mobanmarketWAUKEGAN, IL — The Lake County Board last week adopted a $659 million budget for its coming fiscal year, which begins next month.
Board members approved a plan to spend $19 million more than last fiscal year and $7 million above the budget recommended by county finance officials.
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“This unanimously approved budget reflects Lake County’s commitment to delivering vital services to our residents,” said Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, a Lake Bluff Democrat.
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To help cover the cost of that 3 percent increase in spending, board members hiked the property tax levy by just over 2 percent. The maximum increase allowed under state law would be 3.4 percent.
The county’s share of the average Lake County homeowner’s property tax bill is expected to rise less than $10, bringing the county’s share total to less than $550, depending on property assessments and other local levies.
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“It ensures we can meet essential needs in public safety, housing, health, infrastructure and more while also supporting the dedicated employees who make these services possible every day,” Hart said in a statement.
According to county officials, the 2025 budget has adopted salary changes as a result of a compensation study intended to make the county better at recruiting and retaining staff, which found entry-level salaries working for the county were nearly 8 percent below the market average.
The budget for the coming year includes 2,629 full-time and 109 part-time positions at a total cost of just under $200 million.
Over the past five fiscal years, Lake County has added 135 full-time roles while reducing the number of part-time positions by 13, accounting for nearly $30 million in additional personnel spending since 2020, according to the recommended budget, which was later amended.
Operating funds, which account for $386.2 million, support core government services, including transportation, public safety and health services.
The budget also includes money to pay for the opening of the Regional Operations and Communications, or ROC, facility in 2025, which will house the Lake County Emergency Management Agency and the regional 911 center LakeComm.
“Our budget makes significant investments in our people, clean energy infrastructure, public safety and human services and once again demonstrates our commitment to transparency and budgeting excellence,” said board member Paul Frank, the Highland Park Democrat who chairs the board’s finance and administrative committee.
“I thank our department leaders, County Administrator Sutton, CFO Gallagher, the Finance Committee members and all the County Board Members for their work and contributions to this year’s budget.”
The 19-member board includes 15 Democrats and four Republicans. Earlier this month, all seven incumbents who were up for reelection appear to have retained their seats — though the election will not be certified until Friday.
Last year, Lake County received a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association for its budget.
“We are honored by this recognition, which underscores our dedication to transparent and effective budget management,” said Chief Financial Officer Melissa Gallagher. “We are committed to upholding these standards with our FY2025 Budget as well.”
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