“…there were $11,898,470 requested of the MHB and $9,364,802 available to allocate. With $2.5 M in demand there were a lot of difficult decisions. The draft plan which includes our other Mental Health Board Client Services programs and our ICA for the crisis line and all the items included in the overall bucket.” — Mental Health Board Executive Director Leonetta Rizzi, October 25, 2022 meeting minutes

Little did anyone realize McHenry County Mental Health Board (MCMHB) Executive Director’s quote, two weeks before the 2022 General Election when all McHenry County Board seats were up for election would resonate a year later.

Do the math from last October: 11,898,470 – 9,364,802 = $2,533,668

The MCMHB voted to work within the limit set by the levy and the McHenry County Board recommended a flat levy.

Last November, 7 incumbents (5 Republicans and 2 Democrats, all men) lost their reelection bids as County Board membership reduced from 24 to 18 members.

The lame duck McHenry County Board approved the recommended flat levy after last November’s election.

Now, after funding MCMHB with less monies then a year ago, the $2.5 million MCMHB funding deficit plays out a year later and advocates for the MCMHB, in spite of inflation, will accept nothing less than the County Board taking the full 5% increase allowed by the Property Tax Cap (formally known as the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, PTELL).

Between now and the end of November, the McHenry County Board will make its final budget decisions concerning the setting of the McHenry County portion of the 2023 property tax levy. While McHenry County’s portion of a resident’s property tax bill is relatively small compared with local school districts, the proposed $73.8 million levy will be paid by McHenry County property owners during 2024.

The MCMHB is asking for an increase in its portion of the County’s levy.

And all look ahead to the 2024 elections as the Republican supermajority (13-5 plus the chairman), when the McHenry County Board chairman and half of the County Board Members will face the voters on November 5.

Most of the Republican supermajority accept the reality the levy must be increased given inflationary pressures.

County administration recommended a 1.95% levy increase at the County Board’s special meeting on September 28.

At the October 5 Finance Committee meeting, 14 of the 18 County Board Members attended, and the “Big Board” where these Members stood shows the following:

About the McHenry County Mental Health Board (MCMHB)

The MCMHB has been around for over 5 decades. From the most recent MCMHB Annual Report at the year ending November 30, 2022, revenues nearly all come from property taxes.

Additionally, the expenditures of MCMHB going to fund agencies treating patients with mental health, susbtance abuse and developmental disabilities to administrative costs is 88-12:

The entire most recent MCMHB Annual Report, including the breakout of all agencies receiving funding and the list of all employees supporting the MCMHB can be viewed here.

What should the County Board do on the funding question?

At the October 5 Finance/Audit Committee meeting, Board Member Jim Kearns gave a detailed account of the MCMHB budget process, going back to the April 18, 2023, MCMHB Finance & Audit Committee meeting he attended, where an increase of the MCMHB portion of the levy of $600,000 was recommended to increase the MCMHB portion of the 2023 levy to fund FY 2024 from $10,450,000 to $11,050,000 combined with a $1,000,000 MCMHB Fund Balance Spend Down to supplement the FY 2024 budget for $1,600,000 in increased revenue. The MCMHB Finance & Audit Committee approved the recommendation unanimously.

On May 23, 2023, the MCMHB, by a 5-4 vote, passed the following, given in its entirety for the entire $2.5 million increase in the property tax levy, per the motion made below, cut & pasted straight from the MCMHB meeting minutes:

202305-29 – FY24 Budget
A. Carson states that it is not possible to meet all the need, and everyone is struggling. There needs to be
collaboration and consolidation and it would be irresponsible to ask for funds that may not be available.

M. Baber we need to ask for what we want and as a board we should have done this incrementally over
the years and this ask is just getting the MHB back to where it needs to be.

R. Lapinas from a fiscal financial standpoint the county is looking at 3 increase tiers (0%, 2.5%, 5%).
Initially drafted the 600k request by taking the max 5% increase that is not guaranteed. Concern would be
going into the funding cycle that we will fund you one dollar amount if passes and a different if not
passed.

G. Alexander asks what the $2.5 million dollar represents. L. Rizzi states the McHenry County Mental
Health Board’s budget is less today than it was 10 years ago, and we have been level or flat funding our
providers during these years when demands and costs are greater today. The $2.5 million dollar budget
increase will put us back to where we were in 2011 with the ability to fully fund our current providers &
community needs while also entertaining new providers into our system of care.

C. Meschini states that asking for $2.5 million dollars is irresponsible and will be voting no. The county
has other departments that need to be considered as well and having their own staffing issues to keep
up.

C. Bruhn states that unprecedented times which has created a very large increase in Mental Health
needs. Salaries for Mental Health Professionals is an issue and there is a need for these dollars so that
MHB can just maintain at the level it is performing.

L. Keisman states that maintaining what we have is her minimum priority and that 600k ask may not be
enough to even maintain. Looking ahead to the following agenda items of funding requests the need is
growing. We should make the ask and be prepared for with the history of the fund balance and a very
detailed back up of need. We need to consistently ask for what is needed from the county each year.

P. Yensen the history of the MHB and County Board have work collaboratively in the past and the issue is
that the County Board is charged with a balancing act of one levy affecting the other departments within
the county. Not saying one is more important. Chairman Buehler stated there will be 3 budgets created
based on 0%, 2.5%, and 5% levy increase and states the MHB should be presenting multiple budgets.
Supporting a $2.5 million ask is unrealistic.

A. Rath states that the agencies have put forward their needs knowing they may not get all and that it is
her responsibility to ask the County Board for what the need is.

Members continue conversations regarding the increase and decrease of fund balance as to how it will
affect the ask from the County Board.
Mover: Paula Yensen
Seconder: Mike Baber
To adopt the FY24 budget as presented in the packet [The total FY24 proposed budget was for $14,683,399 (from FY23 approved budget of $11,694,732), including the increase in property tax levy from FY23 $10,450,000 (2022 levy) to FY24 (2023 Levy) of $12,950,000]
Aye (5): Greg Alexander, Mike Baber, Christina Bruhn, Lindsay Keisman, and Amy Rath
Nay (4): Adam Carson, Ray Lapinas, Paula Yensen, and Connee Meschini

Source: MCMHB Meeting Minutes May 23, 2023, pp 10-11

.

Given the white board of the 14 of 18 County Board Members, NO ONE IS SUPPORTING THE FULL $2.5 MILLION FY 2024 FUNDING REQUEST THROUGH THE COUNTY LEVY.

Prior to the $2.5 million levy increase was a vote for the MCMHB approving “Fund Balance Spend Down Plan” cut & pasted straight from the meeting minutes:

7.1 Fund Balance Spend Down Plan

It has been proposed by the MHB Finance Committee that $1,000,000 of Fund Balance be utilized to
support client services in the FY24 budget. The fund balance utilization will help to maintain the existing
service network and provide some growth opportunity. The remaining $510,567 of the current fund
balance would remain in reserve beyond policy/cash needs. The Fund Balance in excess of the Reserve
Policy, cash needs, and FY24 utilization shall be made available via Emergency Appropriation in FY23 or
within the MCMHB’s FY24 budget to support, maintain, and/or develop mental health, substance use, and
intellectual and developmental disability prevention, treatment, and recovery support resources and
services in accordance with the MCMHB’S 2021-2023 Three Year Plan.

Mover: Amy Rath
Seconder: Christina Bruhn

To adopt the FY23 Fund Balance Reserve Spend Down Plan as presented in the FY23 Fund Balance
Reserve Spend Down Plan Document

Aye (9): Greg Alexander, Mike Baber, Christina Bruhn, Adam Carson, Lindsay Keisman, Ray Lapinas,
Amy Rath, Paula Yensen, and Connee Meschini

Source: MCMHB Meeting Minutes May 23, 2023, p 10

.

So, with the unanimously approved MCMHB Fund Balance Reserve Spend Down Plan which includes providing the spend down to support the FY 2024 budget, was included in the MCMHB Budget initially approved in May. A slight revision of the proposed budget was approved by the MCMHB in July, but that amendment did not change the overall budget picture.

The entire FY 2024 MCMHB Amended Budget from July can be viewed here from pages 100 through 104.

The recommendation of the County Board’s Finance/Audit Committee last week, the MCMHB will receive an additional $525K increase from the levy, plus an additional $270K from ARPA (Federal Covid) funds NOT from the levy.

Therefore, the budgetary difference, including the Spend Down Plan, is $1,705,000.

If the County Board decides to fund the additional $1,705,000, the CPI percentage increase over the 2022 levy would be 4.33%, instead of the recommended 1.95%. The tax cap maximum CPI percentage increase is 5.0%, so the McHenry County Board has “cap room” to accomodate the full funding request from MCMHB.

These are the facts the McHenry County Board must consider, and the FY 2024 budget discussion will continue Thursday morning, October 12 at 9AM at the Committee of the Whole. Whatever the recommendation from Committee of the Whole, the County Board will approve the beginning of the 30-day review, required by Illinois Statute, for final approval at November 21, 2023, within 10 days of the start of FY 2024.

An additional meeting to attend would be the October 24 meeting of the MCMHB at the MCMHB building in Crystal Lake at 6PM CDT.

What the increase in property taxes will be is up to the County Board, with input from County residents and where the County Board can receive 10 votes.

Finally, the video from the County Board’s Finance/Audit Committee meeting can be viewed here, with Board Member Kearns’ remarks beginning at the 1:36:26 and lasting through the 1:51:55 where he states openly how the MCMHB budget became “politicized.”