Following budget hearings earlier this month, Monroe County Treasurer Kevin Koenigstein presented a rough draft of the Fiscal Year 2026 financial plan during Monday’s meeting of the Monroe County Board.

The big highlight of the  upcoming budget year is the likelihood there will be a true reduction in the dollar amount of taxes collected for county government operations. 

The FY26 county government tax request on the first draft budget is $4,070,000 – a reduction of $668,040 from the FY25 request.

One reason for the reduction, as Koenigstein has repeatedly noted this year, is the absence of a tax levy for county-owned senior living and rehabilitation center Oak Hill.

Prior to the current fiscal year, Monroe County had collected $750,000 to help pay construction bonds approved by taxpayers in 2004. 

Those bonds were paid in full this year, and the Oak Hill levy for FY25 was only $350,000.

No money will be collected for Oak Hill in the next year, not only because the bonds are paid but also due to a five-year lease of Oak Hill operations by Accolade Healthcare expected to begin Dec. 1. That is if the Illinois Heath Facilities and Services Review Board approves Accolade’s “certificate of need” during its Nov. 18 meeting.  

Another cause of reduced taxes, Koenigstein later said, is that the Monroe County EMS department is expected to request less than prior years.

Koenigstein explained the county’s emergency medical services department is simply “doing better” financially.

Koenigstein was similarly pleased with the county’s expected revenue, noting local sales tax collections continue to soar, with this July’s haul the “highest” total ever.

The county’s share of income tax funds is also trending upward, with that budget line exceeding $2 million collected for the current fiscal year and projected to bring in about $2.1 million in FY26.  

Koenigstein also noted that with the current tax cycle timeline “way ahead” of its usual schedule, he could potentially post the draft budget on the county website which would allow commissioners to hypothetically approve next year’s budget during its second meeting in November.

Commissioner Vicki Koerber, acting as board chairman due to the absence of board chairman George Green at Monday’s meeting, seemed to favor approving the budget during the board’s Dec. 1 meeting – coinciding with the beginning of the county’s fiscal year.

In the past three fiscal  years, property tax collection dates in Monroe County were set during the beginning of the fiscal year rather than both payments being collected in the same fiscal year.  

Property assessments  for 2024 taxes payable in 2025 were published in the Republic-Times on Feb. 12 – about 2-4 months earlier than the previous three years – allowing the tax cycle to be completed within one fiscal year.

In fact, Koenigstein explained a seeming deficit in the FY26 budget was due to three property tax payments being collected in FY25.

The second due date is Nov. 14 for owners of taxable parcels in Monroe County who still carry a balance. 

County taxpayers may pay bills in person at the courthouse or online at monroecountyil.gov.

Those who pay online are urged to use the “e-check” direct debit payment, which carries a $2 charge, rather than a credit card payment which carries a fee of 2.35 percent of the total tax bill.

In other financial reporting, Koenigstein presented the September income statement for Oak Hill, which remains a county entity until the expected operational transfer to Accolade is finalized.

Koenigstein noted the $234,160 loss for September should not be a cause for alarm, explaining the deficit is due to Oak Hill conducting three pay periods for the month.

The bi-weekly payroll is generally between $250,000-$300,000.

Koenigstein suggested the year-to-date deficit will be offset by the Oak Hill tax levy for the current fiscal year, leading him to repeat a common saying of his this year:
Oak Hill is “not making money, but not really losing money.”

In another financial move for the nearly-completed fiscal year, Monroe County Clerk Jonathan McLean requested a transfer of about $50,000 to support a GIS system update.

McLean said the money would be taken from his department’s election fund surplus and transferred to the GIS fund.

McLean explained that GIS Coordinator Brad Hausmann was working on a project which would automate updates to 9-1-1 addresses as they are changed.

About a year ago, Monroe County Public Safety Director Kevin Scheibe announced hundreds of Monroe County addresses would be changed as part of a statewide initiative to clear up any confusing house numbering.

The problem involves the inability of public safety personnel to quickly locate residences due to lack of proper address display, confusing address layout and even some houses with addresses out of sequence.  

If the roadway branches off a main roadway and has more than two houses or addresses, the road must then be renamed.

Hausmann’s project seeks to automatically update those addresses in the county GIS system.

In other county business, commissioners approved $8,000 for recent work at Palmier Cemetery in Columbia.

Cemetery board trustee Jim Lansing requested the funds following a project completed last week by Monroe County Engineer Aaron Metzger to oil and chip the vehicle surfaces at the cemetery.

Lansing applauded Metzger’s work, noting he not only put down a new layer of oil and chip surface, but also changed the grade of some areas.

Lansing reported he had already received several calls from cemetery visitors who were impressed with the improvements.

Metzger was also on the agenda to have commissioners consider an ordinance establishing access control for the future extension of Rogers Street to the north and realignment of Country Club Lane in Waterloo.

The board recently approved an exception for the owner of a five-acre parcel off Rogers Street in order to allow a driveway to the site of a planned residence.

With the ordinance approved Monday, ingress/egress will once again be uniform for all properties along Rogers Street from First Street north to the future terminus of Rogers Street at a future extension of Rose Lane. 

The Rogers Street extension project has been expected to begin during the past year or so, but county officials are still working on acquiring right-of-way.

The next Monroe County Board meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m. Nov. 3 at the Monroe County Courthouse.