Lake County Forest Preserves approves $66.8M budget
A budget of $66.8 million for 2024 was approved by the Lake County Forest Preserves Board of Commissioners last week.
About 59%, or $39,161,800, of the budget will be used for operating expenses. Another 33% is for debt service payments, and the last 8% will be used for capital expenditures.
The anticipated tax levy to be collected in 2024 is about $51 million, which is up about 2.8% from last year, or about $1,376,243 — but is still $9.4 million below the total levy in 2009.
Lake County Forest Preserves Executive Director Alex Ty Kovach said the levy increase accounts for inflation.
The Forest Preserves must follow the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), which limits the inflationary increases a taxing district can impose in tax levies on existing property.
Kovach said this leads the department to have “very modest” growth around inflation.
“We’re running really lean,” Kovach said. “We try to run an efficient organization, so we run very lean.”
The owner of a $250,000 home is expected to pay about $129 in taxes to the Forest Preserves, an increase of $3.52 from last year, the department said.
In 2008, that same homeowner paid about $154 to the Forest Preserves, according to the department.
Of the total property taxes collected in Lake County, the Forest Preserves will only make up 1.87% for 2024, the department estimates.
Over the past three years, the percentage of the county tax levy to the Forest Preserves has decreased. In 2020, the agency received 2%, and in 2021 it went down to 1.94%, according to Kovach.
“In a pie chart of who gets the money, we’re getting less of it as compared to the school districts, the fire protection districts, the cities, the villages, the county, everybody else,” Kovach said.
Due to a reduction in capital projects, the 2024 budget represents a decrease of $23,663,504, or 26.15%, compared to the previous year’s modified budget.
While last year’s budget was approved at $68.67 million, the modified budget reflects projects that were not completed in the year and had to be pushed to the next, Kovach said.
Capital spending is decreasing since the agency expended all of its bond dollars, Kovach added. The Forest Preserves has approved capital projects that lack funding support.
Operating expenses for 2024 include diverse cultural events such as Afrofest and a Latino cultural event, education events to celebrate the 17-year cicada emergency, body cameras for the Ranger Police along with vehicle cameras and more.
Other additions include the purchase of electric equipment to replace gas-powered equipment since the agency has placed an emphasis on energy efficiency.
Replacing equipment is dependent on if an electric version of the product is on the market, Kovach added.
