Kane County executive committee warned of $29 million shortfall; authorizes ad hoc budget planning

Kane County Executive Committee members heard detailed budget warnings on March 5 as finance staff outlined a multi‑year drawdown of reserves and the committee authorized an ad hoc work group to prepare contingency plans.

The committee’s finance presenter, staff member Kathleen Hopkinson, said the county will “be closing out the fiscal year, using $11,000,000 of fund balance.” She told the committee the FY25 budget is currently written to use $29,000,000 in fund balance, and that if the trend continues the county could exhaust its general‑fund reserves by 2027: “So bar any new revenue sources, we would be in a position for ’27 where we don't have any reserves to use anymore.”

That highlights why the committee moved to create a short‑term, cross‑committee ad hoc group to develop “Plan A/Plan B” budgeting scenarios and workforce contingencies. “I will be working with our chief of civil, Mr. Frank. We will establish that committee appropriately, and we can start meeting sometime this month,” the chair said during the meeting.

Why it matters: Hopkinson told members the audit firm is scheduled to finish field work before the county’s May 31 audit deadline, and that county staff need clear direction to enter budget scenarios into the finance software. The county’s current budget software allows advancing versions forward but does not retain earlier versions for easy parallel scenario comparison; Hopkinson said that limitation complicates running multiple “what‑if” budgets simultaneously.

Committee members debated timing and scope. Several members said the pending county sales‑tax referendum will materially affect revenue projections and recommended pausing major budget moves until after the election results. “The results of whether there's going to be a sales tax or not is going to absolutely impact the 2026 budget,” Hopkinson said. Several members, including board member Berman, urged starting work on both a positive (if the referendum passes) and a negative (if it fails) scenario: “I would like to have a start with the attitude that we are gonna pass a referendum… and that we should… look at what we might do for 2026 if we have funds to do it,” Berman said.

The committee directed staff to develop clear, parallel scenarios and recommended an ad hoc committee that blends human services and finance members to focus on potential personnel and program adjustments if additional revenue does not materialize. The group will meet more frequently than standing committees to draft recommendations for human services and finance committees and for full board consideration. The chair also asked staff for a projection of the timing and amounts of revenue if the referendum passes; Hopkinson said any revenue from a successful April referendum would likely not be received until 2026, with receipts beginning in the first quarter of that year.

Additional context: Hopkinson said the county tracks grant cash and planned spending across fiscal years; she noted the county clerk used roughly $400,000 of a $2,000,000 election‑equipment grant in FY24 and plans to use the remaining $1.6 million in FY25. The county’s finance team said a software migration to a new budget package would take six to nine months and that a quick alternative—preparing parallel scenarios on spreadsheets—would be more time intensive but possible if needed.

The meeting closed the budget discussion with a directive for the designated ad hoc committee to report back to the executive committee and for staff to prepare scenario projections and a schedule that aligns with the audit timetable and the April referendum timetable.

Ending: Committee members said they expect the ad hoc group to begin meeting this month and to bring draft contingency measures—including hiring freezes, controlled attrition and targeted program reductions—back to the finance and human services committees for consideration.