LaSalle County coroner outlines 2026 budget, flags parking-lot repairs and staffing shortfall

Rich, coroner for LaSalle County, presented his proposed 2026 budgets to the Finance and TIF Committee on July 28 and described three main concerns: restricted revenue accounts, a deteriorating parking lot at the coroner's building, and short-staffing that is prompting a budgeted personnel option. Rich said the county expects the death-surcharge fund (account 42) check from the state to be roughly $4,003.86 and that those dollars are restricted by state ordinance to technology and equipment purchases. He also reviewed the coroner's corner fee fund (account 51), noting that revenue varies with the number of deaths processed and that some recent carryover money had been used for building-related utility expenses. On building maintenance, Rich said the parking lot behind the coroner's office has been patched repeatedly and is "already falling apart again," and he described discussions with county property staff and the public-safety committee about coordinating a repair with other county paving projects to reduce cost. Committee members asked him to obtain an engineering estimate from Don Ernet (county roads/property) and to bring that estimate to the property committee or public-safety committee; Rich said he would pursue that next step. Rich also described staffing pressures. He said two deputies recently retired and the office has one new hire and several employees who hold other jobs, leaving the coroner's office short of daytime coverage. He proposed, as a budgeting option, promoting a part-time deputy to full time to provide daytime coverage and said he had included training overlap pay for his incoming administrative deputy, who plans to retire soon. Committee members did not approve an immediate hire during the meeting. Instead they agreed to remove the proposed full-time deputy and move the corresponding budgeted dollars into a salary-and-labor contingency account so the county could act later by budget amendment if the coroner asks to fill the position. Doug Traeger was asked to subtract the full-time amount (spoken in the meeting as "$43.06 80" in the transcript) from the coroner payroll line and place it into the county's centralized salary-and-labor line; the committee directed staff to pursue the usual salary-and-labor and salary-committee processes if Rich later requests to activate the position. Rich described other line-item adjustments and the effect on cash balances, and the committee suggested reducing projected supplies-and-equipment spending for the coroner's vehicle fund to keep the county's cash balance stable; Rich agreed to provide updated numbers as requested. He said the coroner's office will continue to track vehicle maintenance and plan purchases around mileage and need, and he will return with any firm cost estimates for lot repairs or staffing changes.