As those involved in the 4-H and other University of Illinois Extension programs plan to attend Monday night’s Marion County Board finance and budget meetings, Board Chair Steve Whritenour has found a way to fund the program for this year that he’ll present to the county board later this month.
Even though there is a property tax levy to support the U of I, the payment was zeroed out of the budget. State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth confirmed without money in the budget, the county cannot appropriate the money even with a tax levy in place. Whritenour said that resulted in a need to find another funding solution.
“That was taken out of the budget as we were going through a massive budget deficit going into 2025,” Whritenour said. “Luckily the office holders and the county board ended up putting about a quarter of a million dollars back into the general fund at the end of 2024. That revenue was not anticipated, so what we would like to do is hopefully, the county board will approve that and we will fund the U of I extension program.”
But Whritenour warns this is a one-year solution.
“There are going to be some very difficult decisions that are going to have to be made going into next year,” Whritenour said. “Over a half a million dollars came out of ARPA funds to fund the county budget for this year. That money is no longer available.”
The Finance Committee of the County Board begins at six and the budget committee at six thirty in the small county board meeting room on the first floor of the courthouse. The issue is on the agenda of both committees.
The finance committee will also take up the proposed county procurement process ordinance.
The budget committee will also discuss a funding mechanism of Veterans Assistance Commission and Timeline for the 2025-26 budget. There will also be discussion on how much each office/department is expected to cut to match shortfall for the 2026 fiscal year.
The building committee will meet at five on Monday night. They will get an update on the window blinds and loan status, a discussion on the pre-trial services office lease agreement in the public service building and Marion County employee parking.
