Government Center

719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A

Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County

KC Executive Committee

Meeting Minutes

PIEROG, Allan, Bates, Berman, Gumz, Juby, Kious, Lewis, Linder, Molina, Sanchez,

Strathmann, Surges, Tepe, Williams and ex-officio Roth (County Vice Chair)

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

11:00 AM

County Board Room

***SPECIAL MEETING***

Call to Order

Chairman Pierog called the meeting to order at 11:06 AM.

Roll Call

Chairman Corinne M. Pierog

Board Member Deborah Allan

Board Member Mavis Bates

Board Member Michelle Gumz

Board Member Leslie Juby

PRESENT

Board Member Anita Lewis

Board Member Michael Linder

Board Member Myrna Molina

Board Member Cherryl Strathmann

Board Member Vern Tepe

Board Member Rick Williams

Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Bill Roth

Board Member Dale Berman

Board Member Clifford Surges

Board Member Chris Kious

REMOTE

ABSENT

Board Member Jarett Sanchez

Also present: Co. Bd. Members Garcia*, Gripe, Penesis*; Auditor Wegman; SAO Chief

of Civil Frank; KCHD Exec. Dir. Isaacson*; Treasurer Lauzen; ITD CIO Lasky* & staff

Peters; and members of the press and public.

Remote Attendance Requests

Chairman Pierog announced the remote attendance requests for today's meeting. She

asked the Committee if there were any objections to Committee Members Berman,

Sanchez, and Surges attending today's meeting remotely. There were no objections.

Committee Member Sanchez did not attend today's meeting.

Pledge of Allegiance

Chairman Pierog asked Committee Member Allan to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes: None

Public Comment

Brian Anderson, Sugar Grove, stated that it has come to his attention that the County

Board intends to make cuts to the FY2026 Budget, while also utilizing $3.5M of

reserves. He finds this unacceptable. He stated that it is the Board's job to work with

County offices/departments to reach the necessary budget cuts. He spoke on the

proposed Attrition Program. Anderson voiced his confusion on the need to use County

reserves to balance the FY2026 Budget when the necessary cuts are not being done.

He thanked the County Department Heads for collaborating on cutting their overall

budget. Anderson spoke on the additional funding the County has that could potentially

help balance the budget. He stated that he has several questions and thinks that there

is still a lot of work to be done. He noted that the residents will not accept dipping into

County reserves. Referencing an article titled, "Democrat Lead County Boards",

Anderson stated that the majority of these counties: Cook County, Lake County,

DuPage County, Kane County, all have one thing in common. All of these county

boards are wrestling with their budgets. However, in Will County, which has a

population of 698K and is led by a Republican chairman, has a balanced budget.

Steve Leffler, St. Charles, spoke on responsible, fugal management of government. He

stated that past Kane County Chairmen, excluding Chris Lauzen, took the annual

Consumer Price Index (CPI), because they believed it was the responsible thing to do.

Additionally, when it was time to balance the budget, they would get together with the

stakeholders in each department/office to balance the budget. He proposed that

today's County Board to the same to figure out where the necessary budget cuts could

be made. He discouraged the direction of setting a budget number and asking each

department/office to meet it. Leffler spoke on the funding that could potentially be

maxed out, such as the Motor Fuel Tax, and Stormwater Permit fees. He stated that

the County needs to look where additional revenue could be gained. He believes that

the County should look into an Attrition Program, while not cutting the important

services that keep the County Government functioning. Lastly, he stated that the

Amasa White House does not need to be owned by Kane County and needs to be sold

to the Kane County Forest Preserve, which the County could use the revenue from to

balance the budget.

Monthly Financials (K. Hopkinson)

No report was made.

Chairman Pierog moved to agenda item 9A: County Board FY2026 Budget.

Executive Session

The Executive Committee entered into Executive Session at 12:28 p.m. to discuss the

appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, and/or dismissal of

specific employee(s) on a motion made by Williams, Linder seconded. Motion carried

unanimously by roll call vote.

RESULT:

AYE:

APPROVED BY ROLL CALL VOTE

Deborah Allan, Mavis Bates, Michelle Gumz, Leslie Juby, Michael

Linder, Myrna Molina, Cherryl Strathmann, Clifford Surges, Vern

Tepe, Rick Williams, and Bill Roth

Chris Kious, and Jarett Sanchez

Dale Berman, and Anita Lewis

ABSENT:

AWAY:

Appointment, Employment, Compensation, Discipline, Performance, and/or

Dismissal of Specific Employee(s)

Open Session

The Committee returned to Open Session at 1:10 p.m. on a motion made by Gumz,

Linder seconded. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote.

RESULT:

APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE

County Board’s FY2026 Budget Presentation

Chairman Pierog presented the County Board's FY2026 Budget compared to

the FY2024 Budget. She explained that the County Board Office's budget is

unique, as it includes 25 elected officials. With 25 elected officials, there is

statutory pay and benefits that cannot be changed until the next County Board

takes their seats. Pierog explained that the FY2026 Healthcare expense for the

County Board Office is $292,074. She noted that these are the costs that she

cannot change or make cuts to. Additionally, there are Board Members that

receive Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) benefits. Pierog stated that

the entire benefit package, including staff, is $431,164. She spoke on salaries

and wages. She stated that the aggregate salaries are $600K, and her salary is

$105,328, which, again, cannot be changed. She explained that the total for

salaries and wages is $1,038,908. Pierog stated that the only thing that can be

changed in the County Board Office's budget is staff. The County Board Office

employs three staff members and a Public Information Officer (PIO). Pierog

stated that for a County Board who represents hat represents approximately

532K residents, this is minimal staff. She explained that Contractual Services,

such as Conferences and Meetings have been set by the County Board, which

totals $16K. She spoke on other Contractual Services, such as consulting

services, promotion, the Strategic Plan, and Lobbyist contract. The total for the

contractual expenses is $165,850. Pierog stated that the total miscellaneous

expenses to manage an office for entire year is $49,150. Pierog addressed

questions and comments from the Committee. Discussion ensued on the

possible cancellation of the BerryDunn Strategic Plan consulting contract.

Pierog recommended that a resolution be drafted terminating the BerryDunn

contract for next week's Executive Committee meeting. Much discussion ensued

on additional budget cuts, such as the Lobbyist contract, travel expenses,

conference and meetings, and association dues, and the possible use of

Riverboat funding to cover expenses.

The Committee moved to Executive Session.

10.

11.

12.

New Business

None.

Old Business

None.

Adjournment

RESULT:

APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Michael Linder

SECONDER:

This meeting was adjourned at 1:12 PM.

Savannah Zgobica

Sr. Recording Secretary