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Health & Fitness

Chairman's Corner: Fewer Surprises, More Stability

Kane County Chairman Chris Lauzen share his views with his constituents.

When we last talked, I promised to provide examples of surprises in the county budget I’ve discovered and the lessons I’ve learned from them.

When my wife, Sarah, and I ran our accounting practice serving small businesses, it was my job to worry about the tax laws and bookkeeping regulations so our clients wouldn’t have to. My responsibilities here at the county are very similar.

You have lives to live, children to raise, and bills to pay, so you don’t need your government passing any pain on to you.

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In order to keep my commitment to freeze the County, Forest Preserve, and (indirectly, through appointments) the Fox Valley Park District property tax levies, those groups and I have to fully understand the cost-drivers behind budget increases and anticipate the kind of “surprises” that can bust budgets. 

The most important lesson I’ve learned is the difference in how language is used in executive government versus ordinary life. For example, “transparency,” in its simplest form, means “clear enough to be seen through, readily understood, and free from pretense or deceit.”

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In the past couple of years, Kane County has congratulated itself on transparency and made a pretty big deal about receiving the “Sunshine Award.” It all sounded pretty good until last month when our CPA-Treasurer and County Auditor —whose job is to audit our county ledgers — were denied computer access to our financial records!

And if our 450-page County Budget and 200-page Comprehensive Annual Financial Report are “readily understood” by even one-tenth of one percent of county residents, then I’ll happily turn my CPA and Harvard MBA over to them.

We will digest, simplify and shorten those reports to a dashboard of no more than ten pages of accountability. But until that happens, no one should be bangin’ the drum nor patting themselves on the back for “transparency.”

Another example of peculiar language use is the FY 11-30-2013 “frozen budget.” Countywide elected officials like the Sheriff and State’s Attorney, and County department directors, had flat line budgets which mean no increases over the previous year. This makes it sound like responsible fiscal restraint was exercised in order to freeze the 2012-2013 property tax levy (a good thing).

However, before the 2013 Budget was passed in October 2012, a judge ordered an arbitration award for a salary increase in just one of the major functions in the county that came out to nearly an additional $1,000,000! Yet no adjustment was made to the budget. 

There were additional predictable overages in payroll costs in 911-Dispatch. Fuel cost calculations were based on $2.68(!) per gallon. And there was no operational provision to pay Animal Control Shelter’s mortgage of $93,000 (after last year’s skipped payment). These are more examples of “frozen budgeting.” It’s like making a family budget while leaving out car payments and grocery bills.

Subsequently, we’ve had to create more reserves against current and anticipated revenues so that these very real obligations can be met.

Our team is committed to a two- to three-year implementation of real Zero-based Budgeting in order to freeze and eventually lower, if we can, our property tax levies. Limited government, more freedom, less drama.

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