropriate way to go about this especially since this is an ongoing funding situation. I think the people should have the ability to speak. I would encourage actually charging for their services. We can put the $150,000 in this budget for this year until we can find out a more permanent funding source. I would be interested in learning how we can make this a referendum for future years.
Mrs. Tatroe stated the County Board would vote to put the referendum on the ballot.
Ms. Cowan stated the County’s portion is a small amount of the tax bills, on a $275,000 house, at 2.3% it is maybe a $15 per year increase. We want to keep an on eye on any raise, but if we are talking about funding important services, such as the CAC, about a $1.25 per months sounds like a good idea to me.
Mr. Fricilone stated I am sure Ms. Las can give us a clear picture, but we did ask all of the police departments we work with for a 25% contribution. I think most contributed, I have not seen the updated list. When we say someone else has to pay for this, all of these children are our children, they are Will County children. We have a responsibility to them, the same way we have a responsibility to help with drug overdoses and those kinds of programs. We have a responsibility to these kids because they are Will County residents. Regardless, of whether they live in a municipality using our service, it is a service we provide and we will continue to provide. When the fundraising first started we were doing 100 cases per year; now we are up to over 700 cases each year. Fundraising will no longer sustain that. Not every County went to referendum to fund the CAC, some decided they should be funding this from their corporate fund because it is a vital service within the County.
Mr. Harris stated it is the feel of this Committee to do something, it is a matter of how much and where it will come from. Since we are working toward approving a budget, as we get into the expenses, we will discuss this and we may have to come back to the revenue portion.
Mrs. Ogalla stated several months ago, we had the conversation we did not know what the revenues would be going forward due to COVID. There has been money coming from the federal government for additional unemployment, businesses and government entities from the CARES Act. But there have been more costs related to it and we have seen a lot more spending than we anticipated would happen. I would caution this will continue as we go forward. People are leaving left and right. These are things to consider. The CPI is a cost of living increase everyone incurs. When we take the full CPI we are also putting more burden on our residents because they have already had a cost of living increase because the CPI has gone up. I don’t think we should just say we should take this. I said our departments need to look at making cuts. Cut out everything they don’t need. There is fat in every budget and the money will get spent at the end of the year and we need to cut all of that. I assume everyone on this Board received e-mails from people about decreasing their property tax. One person said he was quite angry about the gas tax. I am sure he is not the only person out there. We need to consider what we are doing. What happens is every year we take the CPI and the new construction that increases our levy. The levy is passed on to the people. You say the tax rate is going down, but in reality, every person’s tax bill goes up every year. I know a vast majority is for school funding and we can’t change that. The CAC is important, I adopted three children who lived in a precarious situation. I understand it is important and I think we need to find a solution. I hope the number of cases goes down. Are we really going to pass a budget with that? The new 365 software we have can do “what/if” scenarios and we should look at that. What if we don’t take the full CPI? What if we don’t take in this, where would we find the cuts necessary? We know COVID is going on and we looked at the money we could tax, per statute, but we are being responsible and we are not going to put that on. We don’t know where we will be next year and I would rather rely on us being more cautious instead of just saying we are going to take the full CPI and new construction. I think it is risky and I will not support the budget like that.
Mr. Harris stated this is a discussion regarding the revenue. We had a good discussion today. We will have additional opportunities for us to talk about this in the Finance Committee and in our caucuses and find a way to do something for the CAC. It is a matter of finding out where it will come from.
VI. OTHER NEW BUSINESS
VII. PUBLIC COMMENT
Mrs. Adams indicated there were no public comments.
VIII. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT / ANNOUNCEMENTS
IX. EXECUTIVE SESSION
X. ADJOURNMENT
1. Motion to Adjourn at 11:04 AM
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort)
SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen)
AYES: Harris, Traynere, Brooks Jr., Ferry, Fricilone, Moustis, Mueller, Ventura ABSENT: Dollinger
https://willcountyil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=15&ID=3849&Inline=True
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