Lake County wraps up budget season ahead of schedule
In just about 10 minutes Tuesday, the Lake County Council wrapped up its budget season about one month ahead of schedule and including a 4% across the board pay increase for workers.
After a few changes, the council approved 4-0 — with three absent — the budget on first reading and cancelled the five remaining budget workshops. The council will reconvene on the budget for the second reading at 10 a.m. Oct. 17.
Scott Schmal, the council’s financial administrator, said the changes were clean-up items that had been discussed. The last move rebalances the budget with the insurance reserve, ultimately balancing the budget.
Council members approved new appropriations for the Board of Elections to allows the office to comply with new equipment legislation for the 2024 election season. Officials approved $25,000 for other supplies; $50,000 for a consultant; $170,000 for printing; $150,000 for freight and other expenses; and $55,00 for other services and charges.
The prosecutor’s office will be adding to new full-time positions to its staff. The council approved adding an IT director and an administrative director to the office. Each position pays $68,000. In the veterans’ services office, a new administrative assistant position was created with a salary of $40,000.
The remaining balance of $2,520,582 was placed in the insurance reserve to help shore up the program. Lake County has a net assessed value of $30,568,328,328 and a maximum levy of $182 million. The county also has about $11 million in debt service.
The council went on to approve the eight necessary budget ordinances authorizing the levies, the appropriations, the salaries, longevity, the sheriff’s department clothing allowance and per diem expenses, and the proposed budgets for the Lake Ridge Fire Department and the Lake County Solid Waste Management District.
Councilman Randy Niemeyer, R-Cedar Lake, questioned whether the departments who appeared earlier before the council seeking reorganization were able to move forward with those changes.
“If a department had a vacant position and decided they wouldn’t budget for it (in 2024) and spread out the salaries, that was approved,” Schmal said. Those changes would have stayed within the 4% growth quotient used to develop the budget. Any one-off changes in the terms of an analysis performed by various departments comparing their office pay to other counties were not approved.
Niemeyer also asked officials to consider a closer look at revenue sources utilized throughout the county. He said some departments have fees that come in and are able to use those fees at their discretion.
“…There are multiple miscellaneous revenue streams the council has no oversight over,” Niemeyer said. He would like to look more closely at how those funds are used to determine if any can help relieve some of the burden on the county’s general fund.
“Some departments have done that,” Interim Council President Christine Cid, D-East Chicago, said, citing the clerk and recorder offices, which have both used fee funds to offset some burden on the general fund. She agreed officials should take a look.
