Like every other government entity, the Vermilion County Board had to face the facts and make adjustments during this pandemic influenced year. County Board Chairman Larry Baughn says he has few regrets.
County Board Chairman Baughn says going back to March of 2020, he sees a team effort that has worked well getting through the COVID era.
AUDIO: We looked at worst case scenarios on what would happen if certain tax dollars didn’t roll in. Everything from retail to reimbursements from the state, we looked at “best case scenario” and “worst case scenario.” And luckily enough, the state and federal government and all of our partners have kept up, even through the pandemic, so we ended up in “best case scenario,” which was great for us. And we were able to help the taxpayers along the way as well. I know Treasurer Duncan forgave any penalties on property taxes, just trying to do our thing on what we could legally do.
And flashing forward to late 2021, Baughn was glad to see the Vermilion County Board pass a balanced budget, including a surplus budget within the General Fund, with no help from COVID relief money.
AUDIO: So we were able to do that on our own. And I think a big kudos goes out to our elected officials here in the county, for holding the line on a lot of things, and spending money on what they see fit, in order for us to do that.
For 2022, one of the early issues will be the proposal from Central Illinois Land Bank Executive Director Mike Davis for County Board investment in a Homeowner Occupied Rehab Program, designed to help homeowners in smaller county communities stay in their homes and rehabilitate them, rather than having the homes demolished and falling off the tax roles.
