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player ready...Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant proposed no increase in this year’s property tax levy, prompting applause from both sides of the aisle, during her annual State of the County address Thursday.
The executive urged the Will County Board to hold the line on property taxes, about a month after the Will County Republican caucus asked for a 2% reduction.
Bertino-Tarrant proposed a $761 million county budget, which includes $450 million in special revenue funds, such as the Will County Health Department, Laraway Consolidated Communications Board, Veterans Assistance Commission and Mental Health Board, and $311 million in the operating budget.
About 35% of the operating budget is funded by property taxes for fiscal year 2027, which is about $108.2 million.
Bertino-Tarrant said the budget is tight and balanced, maintains services, keeps the county on strong fiscal footing and balances the need of countywide elected officials and the County Board.
“A lot of work went into this, and I’m proud to present a stable budget that prepares us for the future, while aligning with our goals: maintaining services and fiscal stability,” Bertino-Tarrant said.
The county has a AA+ bond rating from Moody’s, she said.
About 66% of the operating budget is spent on public safety, courts and the criminal justice system, leaving little room for discretionary spending, Bertino-Tarrant said.
The budget also keeps cash reserves at a 25% level. Bertino-Tarrant urged the County Board not to use reserves to balance the budget as it did last December, saying using reserves for operations is not fiscally responsible.
The budget includes $4.5 million in capital projects, including funds for improving the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and security systems at the River Valley Detention Center, a modernization of the real estate management system, repairs to the first responder radio system and equipment for sheriff’s deputies.
Cannabis and opioid settlement funds are expected to maintain existing programs, such as programs that help children through the court-appointed special advocate and Children’s Advocacy Center.
The County Board is expected to discuss the proposed budget over the next few months and vote on a plan before the fiscal year begins on Dec. 1.
In her state of the county address, Bertino-Tarrant emphasized that team work among county organizations and officials have helped contributed to various successes.
The new Veterans Assistance Commission is the first unified veteran support campus in Illinois and allows for a collaboration with the Veterans Affairs Hospital and Hope Manor Housing, Bertino-Tarrant said.
Paratransit services that can take seniors and individuals with disabilities to their appointment has grown from 16 townships to cover all 24 townships, Bertino-Tarrant said. Residents will take about 45,000 rides by the end of the year, she said.
Will County also leads the state in population growth and single-family home construction, Bertino-Tarrant said. About one in six homes being built in Illinois is built in Will County, she said. The county also leads the Midwest in job creation, she said.
The county is investing in its infrastructure. Some notable projects include completing the Bell Road widening project in Homer Glen and three segments of the widening and reconstruction project of 8 miles of Laraway Road through New Lenox, Mokena and Frankfort, Bertino-Tarrant said.
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Major overpass projects are in the works in New Lenox that will improve connections between neighborhoods, Lincoln-Way West High School and Silver Cross Hospital, she said. The county also received an $850,000 federal grant toward the final leg of the Weber Road expansion in Romeoville.
Bertino-Tarrant praised the county’s public safety departments, specifically naming sheriff Deputy Steve Potete, who was named by the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists as Deputy of the Year for making 122 drunken driving arrests last year.
Officers have also issued more than 2,100 overweight truck citations last year, yielding $5.5 million in fines, to keep streets safer, Bertino-Tarrant said.
The Will County Problem Solving Courts recently celebrated its 1,000th graduate and opioid deaths are down about 68% in the last three years, Bertino-Tarrant said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter.