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July 9, 2007

Kankakee County Spending Up Big Over The Last Five Years.  2007 Revenue Projections Fall Below Expectations. Big Budget Cuts Needed!

Please see the reports below.   OUTRAGE put these reports  together using the County's financial reports.  One report sheds light on which departments have seen the largest actual budget increases over the last five years.   These numbers do not include things like health insurance costs or pension costs.  The County accounts for them collectively.  The other report does an analysis of the County's Sales Tax revenue decline.

 The County is running in the red for the first 6 months of the current fiscal year resulting in the need for some major budget cuts for the remaining 6 months.  They are talking about a 8% across the board cut instead of targeting the departments that have seen huge increases over the last five years.  One of them being the Corrections Department which has seen its budget increase by 162% even though total jail space is way under used. 

 The sheriff's grand plan of building jail space on speculation  to import prisoners from out of the County has failed. We even have a 144 bed wing that is unfinished with a dirt floor that has to be heated in the winter to keep it from deteriorating.  Total jail space when the dirt floor wing is finish will be about 80% of Will county's jail capacity.  Will County has over 7 times our population.  We have jail space that our County will not need for 40 years thanks to the big government spending of the sheriff.

At the County Finance Committee meeting it was stated projected  Sales Tax revenue for the current fiscal year is  now expected to be $1,800,000 less then projected.   They also stated the Sheriff has failed to meet his revenue projections from importing prisoners from out of the county and he is projected to be down $1,000,000.

Budget Comparison of County Departments Over The Last Five Years Using Actual Numbers.

Department                       2001 Actual Budget           2006 Actual Budget     %increase(decrease)

Administration                    $440,155                                 $398,416                         (9%)

Auditor                                $123,177                                 $161,908                         +31%

Board of Review                  $21,484                                  $ 32,945                          +53%

Recorder                              $125,758                                 $194,505                         +55%

Regional Supt.                     $195,506                                 $299,269                          +53%

County Clerk                       $150,142                                 $200,207                          +33%

Building & Grounds            $1,086,288                              $940,742                          (13%) 

Planning Dept.                     $407,310                                 $1,019,164                       +150%

Treasurer                              $189,821                                 $226,883                          +20%

Supervisor Assessments       $335,408                                 $429,747                          +28%

Circuit Court                        $205,158                                 $271,114                          +32%

Circuit Clerk                         $734,751                                 $999,506                          +36%

States Attorney                     $1,490,584                              $1,905,820                       +28%

Public Defender                   $432,822                                  $702,906                         +62%

Probation                              $1,211,541                               $2,107,357                     +74%

Sheriff’s Office                    $3,008,081                               $4,474,607                      +49%

Correction                            $2,212,756                               $5,787,084                      +162%

Dispatch                               $411,187                                  $486,506                         +18%

Coroner                                  $188,886                                  $325,035                         +72%

OUTRAGE did an analysis of Kankakee County Sales Tax revenue.  We compared what the county received in sales tax revenue in fiscal year 2006  with what they budgeted for the current fiscal year, 2007 and the decline in sales tax revenue they are now reporting.  2006 numbers and 2007 budgeted numbers are from the County's outside auditor's report.  It is very informative.

In round numbers:

2006 sales tax collected:  $9,184,000 up 6% from 2005

2007 budgeted Sales Tax amount:  $10,184,000

After 6 months in the current fiscal year, the County finance department stated sales tax revenue has declined and is on a path to be $1,800,000 below what was originally budgeted for fiscal year 2007.  This means they are now projecting $8,384,000 in sales tax revenue or a decline from 2006 of $800,000 or 8.7%.

What has happened since last year to cause this drop?  Some ideas.  TIF districts in Manteno, Bradley and Bourbonnais are causing retailers to move into those areas to get huge tax breaks up to 23 years.  Property taxes and many times sales taxes are diverted back to developers and retailers who locate in those areas.  This may be effecting the County's portion of the sales tax. When the Steve McCarty, the County's financial department head, was asked if the County was giving back their portion of the Sales Tax  collected in the TIF districts, he said he did not know.

It is not $3.00 a gallon gas.  Sales taxes are collected on gasoline so the higher gas goes the more sales tax is added on to a gallon.  We pay a tax on a tax when it comes to gasoline.  We pays sales tax on the cost of a gallon of gas and road taxes etc.
 

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