County GIS consortium proposes recorder fee increase to stabilize mapping fund

Kathleen, representing the GIS consortium at the Champaign County FY26 budget briefing, told the board that the GIS fund balance has fallen in recent years, largely due to housing-market declines that reduce recorder revenue. The FY26 budget includes a proposed increase to the county GIS fee collected through the recorder’s office from $15 to $25; staff said the change must run through multiple steps at the recorder’s office and the proposed effective date is Jan. 1, 2026. "It is calculated in a way to... put us pretty close to the discrepancy," Kathleen said when asked whether the fee change would close the gap in FY26 projections. County staff told the board the GIS operating fund projects about $625,000 in fund balance in the current fiscal year and about $585,000 in FY26 in the slide deck, and that an additional $10,000 in FY26 is included for costs related to the Bennett administration center move and roughly $91,000 for capital and technology purchases tied to a five-year capital plan. The fee proposed to support the consortium covers consortium costs and orthophotography expenses, which are deferred and purchased on a three-year cycle. No formal action was taken; county staff said the recorder’s office will route the fee change through required steps before any final county action.