New McHenry County Board concerned about inflation, other priorities heading into 2023

Inflation and taxes, making progress on the dementia wing at the Valley Hi Nursing Home and doling out $14 million in federal COVID-19 funds were among the items McHenry County Board members, both new and old, hope to focus on in the upcoming year.

The new McHenry County Board members took their seats for the first time this month after winning their elections in November.

The new board, totaling 18 members instead of 24, is smaller than it has been in the past after the County Board decided to shrink its size when it tackled the decennial restricting process, during which the County Board districts are redrawn.

That process meant every county board member was up for reelection in November. After eight former members opted to not rerun, another seven incumbents lost their seats, paving the way for nine new faces to get onto the board.

Inflation and its costs

Addressing the challenges of inflation is something the County Board will need to work on, said McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buehler, R-Crystal Lake.

The county’s costs related personnel and buying of basic goods will be the biggest challenges to this year’s budget, said board member Michael Skala, R-Huntley, who has headed the county’s finance committee in recent years and is slated to do so again this term.

“Anything and everything is going up in price,” Skala said. “There’s some things you can’t go without. Other items you can maybe shop around for a better price.”

Inflation prompted many local government bodies – including the county – to raise taxes, County Administrator Peter Austin said. He added the priority going into next year will be to seeing how to build the budget without having to raise taxes for a second year in a row.

“That’s going to be a really big issue,” Austin said.

Rollout of the SAFE-T Act

The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act saw a mixture of concern from board members. Buehler said the county is still evaluating what the effects of the bill could look like.

The law overhauls many aspects of the state’s criminal justice system, including eliminating the cash bail system and requiring extra staffing for counties across the state.

In preparation for that legislation, the county in its new budget made room for several potential new hires within the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and State’s Attorney’s Office.

Kelli Wegener, D-Crystal Lake, said she would like to vet the need for those hires more before those decisions become final. Staffing in general is something Wegener said she’d like to review for each of the county’s departments.

“All of this can have a positive impact on our operating budget next year,” she said. “I don’t want to hire anybody ‘just in case.’ I want to make sure there’s a need.”

Theresa Meshes, D-Fox River Grove, who is entering her third year on the board, took a different stance than Wegener. She thinks there’s an issue with not filling needed positions but said staff positions being kept open “just in case” should be closed, she said.

“We have an immense amount of open positions not filled,” she said. “We need to look at why we’re losing employees and why we can’t attract them.”

Unspent COVID-19 dollars

Continuing with the Advance McHenry County plan, which includes dolling out nearly $60 million worth of federal funding courtesy of the American Rescue Plan Act, is another priority Buehler hopes will see some attention in the new year.

The county early on in 2022 passed several items that saw millions awarded to organizations for programming. That’s been essentially paused in recent months while the midterm elections were in motion.

The county still has about $14 million left to award, but has more requests than money, Austin said.

“I expect very early on we’re going to be taking a look at those projects [submitted],” Buehler said.

Wegener wants to see the funding go to help offset costs for the Holiday Hills sewer project, which many residents could end up paying out of pocket for.

A presentation breaking down where things are with Advance McHenry County is expected in January, Skala said.

Memory Care at Valley Hi

Completing the Valley Hi Nursing Home’s dementia wing is something several board members called attention to. Skala hopes progress on it will move “faster than it has been.” Wegener, joining in, called the need for it “vital.”

“It’s a critical need in the county,” he said.

Meshes, who is on track to head the committee centered around Valley Hi, said she’s happy with the pace the county’s moved at for the project. She said she thinks it’s important to take the time to do it right.

“Valley Hi is a very important jewel we have in the county,” Meshes said. “We need to protect it.”

Buehler said he hopes construction will start within the next 12 to 18 months.

New board members, different priorities

New County Board member Brian Sager, formerly Woodstock’s mayor, also talked about the importance of transportation in the county and expanding access to it, as well as items he called “quality of life issues,” such as the environment and housing.

“Services, services, services,” he said. “That’s the job of the county.”

Meshes said public health is a top priority for her as well, along with affordable public housing. Substance abuse is something she’s focused on too, calling it the No. 1 issue when it comes to safety.

“Substance abuse also brings higher rates of suicide,” she said.

Lou Ness, D-Woodstock, is new to the board and is “dead set” on making affordable housing a top priority. She wants to see the issue more stabilized and feels the county has gone backwards on the issue over the past 20 years.

“It’s treacherous,” she said. “I think we have a responsibility to begin to take a deep look at how we put together a net for people who are struggling.”