PEORIA, Ill. – The proposed Peoria County budget for the coming fiscal year continues to have a deficit.
County Administrator Scott Sorrell says the $3 million deficit in the $121 million spending plan is being covered with various fund balances; and in some cases, projects are being paid for with money saved over time for those purposes.
Sorrel tells the Peoria County Board Ways and Means Committee the deficit will have minimal effect on property taxes, outside of property values going up.
“The Supervisor of Assessments is estimating and recommending that we will see — conservatively, and this is what we’ve built in — a 1.1 percent increase in [Equalized Assessed Value], or, the tax base,” said Sorrel.
Sorrel says there’s one part of the property tax levy not needed this year.
“Based on short term debt that was issued a decade ago that we paid off this year, there will not be a need in 2022 to levy in the Debt Service funds,” said Sorrell.
Sorrell says, however, the property tax levy of 82.41 cents per $100 of assessed value will remain unchanged, with levy rates changing in other funds.
Some residents are up in arms, though, about proposed cuts to the county auditor’s office, where the office would see three jobs cut, leaving the office with only one auditor.
The full County Board votes on the budget in October.
The full county budget proposal as of September 27 is available by CLICKING HERE.
