The LaSalle County Board adopted the county’s fiscal 2025–26 budget and its annual tax levy during a Nov. 26 meeting marked by heated discussion over pension funding and the use of one-time revenue.

Chairman Jensen presented the finance committee’s recommended budget, which totals $117,968,073 in appropriations and requests $32,855,629 in property tax revenue for 12/01/2025–11/30/2026. Committee members and other board members debated whether the county should draw down accumulated fund balances for the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) and Social Security obligations or maintain higher levies for long-term stability.

Several board members said the county had unusually large balances in pension-related funds and proposed lowering levies accordingly. Mister Dose warned that reducing pension contributions now could cause problems later, saying the board was “underfunding it” and expressing concern about the long-term plan. Chairman Jensen and staff explained the finance committee’s approach: to apply some accumulated balances in IMRF and Social Security so taxpayers receive short‑term relief without jeopardizing future obligations. Jensen said the county’s IMRF fund balance is “around 9 to $10,000,000” and that prior years’ levies had accumulated in those funds; the committee recommended using portions of those balances rather than increasing property taxes.

Board members also discussed the budget’s reliance on one-time funds. The finance committee reported using $2.5 million of iFiber proceeds and $700,000 of ARP interest to balance the budget, and members asked whether those uses were sustainable. Members pressed for more department-level detail and suggested a forthcoming financial director could help monitor trends across departments.

After the discussion, the board approved the budget ordinance by roll call, 18 ayes and 5 nays. The board then read and adopted the annual levy ordinance, which lists specific fund levies including $1.5 million for IMRF, $1.5 million for Social Security and detailed amounts for highway, nursing home, insurance and other funds. The levy ordinance passed on roll call, 21 ayes and 2 nays.

The finance committee emphasized the intent to check fund balances next year and to adjust future levies if market conditions or fund requirements change. The board also noted the budget includes planned use of cash balances in several funds; staff said they will continue to monitor those balances and report back.

The next procedural step is that the county clerk will file the adopted levy and budget in accordance with law.