One particular earmark within DuPage County’s proposed fiscal year 2025 operating budget is expected to have a direct impact on Naperville and other communities across the area if adopted as-is.
Last month, County Board Chair Deborah Conroy, unveiled her proposed budget of $635.8 million, backed in part by an anticipated property tax levy of $71 million. Within it is a $1.8 million line item referred to as “County Board member initiatives.”
Member initiatives – a first-time program
Conroy and the County Board discussed the first-ever program and its framework at a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Conroy indicated it is intended to give each commissioner a pot of money to use at his or her discretion toward one or more nonprofit organizations, local units of government or specific programs.
While the program is designed to provide flexibility and autonomy, Conroy indicated she is encouraging collaboration, wherever possible. The $1.8 million pot of money is divided equally into a $300,000 allocation for each County Board district and $100,000 for each County Board member.
Speaking to board members working in tandem with one another, Conroy said, “I really encourage that. It’s a lot of money when you put it all together. There are some real needs out there.”
While “flexibility” has been a common refrain behind the program, there are parameters in place since public dollars are in play.
The funds can be allocated toward county government functions and departments, as well as other units of government, including municipalities, townships, park districts, and school districts. Nonprofits designated as 501(c)3 organizations are also eligible.
‘Not a gift program’
Conor McCarthy with the state’s attorney’s office provided further insight into how the funds can and cannot be spent, based on his analysis.
“The member initiative program is not a gift program,” McCarthy said. In the case of nonprofit organizations, he said, “We’re hiring them to perform a service. They have to perform a service that’s within the county’s statutory purposes.”
In some instances, McCarthy indicated there could be additional layers to the process before a proposal from one or more board members ultimately is given the green light.
“I’ll remind you that because it’s a service contract, not-for-profit contracts may require open competitive bidding if it it’s over a certain amount,” McCarthy said. “There are limited uses. It has to be for a public purpose.”
The county’s fiscal year 2025 budget begins in December. Based on the tentative timeline, Conroy, McCarthy and other officials involved in the parameters around the program indicated board members could begin submitting proposals for the funding in December. The tentative deadline or all submissions is Feb. 3, 2025.
Jeremy Custer, a senior advisor with the county, indicated why the call for all board member submissions is early in the next fiscal year.
“They can be spent anywhere in DuPage County, with all of the funds needing to be expended in fiscal year 25,” Custer said.
Board members weigh in on new member initiatives proposal
At the recent board meeting, commissioners had varied comments on the proposal, with some suggesting tweaks and others lauding the program.
“It looks like a lot of work went into this, but I don’t understand the timeline, and why we so quickly want to get this done,” District 6 commissioner James Zay said. “I mean, events will happen throughout the year; organizations will need money. Can we move this back a little bit to a couple months? It seems like a lot of work up front.”
But District 5 commissioner Patty Gustin advocated for keeping the current timeline in place.
“In my district, there are service programs right now that need funding,” Gustin said. “If we keep pushing this off, they’re not going to have the funding they need to keep those programs afloat. These are mental health programs for our students, our kids. So, a month — for us, it won’t make a lot of difference, but for the program recipients, it will.”
The County Board will vote on the full budget in late November.
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