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Peoria County reports stronger‑than‑expected FY25 results, explains rollovers and GASB changes
Summary
Staff told the board FY25 actual revenues finished about $11.6 million above budget (including roughly $11.2 million of ARPA recognition), interest income was about $1.7 million higher, and many capital and contract items rolled forward—leaving the county in a healthier position than the revised budget had indicated.
Heather presented a year‑end review for fiscal 2025 and said the county’s financial position was stronger than the revised budget had shown. “We did finish, we did record higher than budgeted receipts from public facility sales tax and public safety sales tax, both about $1,000,000 higher than budget,” Heather said, and she told the board that final FY25 actual revenues finished about $11,600,000 above the revised budget. Heather explained most of that variance included about $11,200,000 in ARPA revenue recognized when expenditures occurred.
Heather described major budget variances and rollovers: charges for services included a roughly $1,200,000 construction reimbursement for Maxwell Road; personnel expenditures increased (net ~$668,000) mainly because of collective bargaining agreements and temporary circuit clerk wages (a midyear $150,000 appropriation); commodity increases included approximately $1,000,000 for township MFT work and about $311,000 for circuit clerk furniture. Contracts, services, and capital outlays showed the largest increases, much of which represented projects originally budgeted in FY24 and rolled into FY25.
Overall, Heather said the county finished about $40,000,000 under budget in certain categories across all funds, with notable rollovers reported on purchase orders (about $1,400,000 rolled forward in the general fund and roughly $8,000,000 of other rollovers noted). She said the general fund showed a $1,300,000 surplus before purchase‑order rollovers; accounting for a $1,400,000 in‑progress purchase order would create a theoretical $123,000 deficit relative to the revised plan, but Heather described the final position as healthy and manageable.
Heather also explained that new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) guidance required capitalizing certain software and leases, which changed how several items (for example, Tyler Odyssey software and certain leases such as the Election Commission building and Trillium Place) are recorded and depreciated. A member asked whether the software capitalization change had been applied to FY26 projections; Heather confirmed it had.
For FY26 year‑to‑date figures through February, Heather said revenues and expenditures were each about 11–12% realized, and she noted property tax collections (the county’s largest funding source) will show up later in the year. The revised FY26 projection included a potential $3,600,000 deficit, but Heather said the general fund balance (about $34,300,000) provides flexibility should the projection materialize.
