Kane County midyear report: IT at 37% of budget, building management at 43% as officials flag software inflation

Kane County’s IT and building management divisions reported they were under midyear spending targets on Wednesday while flagging persistent software price increases, licensing costs for cloud services and several ongoing capital projects that will draw down funds through the rest of the fiscal year.

Roger Fonstock, executive director for IT and building management, told the Administration Committee the departments track spending at the fiscal midpoint — May 31 — and compare it with expected seasonal patterns. “For IT, we’re at 37% at midyear,” Fonstock said. “For building management, we’re at 43%.”

The midyear snapshot showed an amended IT budget of $5,240,000 with $1,955,000 spent year to date; Fonstock said that left roughly $3.28 million to be allocated as projects and maintenance continue. He said software and hardware price inflation — commonly in the 3–5% range and in at least one instance a 5% contract increase — has compressed purchasing windows and made vendor quotes short-lived.

Charles Lasky, IT department staff, confirmed the county is preparing for Microsoft product changes. “We’re moving people. We expect everybody off 10 by that date,” Lasky said when asked about Windows 10 support ending in October. Fonstock added the county is planning a move of email and Office services to a hosted Office 365 platform but cautioned the hosted migration “is going to be expensive” and could change the county’s Microsoft license costs by about $100,000 annually.

Fonstock said the departments separate work into three categories: preserve existing assets, expand or share existing systems, and new purchases only when necessary. On the facilities side he highlighted completed and near-complete work at the health department building in Elgin — roof and air-conditioning replacements — and said staff are completing a final concept plan for interior use and will bring that plan to the health and administration committees. “Most of our targeted expenses are towards maintaining existing assets,” he said.

On capital projects, Fonstock said the department had budgeted roughly $13.77 million and that much of the current capital total was encumbered via purchase orders that will convert to invoices as pay applications arrive. “Encumbrances are work that’s occurring now,” he said. That encumbered work contributed to a 41% capital spend figure at midyear; Fonstock said he expects year‑end capital spending to be lower than a simple doubling of the midyear percentage because many projects span fiscal years.

Committee members pressed for clearer allocation of countywide operating costs that currently appear in the building management budget, citing the regional office of education lease as an example. Fonstock said the lease is paid from the general fund and that staff are working with finance to ensure the cost is attributed to the correct cost center rather than appearing as a building maintenance expense.

Storage and records management were raised repeatedly by committee members as an operational pain point. “We obviously have a huge storage issue,” said committee member Missy Gumbs, calling for prioritized efforts to remove unneeded furniture and records. Fonstock said disposition of property is handled through purchasing and that his team can assist, but noted some removal actions require the owning office’s cooperation.

Fonstock closed the presentation by asking members to identify line items they want reviewed and promising a refreshed capital project list in July. “If it’s something we don’t have to spend, it’s cash in hand,” he said, adding his team will bring forward items above a $100,000 threshold with more complete presentations to the committee.

Ending: Committee members thanked staff for the report and asked for follow-up materials on license and contract changes, a clearer mapping of shared county charges and prioritized candidates for storage cleanup. The committee did not take formal action on the report; it was submitted for the record.