Kane County’s Ad Hoc Riverboat Grant Committee on Sept. 18 reviewed internal requests totaling roughly $5,200,000 for fiscal year 2026 but did not approve distributions, instead asking staff for more information and scheduling a follow-up meeting.

The request list shown to the committee combined with $100,000 in cash on hand and the casino distribution received in the spring — $4,896,289.97 — yields available riverboat resources the presenter said were “just shy of $9,400,000” for FY2026. Chris Bridal, county finance staff, told the committee the requests could be funded and that “if this is done, the fund still has roughly $4,200,000 remaining.”

Why it matters: the committee’s decision affects how Kane County will allocate riverboat proceeds among department budget requests and traditional outside (external) community grants. Committee members debated whether to fund all internal requests now, cut them proportionally, or preserve money for external grant applicants.

Committee discussion and staff explanations

Committee members expressed three recurring concerns: (1) preserving an unobligated reserve, (2) treating large, match-generating programs differently, and (3) giving the board and the full finance committee time to review historical allocations.

Mr. Afton, a committee member, argued for approving requests now, saying “this is a time when we need to, grant all of these requests.” By contrast, Mr. Leonard, another committee member, urged caution on depleting reserves; he recommended a modest across-the-board reduction but said he would not cut the Farmland Preservation Program’s request because it leverages outside matching funds. Leonard described the match as roughly an “80% match,” saying a $750,000 county allocation would produce about $1.4 million in total farmland-preservation funds for the county.

Committee members also debated how to treat the external grant cycle. The draft funding plan shown at the meeting would, if adopted as-is, leave no allocation reserved for external grants in the coming cycle. Several members, including Miss Strathman, said they preferred to preserve at least some amount for externals or to consider a reduced external allocation rather than eliminating it entirely for one year.

Staff and program clarifications

Chris Bridal walked the committee through the spreadsheet and emphasized timing differences between expenditures and reimbursements for department budgets. County staff explained that some departments show negative projected balances for the current fiscal year because they have spent money that will be reimbursed by external grants, and reimbursements can be 45–90 days in arrears.

Laura Barrett, director of disease prevention at the Kane County Health Department, described the Nurse Family Partnership home-visiting program as a 25‑year program largely funded by external grants and said riverboat funds “help support the things that are not covered by that grant, such as supervisor salary” and other non‑covered program costs. Barrett said the program “has been…100% grant funded” historically, with the Illinois State Board of Education providing much of the state grant funding.

Other programs discussed included the county’s economic development fund (Fund 400), which carries $100,000 in cash on hand and has been used as local matching funds for state grants in prior years; an internship program request (about $30,000) that some members suggested cutting; and a strategic-plan contract whose total invoice was described as about $127,000, of which $100,000 is proposed to be funded from riverboat dollars to reduce county board budget pressure.

Requested follow-ups and next steps

Rather than vote on allocations, the committee asked staff to provide clearer comparative materials and analyses before taking final action. The committee requested:
- A one-page summary for each request showing recent historical allocations (members suggested three to five years of history) and the differences between what each department requested for FY2026 and what it received in prior years.
- An Excel version of the internal‑requests spreadsheet so members can run comparative math themselves (staff indicated the packet was a PDF but agreed to circulate the Excel sheet).
- Clarification from departments about whether additional riverboat allocations would produce direct savings to the general fund.

The committee agreed to reconvene in roughly one week for further consideration; staff said they would distribute the requested packet materials that afternoon so members could review before the next meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes from the May 7, 2025 meeting: adopted by unanimous consent (moved by Mr. Leonard by request for unanimous consent; no objection recorded).
- Motion to adjourn (Strathman moved; Garcia seconded): carried (no roll-call recorded).

What was not decided

No final allocations for FY2026 internal riverboat grants were approved at the Sept. 18 meeting. The committee did not adopt a dollar figure for externals (outside community grants) and left the options on the table: fund all internal requests now (drawing down reserves), make proportional reductions across internal requests, or preserve a portion of the FY2026 distribution for external grants.

Context and process notes

Committee members emphasized that many internal requests are community‑facing services (child advocacy, domestic-violence programs, recycling programs, farmland preservation, public-health home visiting) and described the choice as a tradeoff between sustaining those programs and preserving an unobligated fund balance. Several members said the timing of the meeting packet (sent the morning of the meeting) limited their ability to analyze the requests and justified scheduling the additional meeting and circulation of the Excel file.

Ending

The committee postponed final action and directed staff to provide the requested comparative materials and an Excel spreadsheet so members can review options before the next meeting. The follow-up session was set for about one week after Sept. 18; staff will circulate an agenda and the requested documents in advance.