A budget of almost $144.5 million for the 2026 fiscal year was presented Thursday to the McLean County Board.
The budget presented by Cassy Taylor, McLean County administrator, will be up for a vote in November. It would mark a $7.2 million, or about 5% increase, over the 2025 budget. It is a slight decrease from the nearly $147 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year.
“We're staying pretty stable across the years,” said Taylor. “I would call this a maintenance budget in that we are following along with our Capital Improvement Plan.”
A 5.2% decrease in the property tax rate, due to continued increases to equalized assessed values in McLean County, is reflected in the budget. The owner of a $210,000 home would see their tax bill decrease by $32.29. Some homeowners may end up seeing a higher tax bill due to higher property values, partly due to the housing shortage.
Other new items in the budget include launching a software update for the county’s enterprise resource system that manages financial software, grants, projects and human resources.
About 47% of the county budget would be dedicated to personnel and benefits, a 6.4% increase over last year. There are several new or reclassified positions, said Taylor. A uniform wage increase of 70 cents per hour for all county workers, along with merit-based increases, is included in the proposed budget. The change is a response to an employee survey conducted by the county administration last year.
“One of the comments that came back pretty consistently from employees in the lower pay grades was that they were showing some dissatisfaction with their salaries,” said Taylor. “Especially their wages not keeping pace with the cost of living, looking at childcare costs and other things that might impact their ability to stay employed with McLean County.”
Funding disappearing from the end of American Rescue Plan Act [ARPA] assistance will not have as much of an effect on the 2026 budget.
“We have several projects that are in their last year of ARPA funding, so we are able to expend those resources through December of 2026, we just had to have those projects planned and contracts in place,” said Taylor.
Taylor said the $33 million that ARPA brought to McLean County was “instrumental” for efforts related to maintenance projects the county had been deferring. Efficiency upgrades at the McLean County Nursing Home, funded with ARPA money, will continue into 2026. A major remodel to the Government Center in downtown Bloomington was funded through the program as well.
Capital Improvement Plan
Over the next five years, 82 projects are included in the proposed Capital Improvement Plan [CIP], with $17.7 million worth of projects planned for 2026. That includes expansion of security camera presence in the county. Comlara Park would see electricity additions at a shelter and roof replacement to some buildings. Continued elevator upgrades at the Government Center also are included.
A review of the proposed budget over the next 90 days is next for the County Board and the public, said Taylor. It will go before oversight committees in October, where further explanation of the budget will occur. It can be formally adopted by a county board vote in November.
Tax-sharing pause response
Also Thursday, county board members unanimously approved a measure affirming commitment to honor the recommendations of the Mental Health and Public Safety Fund Advisory Council.
Both the Town of Normal and City of Bloomington voted to place a pause on contributing revenue to the fund in July. An August letter from Normal Mayor Chris Koos sent to county board chair Elizabeth Johnston accused the county of spending less than the tax revenue allows for.
Johnston said Thursday’s board move was to codify respect of funding recommendations set by the advisory council.
“Our job is as a custodian, the same way that a trustee who's managing a trust, when they come to [the board] and the expenses are appropriate, then they need to be released without comment, without amendment, without edits,” said Johnston.
Lea Cline, representative for District 8, characterized conversations she had with members of the Bloomington City Council. She said a recurring issue has been how the county board’s role in approving expenditures is understood.
“Every expenditure must, by law, come before the board," she said. "This step is unavoidable, but it can create the perception that the board can override the recommendations of the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the Fund Advisory Council, undermining the collaborative spirit that this process was meant to foster.”
“This was more of that kind of codification of that commitment to respect,” said Johnston. “To get the money out into the community where I think all three bodies [the county, town and city governments] agree that that is the purpose of the funds, and that we are to be building a stronger community with that money.”
Dawson Solar zoning
In another matter, the board narrowly approved an application of Dawson Solar, LLC Deriva Energy for a special use to allow a solar energy generating facility in Dawson Township, north of LeRoy.
A lack of public support from the Dawson Township community was noted by District 2 representative Bill Friedrich, who contested the findings of fact that determined the special use would not hurt property values in the immediate vicinity.
“It's going to have effect, and it will be a negative effect,” said Friedrich.
A public commenter from a nearby property agreed.
“There was a property in [the] area that went up for sale, we learned through the Realtor that the net sales price ended up about $100,000 less than the asking price,” said Mark O’Rourke, of Dawson.
The board 11-8 in favor of the measure.
Johnston said the county’s hands were tied because the proposal met all seven standards expected of the solar project.
“We can turn it down, but that does leave us open legally to action,” said Johnston.
O’Rourke said barriers placed around the solar facility may help in the long run, but values while construction is ongoing will be affected.
Brandon Andrew, a representative from Deriva Energy, also spoke at the beginning of the meeting.
“Since the zoning board hearing last week, we've met with seven of the neighbors of the project and are working through what we call ‘good neighbor agreements,’ or participation agreements, with them to address specific concerns related to the project,” he said. “And we intend to continue those discussions going forward.”
Other business
In other business, the county board:
— Approved the ordinance authorizing boundary modifications to the Bloomington-Normal Enterprise Zone.
— Authorized the purchase of a one-year subscription to a mass notification system to notify everyone in the county with a cell phone of an emergency. The subscription service, provided by Onsolve, is $17,567 per year.
— Approved a proposed LED fixture replacement for 200 W. Front St. and the booking cells of the McLean County Jail.
