By Chris Lauzen,
Aurora, Ill.
As Kane County treasurer candidate, former eight-year elected Board chairman, and 20-year State senator, as a CPA, MBA, challenge the Kane County Board’s ruling majority to increase its FY 11/30/23 investment income revenue projections by $2,000,000, thereby reducing the currently- proposed deficit-spending and use of savings reserves.
On behalf of my taxpaying neighbors, I am calling upon the Kane County Board to immediately raise its interest income, non-property tax revenue budget assumption for FY 11/30/23 by a full $2,000,000.
Whether voters select me to supervise the process of this advantage for them or not, the County Board should amend next year’s budget proposal that was passed out of the Finance Committee Wednesday, Oct. 26. This process should help curb the ruling majority’s appetite for tax increases of any kind, their FY 2023 $15-16 million annual deficit spending, and $124,000,000 massive one-year reduction in projected year-end cash balances.
The cash-on-cash return on County investments was 2.20% in FY 11/30/19, 1.06% in FY 11/30/20, and 0.47% last year in FY 11/30/21. So far in FY 11/30/22, investments and demand accounts interest income (according to the10/26/22 Finance Committee report) is 1.88%; however, the interest income budget assumption that was given to the Board by the County’s investment manager 6/27/22 was only 1.00% for next year, during a time when interest rates are dramatically increasing.
The mathematical difference between the current, but rising, County interest performance of 1.88% and the 6/27/22 budget assumption from 6/27/22 of 1.00%, which has not been changed as of the 10/26/22 final Finance and Budget Committee meeting vote, is 0.88% times the FY23 End-of-Year budgeted cash balance of $255,151,178 and is approximately $2,245,000, with the additional momentum of interest rates rising dramatically and the use of more funds during the fiscal year.
This $2,000,000 is an early Christmas present to taxpayers and the Board (!), nearly equal to the 5% cost-of-Iiving property tax increase that they had to vote down recently.
Final thoughts, my sense of urgency for advocating that this more accurate assumption should be built into the budget now, regardless of the outcome of the election, is that, if the Board squanders just 90 days implementing the advantage, it will cost Kane County taxpayers $500,000 within next year’s budget.
I’m sorry to say that the liberal-Democrat-controlled current County Board and administration has had almost two years to correct this very expensive deficiency, but has not corrected it..
This is the soft despotism of governance mediocre expectations.