By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – McLean County is seeking a four-percent increase to its budget next year in part to pay for expanded mental health care, a new telephone system and an expansion of Towanda Barnes Road.
The county is looking to set aside an additional $1.3 million as part of a $92 million budget to a jail expansion to provide treatment for the mentally ill. The county is proposing raising the property tax rate about one percent, meaning the owner of a $165,000 home would pay about $5.40 more per year. The county is projecting a 2.25-percent increase in EAV (Equalized Assessed Valuation) to $83 million.
The McLean County proposed 2016 budget can be seen here.
County employees would get raises of 1.5 percent and would be eligible for merit pay increases. County administrator Bill Wasson told the board the county also plans to eliminate five positions, and will look for places to cut spending elsewhere.
“We have to work to find efficiencies relative to expenditures as well as this reflects some of these challenges and the work that is done by our departments,” Wasson said.
Wasson noted the county is seeing revenue declines in interest income, licenses, permits and fees including those that come from the use of landlines as more residents go exclusively mobile.
In response to a question from board member George Wendt (R-Bloomington), Wasson added the county would have to cut $350,000 from the proposed budget to avoid any property tax increase.
The County Board will vote on the budget in November.
Jail expansion
The County Board has taken another step toward an expansion of the county jail to treat mentally ill inmates, but funding is still the main issue.
The County Board has approved a resolution requesting the Public Building Commission expand and renovate the jail. Voting on the funding likely won’t come until next month. One question is whether the county can use increased sales tax revenue from Bloomington and Normal since Bloomington won’t vote on that until next week.
County Board chairman Matt Sorensen (R-Bloomington) said the county can tap into unspent fund balances to cover part of the cost.
“We have a tendency to budget revenues conservatively and expenses aggressively and what that has shown over the last several years is we do add a little bit to fund balances using that kind of approach,” Sorensen said.
One board member suggested the more than $40 million jail expansion project has gone too far.
Board member Chuck Erickson (R-Bloomington) modified the old Everett Dirksen line to say ‘A million here, a million there and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.’
“The only reason you should build it is to protect your citizens, not cure mental illness, not help everyone because the cold hard facts of life are you can’t help everyone,” Erickson said.
Board member John McIntrye (R-Normal) said the issue is about more than housing lawbreakers.
“We are trying to house and treat people as well as and put them in a facility that is adequate for the people with mental illness,” McIntrye said.
The board voted unanimously – Erickson included – on a proposal to enable the county to set up a fund for sales tax receipts that would come from Normal and potentially Bloomington to help pay for the expansion. Normal has already approved a one-percent sales tax increase. Bloomington votes on the sales tax plan next week.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
