Finance Committee 10/7/26

McLean County Finance Committee meeting, October 7, 2026: The committee approved the consent agenda, including bills and transfers, and approved retaining Nihart as the County’s actuarial firm for annual OPEB calculations; no contract amount was stated. It also approved a no-interest temporary financial assistance agreement with the Octavia Park District to address tax-extension errors, with corrections expected to appear on 2027 and 2028 tax bills at roughly $22 per average parcel, and approved an emergency appropriation to replace a Sheriff’s squad car after an accident settlement did not cover the full replacement cost. Other approved actions included a resolution formalizing the County’s approach to official bonding and FY2027 health and life insurance rates, which encourage employees to consider higher-deductible coverage with an initial HSA contribution.

The committee approved FY2027 budgets for Cooperative Extension (including a $75,000 increase to a $375,000 property-tax request), Veterans Assistance, the Historical Museum (a $47,808 increase to a $127,808 levy request), Bloomington Election Commission, County Auditor, Assessment Office, County Treasurer, Animal Services, and Tort Judgment. Animal Services’ budget includes a requested project-coordination position; the tort insurance budget reflects a reported 15% expense decrease following the County’s move to CIRMA. The County Clerk’s FY2027 budget was tabled to the November Finance Committee meeting amid questions about prior-year spending overruns, budget monitoring, staffing allocations, and advertising expenses. The Treasurer reported $130.8 million in cash and investments and described Treasury investments earning over 4%; the County also reported the ERP time-and-attendance and personnel modules had gone live. No other specific purchasing awards or bids were identified.