Balancing the Books: Carroll County Board Notes

By Mick Parsons For The Prairie Advocate News

Mt. Carroll – Public budgeting is a complicated beast. Anybody who sits at their kitchen table at the end of the month with a stack of bills, a checkbook, and a prayer understands that in most cases, there are more bills than there is money to pay them. It’s no different when the county board has to figure out how to spread money around when there’s never enough money to do what needs to be done – except that maybe the numbers are bigger. The county is currently wrestling with a budget short fall of around $300,000. Revenues are down, and the number of things that require the board’s attention are up. County money surpluses are also down. The state prefers a surplus of at least 25%, and the current county surplus is just under 20%.

But projections are down as well. Annette Rahn (D2) suggested that all committees cut their budgets 10% across the board; but Country Clerk Brian Woessner pointed out that many budgets have already been cut and are stretched as far as they can be stretched.

Cuts and concerns over impact occupied a lot of time during the meeting. Another such potential cut, is in the Extension Office. Changes in how the county extensions funds are distributed, how much money goes to the counties, and what counties work together could mean that the county extension office in Mount Carroll could close. That would mean that anybody wanting to deal with a person would have to drive more than an hour, and many programs that the extension office runs would be lost . . . probably never to return. To ensure that that extension office stays open and that those program stay funded, a levy request for a small tax increase is currently being considered by the Finance Committee

Among the things that require immediate attention from the county, however, and which were addressed by the Board in this month’s meetings, was the approval of petitions brought by the Highway Committee to supplement the culverts on Doty Road, Jacobstown Road, and Mill Hollow Road. Also, an 80 feet section of torn up sidewalk in front of the Carroll County Courthouse is going to be replaced by Despain Construction at a cost of $1,575, with some of the cost to be shared by Despain’s.

Reverse 911 – thought to be one of the most efficient ways to notify the public in the event of an emergency or natural disaster – was brought up because IEMA wants to extend the service to all the townships. The cost of this is being weighed against the clear advantages of having the system in place; but everyone agrees that it is necessary to public safety.