McLean County Administrator Camille Rodriguez. (File photo by Howard Packowitz/WJBC)
By Howard Packowitz
BLOOMINGTON – McLean County’s new administrator proposes a $102.8 million dollar budget for the next fiscal year that’s six percent higher than the previous year, and yet it aims to hold the line on property taxes.
County Administrator Camille Rodriguez unveiled a proposed spending plan Tuesday night that includes funding much of County Clerk Kathy Michael’s plan to reduce long lines at Illinois State University polling places.
A second polling site would be located at ISU’s Watterson Towers and there would be two early voting sites on campus to remedy a situation that led Michael’s critics to allege she’s trying to deprive students of their voting rights.
“The great collaboration the county clerk’s office has demonstrated with ISU, and the push by the county clerk to have more polling places on campus and to have more early-voter registration opportunities for students, that attempt will hopefully mitigate any long line concerns,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also recommends 1.5 percent pay raises for non-union employees and reinstating merit pay hikes.
According to Rodriguez, state government is aiding the county by reimbursing the local government for probation and court services positions to the tune of about $800,000.
The administration believes it’s too early to accurately predict if the county will receive new revenue from taxing marijuana sales when recreational cannabis use becomes legal in Illinois.
“We decided not to do predictions and estimations in this regard, but we are working very hard internally to figure out the impact of this on operations and on the budget,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez sees potential for modest tax base growth, projecting a 1.44 percent increase in taxable land values.
The tax rate is expected to remain the same as the previous year, at about 91 cents per $100 dollars of assessed valuation.
The county expects to collect a little more than $36.3 million in property taxes next year, about six-tenths of a percent higher than the previous year.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
