LaSalle County finance committee reviews highway and transportation budgets, cites carryover projects and equipment plan

Don, highway department staff, presented the proposed highway-related budgets Thursday and told the LaSalle County Finance Committee the county’s highway operation is carrying several large, multi-year projects and a planned equipment-replacement program.

Don said the highway fund began the review with a cash balance “right now of $3,400,000,” and after this month’s expenditures and payables that “Max is down to 2,800,000.” He walked committee members through expected year-end outlays and receipts and summarized an available cash position of roughly $1,800,000 after remaining levy receipts arrive.

The available cash figure matters because Don and staff want to keep a multi-year capital plan intact. “Right now, we’re looking at spending somewhere between 540 to about $570,000 per year over the next 10 years,” he said, describing a program to keep heavy-equipment replacements paced so the fleet remains in “good shape” and to limit emergency failures like the backhoe breakdown the department experienced this year.

Why it matters: the highway fund finances road resurfacing, culvert and bridge repairs, snow removal and fleet maintenance. Committee members probed specific line items and carryover projects to understand the fiscal pressure on the fund and the levies the county requests from taxpayers.

Key details from the presentation: - Highway fund cash and near-term flows: Don said the fund had about $3.4 million on hand, $2.8 million after current month payables and contracts, and about $1.8 million available after anticipated levy receipts of roughly $800,000. He called that carryover amount “about what I bring capital we need to start the year with and carry over to the following year.” - Revenues and levy: the levy request for the highway fund was increased “a percent and a half” over last year, producing a projected levy number in the documents of $3,400,000 for the highway column shown to the committee. Other revenue lines included personal property replacement tax, permit fees, township engineering fees and modest interest income. - Capital program: staff said the capital plan contemplates roughly $540,000–$570,000 per year for 10 years for equipment purchases to avoid having an aging fleet. - Noted uncertainties: staff said some invoices remain outstanding for recently delivered equipment (a backhoe and two trucks), and final health-insurance numbers were not yet available and would be adjusted when provided by finance staff.

Carryover projects and other funds: Don and staff reviewed multiple dedicated transportation funds that together carry significant, previously authorized projects still awaiting final invoices from the state or contractors. Examples mentioned in the committee packet and discussion included: - Multiple resurfacing projects on County Highway 15, County Highway 51, County 4 and others with combined carryover invoices listed at more than $2 million in the highway packet. - A series of bridge and culvert projects in the bridge fund, many labeled as carryovers; single-item examples included a Red, White and Blue bridge project for $932,000 and various timber-pile repairs and culvert replacements listed across township budgets. - Special tax match and Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) funds where Don reported accounts payable and contracts payable leaving temporary negative positions until remaining levy allotments and reimbursements arrive.

Committee questions and clarifications: county board members asked why some maintenance lines were budgeted higher than recent expenditures; Don replied that some line items are intentionally over-budgeted to provide capacity for storm-response debris removal or occasional rental equipment needs. Committee members also questioned overtime projections tied to a one-time large project in the current year, and Don said that project increases drove higher overtime this year but was not expected next year.

What was not decided: the committee discussed the highway and related transportation budgets but did not take a formal vote to change the packet during the meeting.

Ending: County staff said they will adjust a few pending figures (notably health insurance) as the final numbers come in and will provide updated figures back to finance staff before final adoption of the county budget.