Lake County Forest Preserve Board approves 2022 budget

LIBERTYVILLE – The Lake County Forest Preserve Board of Commissioners approved the fiscal 2022 budget of $63,617,824 at its Oct. 12 meeting.

The 2022 budget represents a decrease of $22,164,404 (25.8%) over the current year's budget. It covers expenditures for the period from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2022.

"As staff prepared the 2022 budget, they realized the impacts of COVID-19 are ongoing. They took a cautious approach in developing the financial plan," Angelo Kyle, president of the Lake County Forest Preserves, said in a news release. "We are proud of the balanced budget. And looking back, we are thrilled that during a time in which it felt like every door was closed, the Lake County Forest Preserves were one of the few public spaces to remain open every day. Usage levels have remained strong."

"The budget contains conservative revenue estimates, changes in personnel, operational changes and increases in some operational costs associated with reopening of activities and, hopefully, short-term inflation caused by the pandemic," Executive Director Alex Ty Kovach said in the release. "Even with these changes, the budget has a 0.74% reduction in the overall property tax levy over last year."

There are both positive and negative impacts reflected in the 2022 budget because of the pandemic.

On one hand, there was a significant increase in activity levels for some of the services that the forest preserves provides, which has driven revenue to levels higher than pre-pandemic periods. These increased activity levels appear to be sustainable into the 2022 fiscal budget, Kovach said. On the other hand, short-term inflation and bottlenecks in the supply chains brought on by the economic recovery have increased some operating costs.

Of property taxes collected in Lake County, about 2% of the average tax bill goes to support the Lake County Forest Preserves. The 2021 proposed tax levy, which will be billed in 2022, is estimated to be 0.74% lower than the 2020 tax levy. This is $11.3 million below the district's total levy in 2009. In that year, the forest preserves' portion of the tax bill on a $250,000 home was $153.89. With the proposed 2022 budget, the forest preserves' portion of the tax bill on that same home is $122.68. This is $31.21 lower than the 2009 tax bill. Comparing the 2021 tax bill with the 2020 tax bill for this same home would show a decrease of $1.54.

Additions in the budget include a compensation study, an increase to the employee health and wellness program that will be reimbursed by the new health insurance provider and interior improvements at the ThunderHawk Golf Club banquet facilities. A concrete floor will be added at one of the boat storage buildings at the Fox River Marina to increase storage capacity and improve operations.

Ash trees along the Des Plaines River pose potential flooding problems. $150,000 will be spent each year for the next four years to remove ash trees damaged by emerald ash borer infestations over the past years.

As restrictions imposed by the pandemic have been lifted during the past year, there were major improvements in many of the non-tax revenues the Lake County Forest Preserves receive.

"Revenues for the year are on track to exceed the budget by more that $1 million. We will continue to monitor the situation and react accordingly as we move into 2022," Kovach said.

In 2020, the Preservation Foundation, the charitable partner of the Lake County Forest Preserves, began planning for a fundraising campaign that aims to raise $20 million to establish a permanent endowment for habitat restoration and tree planting activities. Projected revenue from this permanent endowment is included in the Capital Improvement Program, starting in 2030.

"When the $20 million campaign goal is met, the endowment fund will provide stable funding to support these activities for many years into the future," Kovach said.