The chair of the McLean County Board says it would be premature to suspend a tax collection to support mental health and public safety in McLean County, something Bloomington and Normal both want.
Elizabeth Johnston says she found out in March that the City of Bloomington and Town of Normal had been talking with county administration since January about renegotiating a nearly 10-year-old agreement to use a portion of sales tax money the city and town collect toward mental health and public safety.
Johnston said that's when she joined in the discussion.
“When we were talking, it felt like we were really just starting to hit the ground,” Johnston said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas. “However, it took a very sharp turn in June when at my second meeting where [Bloomington and Normal officials] were insistent that the amendments get brought to the July [County Board] meeting.”
The city and town were pushing two amendments: one to suspend sharing ¼ of the 1% sales tax for at least one year, and one to audit the fund, which has grown to about $20 million. It’s been collecting sales tax revenue from both municipalities since 2016.
The Normal Town Council voted Monday to suspend the agreement and to seek an external auditor to review the fund. Bloomington’s city council is scheduled to vote on those two requests on Monday.
Last week, the county board’s Executive Committee let the tax-sharing proposal fail as no one seconded a motion to call for a vote. The audit was approved.
Johnston said she made no assumptions about whether the city and town would still push the suspension after the county tried to let the idea die, but she said she supports the audit and hopes it can provide a new framework “so that we were all beginning the negotiations again from a shared financial footing.”
Johnston said the county, city and town need to find common understanding about the fund’s $20 million balance.
“People seem to conflate a fund balance with surplus, and I think those are very different things,” Johnston said, adding that about $4 million is still uncommitted.
Johnston said she supports a financial review to help get a better handle on what the county’s ongoing expanses will likely be in the future.
“What is surplus versus what is committed. And I think that is a piece that needs to be a part of the conversation,” she said.
Johnston said one key variable is how much it may cost for the county to replace its records management system which is used law enforcement agencies throughout the county.
She said she’s been told the cost could range anywhere from $3 million to $7 million.
“We won’t know until we can actually discuss which product we are looking at,” she said. “I would like to see some of these pieces in place before the pause proceeds.”
The county has also faced questions from officials in Bloomington and Normal about transparency.
While noting the county produces annual reports about how its mental health funding is being used, Johnston said many in the community are unaware of the county’s urgent care center and the behavioral health counselors that are available to help people in crisis.
Johnston said the county is working on ways to better share with the public about how its addressing public health needs in the community. She said a lack of staffing has been the issue.
“As a county, we have always been the ones to do the work but not necessarily toot our own horn. So I do see room for us to be more transparent with the public and to make the information more accessible,” Johnston said.
Johnston said she would like to see negotiations resume with the city and town once each entity has weighed in.
When asked if the county expects the city or town will try to pull out of the agreement if the parties remain at odds, Johnston said she’s heard nothing explicit.
“There have been hints at some of the potential steps,” Johnston said. “I would hate to believe that that would be the case, when the intergovernmental agreement is very clear that all three parties do need to agree to something before it proceeds.”
