Interim Administrator talks budgeting and future projects

With the end of 2024 approaching, the Cook County Board of Commissioners held their final regular business meeting of the year. It addition to items like approving labor contracts and finalizing pay schedules, the board also nailed down the 2025 budget and levy increase.

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2025 budget

The board passed a budget on Dec. 17 that set the tax levy increase for 2025 at 5%. Watkins gave WTIP some additional details on how the board settled on the final budget. He said that thought staff turnover and similar adjustments, the proposed levy increase had already been reduced from 9.81%, which was approved in September, to 7.68%. Since the initial budget was approved in the the fall, the board has consistently stated that their goal was to bring the levy increase down to 5%.

The budget adjustments came in two main actions. The board opted to use just over $300,000 of Payment in Lieu of Taxes money that had been set aside. An additional $18,900 came from eliminating the cost of conducting an independent appraisal of the monetary value of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The BWCAW is appraised by the federal government every ten years to determine the amount of PILT money that Cook, Lake, and St. Louis Counties receive. The 2018 appraisal undervalued the BWCAW, and the counties contested that valuation.

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In an effort to avoid a repeat of that situation, the Cook County, along with Lake and St. Louis Counties, has been considering conducting a separate appraisal ahead of the planned 2028 federal valuation. That item was struck from the 2025 budget after U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s office contacted Cook County leadership. On Dec. 13 she let the county know that she would be introducing legislation that would restore the PILT money that the county gets from the federal government to the amount after the 2008 appraisal. That legislation passed in the Senate and will now go on to the House of Representatives.

If passed, the legislation would eliminate the need for an independent appraisal. Watkins said, “It’s taken us back to high levels of funding that the county will see, and if it now goes through the House and is signed, it gives us a lot of stability and a good amount of insurance on the amount of funding that we’ll see in in built going forward.”

Ongoing county projects

The board also received updates on several ongoing projects. As interim administrator, Watkins has been tasked with keeping the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) on track. He said that deferred maintenance projects will continue through the winter, and said that the process of finalizing proposed renovations to the Law Enforcement Center is on track. The county has hired BKV Group to create architectural plans for the project, and Johnson Wilson Constructors as a construction manager at risk. Those groups are meeting regularly with county representatives as the architectural drawings are being completed.

While the CIP includes the potential for several large building projects, like the LEC renovation and expansion, Watkins said that the county is also turning to some existing, underutilized space to address more immediate workspace needs.  He said that with several new full-time staff positions in the 2025 budget, and some departments already short on space, the county is looking at the basement of the courthouse as a potential solution.

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The part of the basement currently under consideration as expanded office space is used primarily for storage, according to Watkins. He said that part of the area was also impacted by water damage and mold, and that redesigning that space would include mold mitigation. This potential project would net the county space for between five and ten employees, and would act as a “sort of a pressure relief valve,” according to Watkins, who said that this is a separate project at this time from the masterplan for better accommodating staff that the board saw earlier this year.

Construction and renovation projects for the county go through several layers of approval. Watkins said that members of the public can expect to see this discussed more extensively by county leadership in early 2025.

Also on the 2025 docket will be hiring a permanent replacement for former Administrator James Joerke. Watkins said that the job description and professional profile have been completed and approved, and that the process for getting the position posted is on track.

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with Interim Administrator Rowan Watkins about the last business meeting of the year for the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Audio of that interview is below.