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La Salle County Health Department cash reserves fall to lowest since 2012, levy reinstatement sought · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Salle County Health Department cash reserves fall to lowest since twenty twelve,
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  levy reinstatement sought. Written by Emily Beebe This article is
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  being read by an automated voice, brought to you by Everlet. The
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  LaSalle County Health Department is asking the county to reinstate its tax
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  levy after two years of cuts burned through most of its cash
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  reserves, pushing the to their lowest since tracking began in 2012 and
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  after auditors questioned whether it can keep operating in a negative budget.
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  Chris Potzee, Public Health Administrator for the LaSalle County Health Department, told
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  the LaSalle County Board Finance Committee on September 29th that the department
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  wants then last restored to at least the fiscal year 2025 level
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  plus 4 a total of 698,625. As
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  a reminder, in fiscal year 22, our tax levy was reduced from
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  1,115,201 to 659,701,
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  Pozey said. And then last year you reduced it again to 300,000.
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  So that's been a huge decrease. The reductions were made to spend
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  down cash on hand. However, reserves have now fallen to about 2.5
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  million, the lowest since tracking began in 2012. Potsey projected The would
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  end The fiscal
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  year at roughly 2.84 million. As of September, cash was already 100,000
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  below projections. Today it sits another 200,000 lower. Historically,
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  the tax levy supports about 34 percent of the department's operating costs.
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  The current 300,000 represents 8. The requested increase would cover about 19.
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  Even with this requested increase, the fiscal year 27 budget still reflects
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  a negative balance of 1,011,638, Potzi said. So
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  we are still going to be spending our cash on hand. Potzi
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  said it would be down to roughly 1 million by the end
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  of next year, about four months of operating costs. Because many grants
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  require spending from June through November without reimbursement until January or February,
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  Potzi said the department will hit zero. There will definitely be some
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  times that we won't have any cash on hand if we continue
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  with this rate, she said. She also warned Auditors are watching. Fiscal
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  audits have questioned multiple times why it operates in a negative budget,
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  she said, and the next one could cost grant funding. I am
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  concerned that if I give them that same answer the next time
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  I get audited, that it could jeopardize some of our grant funding,
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  she said. Projected expenditures for fiscal year 27 are 3,627,866,
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  up 55,395 from 2026. Insurance alone drove costs
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  up 127,599. The department cut all
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  other expenditures by 72,000 to offset it. Most grants decreased, ranging
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  from 1.6 to 94.9. The tuberculosis grant was cut by 33,000,
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  a 94 reduction. The the Perinatal Help B grant is no longer
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  funded through the Illinois Department of Public Health, IDPH. The Emergency Food
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  and Shelter Grant was never reinstated. Payroll includes a 75 cent hourly
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  raise under employee contracts and a 3 wage increase for non-union employees
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  adopted by The
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  Board of Health June 25th. On finding new revenue, Pozzi said. The
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  department will bring environmental health fees to the committee in the coming
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  months, such as food, sewage, and water permits. However, she said there
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  is no way to close a million-dollar gap that way. There's no
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  way that we can make up a million dollars in fees, nor
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  would I ever want to, nor would my restaurants want us to
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  use that as a source, she said. The grant the department most
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  relies on to function as a local health department brings in about
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  200,000 a year, Podsey said. It costs roughly 1.1 million to fulfill
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  covering food, sewage, water, and communicable disease. CORECTION. Chris Potzi was
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  incorrectly identified as a man, Potzi as a woman.