By NATHAN LURZ nlurz@shawmedia.com
ing issues by the transit chair,” he would establish an ad-hoc committee on public transit. Chaplin confirmed the committee hadn’t met in several weeks, but said she hadn’t heard from the Chairman or any other county staff member that he was displeased. “He never contacted me either about his concerns with Metra,” she said. “So what would have been nice is, and what a leader would do, is fill his board member in and express his concerns regarding Metra to me so I could relay them to the committee. But that never took place.” Chaplin said there
See CHAIRMAN, page 16
Attention Middle School Families The Avery Coonley School’s 2013 Annual Boarding School Fair Thursday, September 26 ~ 7:00 P.M. Are you considering Boarding School for your child’s high school experience? Come to this informational evening and meet admission representatives from a variety of schools, each unique in their approach to education. Everyone is welcome to attend!
Blair Academy (NJ) Brewster Academy (NH) Choate-Rosemary (CT) Cranbrook Schools (MI) Deerfield Academy (MA) Episcopal High School (VA)
Kent School (CT) Kimball Union (NH) Lake Forest Academy (IL) La Lumiere School (IN) Master’s School (NY) Milton Academy (MA)
Fountain Valley School (CO)
Northfield Mt. Hermon (MA)
Groton School (MA) Hotchkiss School (CT) IMSA (IL)
Orme School (AZ) Phillips Andover (MA) Phillips Exeter (NH)
St. Andrew’s School (DE) St. Paul’s School (NH) Stevenson School (CA) Thacher School (CA) The Culver Academies (IN) Wayland Academy (WI) Webb School (TN) Western Reserve (OH) Westminster School (CT) Westover School (CT)
For additional information, please contact Mary Stapleton at 630.969.0800 x-7207
www.averycoonley.org 1400 Maple Avenue | Downers Grove
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DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin proposed a budget for the 2014 fiscal year that would reduce spending by $3.1 million compared to last year’s budget during a Sept. 10 meeting of the County Board. The $434.4 million budget is an exercise in “doing more with less,” said Cronin, who has overseen $10.5 million in cuts since his 2010 election. While Cronin acknowledged it was a “maintenance budget,” that involved few program changes and did not affect property taxes, he believed the savings still were important. “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished here. In years past, this would be the only thing to talk about, is the budget,” Cronin said. “I guess people are getting used to the idea that we’re cutting, that we’re reducing the overall tax burden, we’re reducing expenditures and we’re reducing headcount. That’s what we do here in DuPage County.” Cronin said the county excels at making “a tax dollar go very, very far” through partnerships with private agencies, shared services and outsourcing of county work. Chief Financial Officer Fred Backfield said the budget reductions are largely due to savings on capital projects and commodities from last year, as well as personnel policy changes, such as restructuring pensions. “The main thing is not so much that you cut three [million dollars], although it’s nice to cut – it’s the fact that you’re not growing,” Backfield said. Backfield also said the number of county employees stayed static, while workers received a 2 percent cost of living pay increase.
One place the county saw an increase was expected sales tax receipts. Last year, the county budgeted for a three percent sales tax collect growth, which Backfield said was “very conservative,” in light of the still-recovering economy. The county ended up with a much bigger chunk of change at 4.5 percent. This year, the budget is estimating an amount closer to historic sales tax collection growth, around four percent – nearly a $2 million change compared to last year’s expectations. “Next year, I think that most people would expect that there would be some general growth in the economy,” Backfield said. “There clearly is some strength, at least in sales here locally. We do get a lot of folks coming into the county to buy, not just the residents.” Two budget hearings will be held to allow residents to weigh in on the budget before the Finance Committee and the DuPage County Board vote on it, according to county spokeswoman Johnna Kelly. The first of these will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the City Hall of Warrenville and the second will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Elmhurst City Hall. The Board has until its Nov. 26 meeting to approve a budget for the 2014 fiscal year. Cronin said he believed that the shrinking county budget is a sign that the Board is doing something right. “We’re doing what people expect us to do – we are proving that government can be responsible and can be limited. And once again, we have a budget that does just that and we’re proud of it,” he said. “If anyone else out there in the world of local government across the state of Illinois wants to follow our lead, we’d be happy to work with them.”
DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin used the words “mystified,” “disappointed” and “frustrated” to describe the performance of the county’s Public Transit Committee and its chairman, Elizabeth Chaplin, in recent months. And at a Sept. 10 board meeting, he promised changes. “Mass transit in the region have been dominating the headlines for the past summer,” Cronin said, citing controversy and resignations at the Metra Board of Directors and legislation involving the Regional Transit Authority and transit service boards in Springfield.
“Clearly, much is at stake for the taxpayers and the commuters of DuPage County,” he said. Yet, Cronin said, the committee has held only three of its monthly meetings this year and has canceled all scheduled meetings this summer. “Frankly, I am very disappointed with the chairwoman of this committee, who has ignored an issue of such great importance to our citizens and taxpayers,” he said. “And frankly, in my view, our public transport chair decided not to go to work on public transit matters 66 percent of the time.” Cronin said in light of the “lack of attention, lack of interest, lack of genuine involvement into these press-
SD • Wednesday, September 18, 2013 • mysuburbanlife.com • Reporter | Progress
By NATHAN LURZ
nlurz@shawmedia.com
NEWS |
Cronin proposes Cronin frustrated with cutting $3.1M in public transit chairman county spending
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