The Peoria County Board has approved a nearly $151 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The budget has a deficit of about $300,000. County administrator Scott Sorrel said that's because the general fund's share of property tax revenues was lowered in order to keep the current property tax rate flat.
"The difference between these two numbers will be made up by the reserves of the general fund," Sorrel said.
County board chairman Andrew Rand said this is the first time he remembers the county board passing a budget which isn't completely balanced.
"While there is a $302,000 delta in the general balance, I'm willing to support this for the good of the order," Rand said, adding the county board "has its reasons" for doing so.
The total estimated assessed value of all property in Peoria County increased by 4% over the past year. That means the owner of a $150,000 home should expect to pay about $16.48 more for the county portion of their property tax bill next year.
The fiscal year 2023 budget fully funds the county's pension obligations to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. It also allocates federal COVID-19 relief dollars to the construction of a new Health and Human Services building on the site of the current health department without the issuance of any county building bonds.
The budget also allocates $1.2 million to broadband infrastructure development, and for the creation of the equivalent of 17 new jobs across several county departments, including the Sheriff's Office, State's Attorney's Office, Highway Department, county administration, and the veteran's assistance commission.
