DuPage County Officials Propose 6th Budget Sans Property Tax Influx

Praising the county’s lean, efficient government, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin presented a Fiscal Year 2017 budget on Tuesday that decreases spending and holds the line on property taxes.

“For the second year in a row, we are called upon to create a spending plan without a fully funded budget from Springfield,” he said, according to a county news release. “Amidst the partisan bickering and inaction in Springfield, I think it’s important to point out that here in DuPage, we continue to do the people’s work.”

In his budget address, Cronin outlined the numerous ways DuPage County has created government efficiency, cut costs and collaborated across units of government to pare down expenses. He heralded a “change in the culture” of government, saying that, "As a top-performing unit of local government, despite dysfunction at the state level, we must ensure the lights go on, the roads are paved and that our elderly and infirm residents receive the care they need.”

The proposed FY2017 budget reduces expenditures while maintaining service levels. Its $433.8 million total comes in $10.6 million shy of last year's approved $444.4 million spend. Since taking office in December 2010, Cronin has cut more than $43.9 million from the county’s budget, according to the news release. He said that under the proposal, the property tax levy will remain flat at $66.9 million for the sixth year in a row.

The FY 2017 proposal also maintains a $100,000 allocation to fight heroin in DuPage County, including expanding the DuPage Health Department’s RxBox program.

READ: DuPage's War on Drugs: Board OKs Dollars for Medicine Drop-Offs; Heroin Prevention

The proposed budget also allocates $50,000 to a new “Clean and Lien” program which aims to remove, repair, or demolish abandoned buildings on properties that have been foreclosed upon and clear the land for sale or development.

“We’ll eliminate these community eyesores, clean up the local environment and immediately improve neighborhoods, benefiting local property owners," Cronin said.

An additional $53.5 million in capital money will fund stormwater, drainage and road construction projects.
To view the full budget proposal, visit www.dupageco.org/finance.

The above content was provided by DuPage County.