Court clerk next in line to plead case
Another top DuPage County official is expected to offer strong arguments today against budget cuts.
Circuit Court Clerk Chris Kachiroubas will appear before the county's finance committee, a week after State's Attorney Joe Birkett implored officials to spare his department.
The county laid off dozens of workers late last year and early this year to overcome a shortfall.
Unless a revenue source, such as a cigarette tax proposed in the General Assembly, materializes, the county could face 20 percent in reductions in its 2008 corporate budget, which includes salaries for most departments.
The circuit clerk's office's headcount is down by 17 people. Kachiroubas is asking for the authority to hire 2½ more employees to staff new courtrooms the county has added.
The circuit clerk's budget has dropped from $8.3 million in 2006 to $7.6 million this year. Kachiroubas is seeking $7.8 million in 2008.
"I'm requesting the bare minimum," he said. "We're treading water now."
The office handles about 1,000 people a day and 600 to 700 phone calls.
With the reduction in staff already, employees "come in on the weekends uncompensated to put files away so we can start on an even keel on Monday when the court opens at 8:30 a.m.," Kachiroubas said.
Further cuts to the department's budget will result in waits of up to 45 minutes for the public and delays in essential services such as transferring money from court fines to municipalities.
Treasurer Gwen Henry is another official worried about potential cuts. She is expected to meet with the finance committee next week.
Henry's office is down one person, and her 2008 budget proposal is about the same amount as her 2007 $1.3 million request.
"We're a pretty lean office to start with," Henry said, adding that her employees' workload is not optional.
"Collecting $2 billion-plus in taxes is not something you can decide not to do," she noted.
Meanwhile, there's negative reaction to a plan to pull thousands of dollars from environmental programs in order to save money.
The county's economic development and planning department is recommending eliminating $100,000 from a household hazardous waste collection facility in Naperville, $28,000 from a paint recycling program and $25,000 from SCARCE, DuPage's environmental education center.
DuPage contributes a significant chunk of the household hazardous waste site's operating budget.
Naperville officials are putting pressure on the county to keep funding the facility, noting that if it closes or reduces operating hours, it could mean toxic waste ends up in landfills or residents are forced to drive to Rockford or Chicago.
More than 7 million pounds of waste have been collected at the site since it opened in 1992.
In 2006, nearly 400,000 pounds of non-liquid waste such as batteries and prescription medicine were handed over. Oil and antifreeze alone amounted to more than 17,000 gallons.