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County finance director warns of low cash, board moves to authorize temporary interfund loans
Summary
Kane County finance staff reported the general-account cash balance is low ahead of property‑tax receipts and that the 2026 budget uses about $6 million from reserves; the committee approved proposals for temporary interfund loans to cover near‑term cash needs and asked finance to return with recommendations in June.
Kathleen Hopkinson, presenting monthly financials on May 6, told the executive committee the county’s draft audit is near complete and that cash balances for the general fund, pension fund and payroll tax fund are seasonally low ahead of property‑tax receipts. She said the 2026 amended budget relies on just over $6,000,000 in reserves to fund operating expenses and observed the general‑account reserve falls below the board’s 90‑day guideline unless the special reserve account is included.
Hopkinson walked the committee through cash‑balance charts and said several smaller funds are temporarily negative and will be cleared after internal reallocation. Several members asked about the roughly $27,000,000 shown in the general‑fund special reserve and pressed staff to propose a plan for whether and how to use those funds rather than leave them idle. Hopkinson said the special reserve was established by prior board policy and is available at the board’s discretion; she and the chair asked finance to consult counsel and prepare options for a June recommendation.
As part of the finance discussion the committee considered authorizations for temporary interfund loans to cover cash shortfalls until property tax receipts arrive: the package presented included an interfund loan of $12,000,000 between the general‑account (001) and the general fund special reserve (112) and additional temporary loans of $2,500,000 for IMRF (retirement) and $2,500,000 for FICA/Social Security funds from the special reserve. Committee members asked the sheriff to justify contractual overages that are increasing commodity/contractual costs and asked staff to return with details about several areas running over budget.
The committee moved consent and roll‑call votes were recorded approving the interfund loan authorizations and related budget housekeeping items. Members directed finance to provide detailed documentation on reserve use, postage and the courthouse mailing that generated public comment about the tax‑bill insert. The chair asked that the audit team present the final audit to the full board in June so members can review results in plain language rather than technical accounting tables.
The committee did not adopt a permanent policy change at the May 6 meeting; members requested follow‑up analysis and a schedule for review by finance and, if needed, by the full board.
