Finance committee shifts levy capacity: IMRF trimmed, insurance raised; VAC and auditor line changes approved

The LaSalle County Finance Committee on Oct. 29 made several cross‑cutting levy and budget adjustments, directing staff to move levy capacity between funds and reduce several line items before forwarding the draft budget to the full county board.

IMRF and insurance: committee members debated using levy capacity held in the IMRF (pension) fund to strengthen the insurance fund in advance of bond and insurance trust obligations. The committee agreed to reduce the IMRF levy by $1,000,000 (to about $1.5 million) and to increase the insurance fund levy (to about $8.0 million) so the insurance trust can address upcoming bond payment pressures and risk costs. Finance staff said current IMRF balances are large (about $9.8 million) and that shifting levy capacity would still leave IMRF with a significant cushion.

Veterans Assistance Commission (VAC): Krista, the VAC director, described a personnel package approved by her VAC board to retain staff. Committee members said proper committee courtesy would include salary and labor committee involvement; the Finance Committee reduced the VAC legal services line from $50,000 to $30,000 and set the VAC levy at $400,000 for the draft, asking the VAC to work with county committees next year on salary alignments.

Auditor payroll: the committee removed a proposed deputy/auditor payroll addition (about $60,000) that had been linked to hiring a new finance director; staff will revisit the need in the next budget cycle.

Budget referral: the committee moved and seconded a motion to forward the draft budget and the committee’s levy recommendations to the full county board for the Nov. 3 meeting. Committee members completed a roll call and a majority supported forwarding the draft; committee members noted they could revisit items at board-level sessions.

Why it matters: these decisions reallocate levy capacity among pension and insurance reserves and set levy direction for the full board. They also reflect tension between department autonomy (VAC salary decisions) and county‑level budget oversight.