Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kaneland seeks O&M budget amendment after late ComEd bills; hearing set for June 23
Summary
District administration proposed a $596,000 increase in expenditures in the operations and maintenance fund, driven primarily by a $350,000 electric billing catch-up from ComEd; the board will hold a public hearing June 23 and must file changes with the state by June 30.
Kaneland CUSD 302 administration told the board it will propose an amendment to the current operations and maintenance (O&M) fund budget to increase expenditures, primarily to cover late electric bills from ComEd and several site-related costs.
Doctor Bogan, speaking for district administration, said the proposed amendment increases expenditures by $596,000 on paper but that the major driver is an anticipated $350,000 overage in electric costs because ComEd's billing system change delayed invoices. The district received multiple months of utility charges late and is paying for services from the prior fiscal year out of the current year's budget, Bogan said. He also cited incremental site-improvement costs related to the track project and additional equipment such as cameras.
Bogan said the district expects actual spending related to the amendment to be closer to $314,000 but is requesting the larger amendment as a conservative buffer in case additional charges arrive from ComEd. He said ComEd has corrected its billing system and the district does not expect the issue to carry into the next fiscal year.
Timelines presented to the board call for a public budget hearing and board vote on the amendment at the special board meeting on June 23; the amended budget must be filed with the State of Illinois by June 30. Bogan said the draft amended budget has been posted on the district website and was published in the local newspaper on May 22 to satisfy public-notice requirements.
Board members asked whether the ComEd problem was usage or delivery related; Bogan described it as a combination and said the new billing system did not communicate properly with other utilities. Board members also discussed anticipated natural-gas price increases and the district's tentative budget work with outside vendors to generate conservative estimates for the next fiscal year.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; the board will consider the amendment at the June 23 public hearing and vote.
