County moves closer to closing budget

Saline County Board voted to display its annual budget at the Saline County Court House.

The law requires the board display the proposed budget for 15 days for public review. On Tuesday, the board elected to have the document available today through Jan. 6.

After much deliberation and some prayer the budget committee brought a balanced 2016 budget to the full board and the citizens of Saline County for review. The estimated revenues are $6,053,482 and estimated expenditures are $6,035,108, leaving the county with a balance of $18,000; this was achieved by cutting office holder requests 11 percent overall.

A special meeting has been scheduled January 6, 2016 at the Saline County Court house.

The board was faced with the unenviable task of balancing a budget that started with more than $1 million in requests than expected revenues. Even more alarming, according to Joe Jackson, Finance Committee Chair is the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) pension shortage; in a recent external audit it was revealed that Saline County is behind $1.2 million and in all pensions combined about $2.7 million.

The budget committee believed it will be necessary to have a truth and taxation hearing in August to increase pensions levy. On top of this, the state does not have a budget yet, so therefore the state is behind in their payments to Saline County with no anticipated date they will resume.

The biggest problem financially with the county, according to Jackson, comes from within. The county has reached the point that the normal operation expenditures are more than normal revenues.

In 2003, Saline County lost $250,000 in annual revenue with the closing of its oldest landfill because it couldn't get an expansion permit, and was forced to close. This year only $85,000 was collected from the new landfill for the county's general fund.

In 2004, the Saline County Board passed a safety tax generating about $1.5 million each year.

"This (Safety Tax) has been the county's saving grace financially for the past 10 years," Jackson said.

But now the county is feeling the effects of salary, health insurance and pensions for it employees. Each of the past 10 years the county has seen an increase of about $125,000 in employee salary, health insurance and pension payments. According to Jackson, this is the county's single largest increase in expenditures each year.

Another revenue source that has gone down drastically in the past 9 years is the Saline County Jail. Housing federal and out of county prisoners has gone from generating about $400,000 some10 years ago to about $175,000 in the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

With all these factors taken into consideration, the budget committee arrived at a balanced budget by making cuts in almost every department while trying to increase the pension levy so the Social Security levy can be paid back.

The IMRF borrowed from Social Security the year the property taxes were't met on time. The board also had to spend all of 2015's tax receipts this year, rather than hold back all or part for a rainy day. According to Jackson, the rainy day is now.

The county board now has no previous tax year money or operating reserve to fall back on when unexpected expenditures arise.

According to Jackson, there have been rumors floating around about the board having money stashed away in CDs that it had access to. According to the treasurer's report the investments included New Harco, #6,7, and 8 totaling $1 million; and Black Beauty #1,2,3 and 4 totaling $300,000. None of the CDs can be spent without full board approval because the money is in trust with Peabody Coal Company for another 10 years.

The budget committee has also stated that the next year's budget looks to be more complicated than this year's because it won't have any of the previous year's taxes to claim as revenue as any operating reserve due to it being spent in 2015 to make ends meet.