Kankakee budget committee hears financial report; ARPA balance under $2M, $300,000 IDNR reimbursement noted

Comptroller Rogers told the City of Kankakee Budget Committee on Nov. 10 that the city’s revenues are in good shape after the fourth tax-levy payment and that officials are managing ARPA and grant reimbursements as deadlines loom.

Rogers said the city has received its fourth tax-levy payment and is "sitting at, like, 96% of the tax levy collections," with one smaller payment expected in December that should bring the year-to-date total closer to the target. She flagged one local-use-tax line that appears unusually high and said she will investigate whether an item posted to the account in error.

The comptroller reported a $300,000 payment tied to an Illinois Department of Natural Resources reimbursement for the East Riverwalk project, describing that amount as 50% of the IDNR grant and saying the other half will come after the city submits documented expenditures for reimbursement. "We received $300,000 in an IDNR grant that had been completed in 2023 for East Riverwalk," Rogers said.

On expenses, Rogers said overall departmental salaries total about $7,100,000 and are at roughly 44% of budget for the year. She noted timing effects on pension-related lines for police and fire that briefly push some accounts higher but said the payments have been covered. The city reported $125,000 in interest income for the month and cash balances about $340,000 higher than the previous month.

Rogers also updated the committee on American Rescue Plan Act spending: "ARPA we are running down the clock on that. We're sitting at under $2,000,000 now in the allocation balance. We have till December next year to spend the rest of that money," she said. Committee members asked whether unspent ARPA allocations must be returned; the mayor (role) clarified that unexpended ARPA funds must be returned to the federal government after the federal deadline.

Committee members raised one implementation concern: about $300,000 allocated for youth-empowerment work tied to District 111. Committee members and the mayor said the school district needs to finalize program plans and invoices to ensure those funds are expended before the federal deadline. "We tied it into District 111… but basically it needs to be for youth," the mayor said, and staff agreed to follow up with district leaders.

Other administrative updates included an approved audit extension — Rogers said the city has until Dec. 26 to complete and file the audit with the state — and a note that updated assessment-rate figures from the county assessor (roughly 10.8%–11.1% higher than the prior submission) could allow the city to reduce its tax rate when finalizing the levy. Rogers said levy figures will be prepared for the next budget-committee meeting and scheduled for approval at the Dec. 15 City Council meeting.

The committee also confirmed that bond-issuance results will be presented to the full council on Nov. 17 by Bob Veil, who will explain the market savings and provide detailed spreadsheets.

The meeting ended after a motion to adjourn. The motion was moved by Alderman Marzak and seconded by Alderman Johnson and passed by voice vote; individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript.

Votes at a glance

Adjournment motion: Moved by Alderman Marzak, seconded by Alderman Johnson; outcome: approved by voice vote. Individual yes/no tallies not specified in the meeting transcript.