Kendall County officials face $7.58 million gap, staff urges keeping reserves near $17M

County finance staff told the Kendall County Commissioners Court on Aug. 10 that the general fund showed a $7,580,547 gap between projected expenditures and revenues, prompting a focused special call meeting to find cuts and protect the county’s reserve. “Where we sit right now is $7,580,547,” staff said while distributing the current revenue-and-expenditure worksheet.

Staff advised the court against drawing the fund balance down to cover ongoing operations, recommending a minimum 25% reserve but advising a 30% target for greater disaster resilience. “Your minimum fund balance at 25% … is 14,100,000… taking all of these out… 30%… is 16,900,000,” staff said, and recommended the court “shoot for that 16,900,000 to leave in your fund balance.” Commissioners asked whether raising taxes was an alternative; staff confirmed that higher taxes could close some of the gap but noted the draft budget assumes a proposed reduced tax rate (0.373).

To reach the reserve target commissioners pursued a mix of options: cutting one-time capital items, delaying or temporarily budgeting new hires in contingency, and trimming project scopes. Staff also warned that several large grant matches would require the county to carry cash for multi-year projects, increasing near-term pressure on reserves. “I think if you spend … 4,000,000, I truly believe that you would have that 17 or 17.5,” staff said, urging conservative use of fund balance.

Next steps: staff said the judge will file the proposed budget later in the week and that the court must publish legally required notices before a Sept. 8 public hearing on the proposed budget.