September 12, 2012
Yesterday, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin presented the DuPage County Proposed FY2013 Financial Plan to the County Board. DuPage County’s current fiscal year ends on November 30, 2012; the new 2013 fiscal year begins on December 1, 2012.
Budget Overview
DuPage County proposes a FY2013 budget of $431.8 million. The budget is a 1.8%, or $8.1 million, decrease from the FY2012 current budget of approximately $440 million. [1] These figures exclude grants, the DuPage County Health Department, the Emergency Telephone Service Board (ETSB) and Special Service Areas.
Total appropriations for DuPage County are divided into five funds: General Fund, Special Revenue Funds, Enterprise Funds, Capital Projects Fund and Debt Service Fund. The chart below illustrates proposed appropriations by fund for FY2013.
Appropriations for the General Fund, which account for the County’s operating budget, total $168.8 million in FY2013. The General Fund represents 39.1% of the overall budget. Appropriations for Special Revenue Funds make up the second largest portion of the total budget at 38.8%, or $167.6 million. Special Revenue Funds include funds from restricted revenue sources designated for specific uses such as funding for stormwater drainage, County contributions to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund and the DuPage County Convalescent Center. [2]
Additional highlights from the budget include:
- The County’s property tax levy remains flat for the third year in a row at $66.6 million;
- A reduction of seven full-time equivalent positions from 2,234 positions in FY2012 to 2,227 positions in FY2013; and
- A decrease in personnel costs of $0.6 million, or 0.3%, from $204.9 million in FY2012 to $204.3 million in FY2013.
Budget Process
Following Chairman Cronin’s budget presentation yesterday, the County will hold two budget hearings to allow for public comment on the proposed financial plan recommendations. The first public hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 25 at 7:00 p.m. at the Bloomingdale City Hall. The second public hearing will be held on Tuesday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the Naperville City Hall. In addition to the public hearings, the County also offers citizens the opportunity to share thoughts on the proposed budget with the Finance Committee Chairman Paul Fichtner via a link on its website.
The County Board Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on the proposed financial plan on October 23, after which additional public hearings will be held. The County Board will vote on the final proposed budget on November 27. The complete budget calendar can be accessed here.
[1] The current budget is the County Board approved budget plus or minus any authorized budget transfers.
[2] Dupage County Proposed FY2013 Financial Plan, pp. 15-17.