Rukisha Crawford, DeKalb County Board Member | DeKalb County
Rukisha Crawford, DeKalb County Board Member | DeKalb County
DeKalb County Finance & Administration Committee met Oct. 2.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
The Finance & Administration Committee of the DeKalb County Board met in Sycamore, Illinois on Wednesday, October 2, 2024. Chair Scott Campbell called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. Those Members present were Tim Bagby, Jerry Osland and Christopher Porterfield. A quorum was established with four members present, three absent. Rukisha Crawford was not present at the time of the roll call and arrived at 6:34pm.
Also present were Interim County Administrator Derek Hiland, County Treasurer Becky Springer and Administrative Analyst Liam Sullivan.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Bagby moved to approve the agenda. Osland seconded the motion and it was carried by voice vote, with all votes cast in the affirmative.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
It was moved by Porterfield, seconded by Osland and it was carried by voice vote to approve the Minutes of the September 4, 2024, Finance & Administration Committee Meeting.
It was moved by Osland, seconded by Bagby and it was carried by voice vote to approve the Minutes of the September 18, 2024, FY2025 Preliminary Budget Q&A Meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
There were no public comments.
RESOLUTIONS
Resolution R2024-107—A Resolution Authorizing the County Board Chair to Execute a Deed of Conveyance for Parcel Number 09-29-254-015, Located in Cortland, Illinois, to EK LAND, in the Amount of $3,413.00.
The County of DeKalb, as Trustee for the Taxing Districts therein, has undertaken a program to collect delinquent taxes and to perfect titles to real property in cases in which the taxes on such real property have not been paid, pursuant to 35 ILCS 200/21-90. These proposed resolution(s) are to authorize the Chairman of the Board to execute such deeds of conveyance of the County’s interest or authorize the cancellation of the appropriate Certificate(s) of Purchase, as the case may be for the following two (2) Resolution(s) to be paid to the Treasurer of DeKalb County Illinois, to be disbursed according to law.
Porterfield moved to forward Resolution R2024-107 to the County Board. Osland seconded the motion and it was carried by voice vote, with all votes cast in the affirmative.
Resolution R2024-108 A Resolution Authorizing the County Board Chair to Execute a Deed of Conveyance for Parcel Number 01-19-334-008, Located in Kirkland, Illinois, to James Boult, in the Amount of $8,555.00.
See Resolution R2024-107.
Porterfield moved to forward Resolution R2024-108 to the County Board. Osland seconded the motion and it was carried by voice vote, with all votes cast in the affirmative.
Resolution R2024-109—A Resolution Approving of the Annual Participation in the Service Program of the Office of the State's Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor.
Resolution R2024-109 approves the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office’s annual participation in the service program of the Office of the State's Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor, commencing December 1, 2024 and ending November 30, 2025, by hereby appropriating the sum of $31,000. This program provides offer Continuing Legal Education training programs to the State's Attorneys and Assistant State's Attorneys and designates the Office of the State's Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor as its Agent to administer the operation of the appellate offices and process said appellate court cases for this County.
Babgy moved to forward Resolution R2024-109 to the County Board. Porterfield seconded the motion and it was carried by voice vote, with all votes cast in the affirmative.
Resolution R2024-110—A Resolution Approving the Payment of County Claims for October 2024, and Off-Cycle Claims Paid During the Previous Month, Including All Claims for Travel, Meals, and Lodging.
Crawford moved to forward Resolution R2024-110 to the County Board. Osland seconded the motion and it was carried by voice vote, with all votes cast in the affirmative.
CONSIDERATIONS
Considerations of County Courthouse Space Plan Study Proposal from Dewberry Architects Inc.
In late 2009, the County began the preliminary work for the expansion of the DeKalb County Courthouse. As part of this process, a contract for Architectural Services for the project was awarded to Dewberry Architects Inc. By 2011, the County had begun construction on the project. In June of 2020, construction on the expansion project was stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it is anticipated that construction will be resumed in 2026. Due to the length of time that has passed since the original floor plan for the expansion was created, as well as changes in the personnel and needs of the departments housed within the building, staff believes it to be necessary to reevaluate the plan prior to construction being resumed.
Staff has reengaged with Dewberry Architects Inc and sought a proposal for a County Courthouse Space Plan Study due to their familiarity with the project and the prohibitive costs associated with engaging a new architectural firm. Dewberry has submitted a proposal that would provide the County with a revised floor plan that reflects the current needs of the building, as well as create an updated cost estimate for the project. The cost of the work covered under the proposal amounts to a fixed sum of $19,320 and includes a schedule for the hourly billing rates for additional work that may be requested that is not covered under the scope of the proposal. Resolution R2024-106 authorizes the Interim County Administrator to execute the proposal.
This item was brought forward for consideration as an action item by the Facilities & Technology Committee at their October 1st meeting and was tabled. The Finance & Administration Committee tabled the discussion until their next meeting.
Consideration of FY2025 Tax Levy Publication
Administrative Analyst Liam Sullivan explained that over the past three years, the County Board has aimed to "hold the line" on property taxes while continuing to support and enhance services. This has been possible due to the unprecedented industrial growth south of the tollway in DeKalb which diversifies the tax base to allow the County to collect revenues necessary for operations while either holding the line or slightly reducing the DeKalb County portion of the average taxpayer's bill. The FY2025 Preliminary Budget anticipated a similar approach using the most up-to-date information available when preparing the preliminary budget, with new construction estimated at $118 million.
Township Assessors have been submitting their assessments over the past few weeks and the estimate for new construction for this year's levy has increased significantly due to an additional partial assessment of new construction at the Meta site coming online. With partial assessments, taxing bodies benefit from 100% of the partial EAV for that year, as abatements do not go into effect until the first year a property is fully assessed. Therefore, the County will benefit from about $65 million in new construction EAV that will be abated beginning next year. The question is always whether there is enough new construction to offset the expected abatement and still generate enough new revenue for the County's operations while holding the line for the average taxpayers County portion of the tax bill?
As staff prepares the levy publication the following options using the most recent new construction estimates were presented to the Finance & Administration Committee to consider:
Option 1:
This Option would maintain the proposed tax rate in the FY2025 Preliminary Budget and increase the levy by $847,946. This option would hold the line for the average existing taxpayer for the County portion of their property tax bill.
Option 2:
Option two results in roughly the same overall levy that was proposed in the FY2025 Preliminary Budget and present a savings for the average existing taxpayer for the County portion of their property tax bill.
If the levy that was proposed as part of the FY2025 Preliminary Budget and Recommendation were to be maintained, it would significantly lower the rate and offer the largest savings to the average taxpayer, however, it could present a challenge in future budget years as the enterprise zone abatements are applied to the partially assessed new construction and possibly leaving a gap in future budgets due to PTELL restrictions.
Option 3: Recommended Option
This option adds an additional $500,000 to the levy that was proposed in the FY2025 Preliminary Budget. This would lower the tax rate to 0.80802, lower the burden on the average existing taxpayer for the County portion of their property tax bill and allow the County flexibility to continue the approach that it has taken to provide stability and relief (especially when considered against inflation) to the average property tax payer.
Staff recommends this option as economic uncertainty and concerns over the future availability of electric utilities may impact the pace of continued development which, when combined with options 1 or 2, may put the County in a difficult position in future years. This option presents a savings for the average existing taxpayer while also allowing the County to comfortably continue working within its means in future budget years in the event that there is not sufficient new construction to offset Enterprise Zone Abatements.
Since the funds coming from the expected abatement and are one-time sources of revenue for this partial assessment, staff is proposing that any additional funds from the increased levy be utilized as part of the FY2025 Debt & Tax Stabilization Plan, with the funds being used for a one-time transfer to the 2017 Jail Bond debt service fund, allowing the County to further expedite the debt service repayment.
The Chart below shows the 2023-34 and proposed 2024-25 levy (updated using the recommended option) with a redistribution of the individual levies within the total aggregate amount:
| 2023-24 Levy | Percentage | 2024-25 Levy | Percentage | |
| General | 18,102,522 | 67.71% | 18,720,000 | 66.38% |
| General (2017 Bond) | 0 | 0.00% | 500,000 | 1.77% |
| FICA | 10,000 | 0.04% | 10,000 | 0.04% |
| IMRF | 10,000 | 0.04% | 10,000 | 0.04% |
| Tort & Liability | 10,000 | 0.04% | 10,000 | 0.04% |
| PBC Lease | 129,586 | 0.48% | 130,957 | 0.46% |
| Highway | 3,870,210 | 14.48% | 3,986,314 | 14.13% |
| Health | 444,914 | 1.66% | 467,100 | 1.66% |
| Senior Services | 479,992 | 1.80% | 503,992 | 1.79% |
| Veteran's Assistance | 577,858 | 2.16% | 606,751 | 2.15% |
| Mental Health | 3,101,918 | 11.60% | 3,257,104 | 11.55% |
| Total | 26,737,000 | 100.00% | 28,202,218 | 100.00% |
Due to timing, Staff asked for direction and the consensus of the Finance & Administration Committee for which Option to proceed with. The Finance & Administration Committee gave staff consensus to move forward with Option 3.
FY2025 BUDGET
FY2025 Budget Appeals
There were no appeals filed.
Committee’s Questions & Review of Departments’ FY2025 Budget Requests There were no requests to review.
OLD BUSINESS
There were no old business items
NEW BUSINESS
There were no New Business items.
ADJOURNMENT
Porterfield moved to adjourn the meeting. Crawford seconded the motion and it was carried by voice vote.
https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/packet-fin-11062024.pdf
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