If people behaved like governments, you’d call the cops! – Kevin Throop
When we last left off, we were in the process of covering the Kane County Board’s most recent fiscal antics, primarily those of Vern “I never met a tax hike I didn’t like” Teppe. But truth be told, he’s not nearly the only board member who readily adheres to Mythbuster Adam Savage’s theory of “rejecting our reality and substituting their own.”
With that in mind, let’s foolishly forge ahead!
Teppe’s amnesia is contagious!
Because when confronted with the previously mentioned $16 million deficit, a number of board members found it “alarming” that they’d have to raid $10.5 million in reserve funds to cover it.
“Alarming?” Really?
You mean to tell me they didn’t know the plague would put a huge dent in the regular tax revenue stream? Perhaps they weren’t paying attention during the regular budget presentation at each monthly meeting. And if they somehow managed to miss all that, the local papers have been writing about that impending red ink.
So, please tell me, where in the bleep did those bleeps think the missing money was gonna come from? Vern Teppe going on an epic Jeopardy championship run? Considering these mopes get 25 grand a year plus a Cadillac benefits package for a part-time job, some of ‘em really oughtta start paying attention.
So, no board member should be “alarmed” by this liberal application of reserve money, but they should be “alarmed” at this robbing Peter to pay Paul fiscal strategy which is patently unsustainable. To wit, they’re completely wipe out the property tax freeze protection fund and this second COVID relief package is it! There won’t be a third.
To be fair, barring more bullshit pandemic mitigations, tax revenues will likely recover going forward, but that won’t nearly be enough to cover next year’s similar budget hole.
Of course, as is par for the course, finance committee chair Dale Berman – a dyed-in-the-wool lifetime Republican – not only failed to mention the words “budget cut,” but he had the temerity to say, “What we need to do is come up with a revenue stream that is going to make up for what we are taking out of reserves.”
Lest you harbor any doubt, the term “revenue stream” roughly translates from the Latin to “yet another massive tax increase.”
And just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any stranger, despite the plague era economic detritus rising right up to our necks, our various countywide elected officials and County departments actually asked for $10 million in new 2022 hires. It’s like a chapter right out of ‘Alice in Wonderland.’
Thankfully, KC finance chief Joe Onzick generally dispensed with those new hire flights of fancy faster than Democrats can lose 2021 elections by saying stupid shit.
All I can say is I’d really like to live in the kind of fiscal fantasy world in which Chairman Pierog, Vern Teppe, and the rest of County Board and countywide elected officials tend to reside. It’s gotta be a hoot!
The Kane County Chronicle failed FOIA class
I realize this topic doesn’t mesh with our crazy Kane County Board gestalt, but please bear with me because it leads directly into the next. And all a y’all could use a good FOIA lesson anyway!
The FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request in question was issued in regard to the Chronicle’s bizarre pursuit of the KC IT department’s P-card tuition reimbursement non-story that we’ve already covered ad nauseum.
But because The First Ward has embarrassed that sad excuse for a newspaper every step of the way, they’re still trying to come up with the non-existent smoking gun that will somehow justify their pitiful and meaningless existence.
So, they FOIAed any email tuition reimbursement conversations between Auditor Penny Wegman and State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser which is even more pointless than trying to get Brenda Schory to be a real journalist. You see, the State’s Attorney serves as the legal advisor to the Auditor (and every other County elected and public official), which clearly means client-attorney privilege prevails.
The Chronicle also asked for the report Mosser submitted to the Board in this regard, which she also claimed was exempt as legal advice. But, depending upon what’s in that document, that may be a bit of a FOIA exemption stretch. Again, deliberations are never discoverable, but the result of those deliberations most certainly are.
Flush with their own self-importance, the Chronicle appealed those FOIA denials to the Public Access Counselor (Attorney General’s Office) where they will certainly lose on the email issue. Even if they prevail on the board report, it won’t contain anything we don’t already know.
It’s also important to note that, while Shaw Media sanctimoniously makes the point that they’re standing for truth, justice and the American way, the AG’s office typically takes six months to respond to print media FOIA appeals.
And if it’s not news now…
A vast double standard
Now, to the point of the previous story, which is, while the Chronicle pursues yet another non-story, they’re missing the real one!
And the real story is that Chairman Corinne Pierog and her herd of county board cats have failed to administer a single cent of the second distribution of federal COVID relief funds. Worse yet, the Board seems intent on keeping 86 percent, or $99 million of that $103 million for themselves.
Fuck all those plague-burdened Kane County social service agencies and mental health care providers, right?
To be fair, I spoke with fund distribution committee chairman Jarett Sanchez about this seeming interminable process and here’s what he told me:
ARPA is a whole different animal from the original Cares Act. It’s designed for short- and long-term impact, with an emphasis on the long term. Even the previous administration would’ve required outside help to get through it. There’s a lot more complexity to it – more eligible use, different timelines for certain spending categories, and many more moving parts.
If I had my way we’d be further along in the process, but a quick glance at other counties shows we’re not behind the 8-ball yet. Most counties are taking their time because of the increased complexity of the program.
In regard to the County keeping most of the money, Jarett added:
At this point it’s still early in the planning phase, so the $4 million for the Community Support Grant program is a means to address short-term needs as we complete the process. No one can say how the County will ultimately decide to spend the $103M, but I certainly hope that much more goes to the community where it is needed.
Fair enough! But as far as an equitable apportionment plan goes, Jarett’s just one of 24 votes, and considering some of the COVID fund spending proposals we’ve already covered, I wouldn’t trust the rest of this squirrely bunch any further than I could throw ‘em.
But here’s the double standard that really bothers me.
If former Chairman Chris Lauzen sat on that money and threatened to keep most of it for the County, regardless of any potential mitigating circumstance, the Chronicle, the Daily Herald, the Board, and candidate Pierog would’ve peremptorily torn him a fuckin’ new one, just as they did three short into the first relief fund process.
If you do the math, this iteration of the County has been sitting on half that $103 million since May, which adds up to six months, or twice as long!
Perhaps Pierog should’ve kept her big mouth shut back in 2019 when she excoriated Lauzen for holding up a process she knew absolutely nothing about. Of course, now that she’s experiencing it firsthand, she’s hypocritically calling for “patience.”
Even DH reporter Jim Fuller, who can’t be bothered with real journalism, would’ve put his bloody Mary down long enough to write a minimum of three scathing reports on the scurrilous former Chairman.
But Pierog gets a pass which clearly demonstrates those – and most editors’ – vast Democratic biases.
As always, I promise to keep you posted on the fund distribution process because, despite Sanchez’ best efforts, I’m sure it’s only gonna get worse.
So, there you have it! All the current Kane County Board follies in all their resplendent glory.
