Committee sets budget schedule: worksheets in May, hearings in June; tax-levy timing depends on state estimates

The Iroquois County Finance Committee agreed to a schedule for the FY2026 budget: staff will distribute budget worksheets in May and hold budget hearings in June, with worksheets including financial data through April (five months of the fiscal year).

Jill, speaking for finance staff, described the process: workbooks are prepared after six months of data historically, but the committee agreed to use five months of data this cycle to move the schedule earlier. Department heads will receive the workbooks in late May and are expected to return completed worksheets in roughly two weeks, allowing hearings to be held in mid-June.

Committee members warned that the county’s tax-levy decision depends on estimated Equalized Assessed Value (EAV) information from the Illinois Department of Revenue (referred to in the meeting as EAB/assessment estimates). One member said that if the Department of Revenue’s numbers arrive late, the levy calculation and final decisions could be delayed.

Other administrative updates included a staff report that mobile-home tax bills were mailed March 27 (about 305 bills) with a due date of May 30, 2025, and that CliftonLarsonAllen was expected to deliver draft FY2023 audit reports for review within one to two weeks. The committee asked staff to provide the tax and budget worksheets on the agreed schedule and to notify the committee if Department of Revenue estimates are delayed.

No formal committee action was taken beyond scheduling and direction to staff to proceed and report back.