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For even more Kane County News, please click on
the headlines below.
ASA's Goal -- Make a Difference
KDOT Preparing For Winter
Forest Preserve District Master Planning
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Bond
Rating: Kane Below Allowable Debt
Independent credit rating agencies rate debt
securities which determine the amount of interest a government agency will
pay. Higher bond ratings, for example, mean Kane County will have a pay a
lower rate of interest. While the proposed 2012 Kane County budget does not
include any major construction projects, the County's AA+ and Aa1 bond
ratings are an excellent indicator of the strength of Kane County's
finances.
Residents of Kane County should be proud that
during a time when bond ratings are being downgraded around the country and
in Illinois, the County's bond rating increased. In 2009, Standard and Poor's upgraded the County's
rating from AA to AA+. In 2010, Moody's Investors Service www.moodys.com upgraded Kane County's
rating from Aa2 to Aa1. This rating indicates that the County is a very
good credit risk to investors and can meet its financial obligations.
Kane's enviable bond rating is not the result of
happenstance. As many local governments in Illinois and across the country
are spending down cash reserves, sinking deeper in debt, raising taxes and,
in some cases, just crossing their fingers and hoping that things will
magically get better, Kane County has taken a different approach.
Although Kane County has never operated in a
deficit, it has had to make some very hard fiscal decisions which have
included a record of balanced budgets, appropriate cash reserves, spending
reductions, pensions that are fully funded, fewer employees, and low debt -
without sacrificing services. Where it could always make use of more money,
more people, more services, the County Board has said, "No". The
County could have gotten its hands on more, borrowed millions on its
untapped bonding authority, relied more on our cash reserves, or imposed
more taxes on a struggling populace, "But we've said, 'No,' and
continue to say 'No'," says County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay.
With the approach of fiscal 2012 on Dec. 1, Kane
County is prepared to meet the public's needs and is in a strong position
to not merely survive the economic recession, but to rebound and take full
advantage of the opportunities the future holds - with one of the best
fiscal foundations of any large government in Illinois. To reference the
prior articles on Kane County finances, please click here for the first article or here for the second article.
Free
Property Tax Clinics Available
The Kane County Board of Review has set aside
the first and third Tuesdays of each month from now until December 20 as
dates for its free Property Tax Clinics. Open to all Kane County taxpayers,
the roughly two-hour sessions are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the
auditorium of Building A of the Kane County Government Center, 719 S.
Batavia Ave., in Geneva.
Clinic dates are October 18, Nov. 1 and 15 and
Dec. 6 and 20. In addition to helping taxpayers better understand the
property tax system, they are intended to dispel myths about taxes and
assessments, and provide a step-by-step explanation of the appeal process.
More information about the clinics is available by calling the Board of
Review office at (630) 208-3818 (630) 208-3818 or on the Board's web site.
Safe
Roads: Halloween DUI Operation Planned
To combat the deadly problem of drunken driving,
the Kane County State's Attorney's Office will collaborate with Kane County
police departments over Halloween again this year as part of an ongoing
effort to make Kane County's roads the safest in the state.
The seventh 'No Refusal' operation conducted in
Kane County will be the second on Halloween. The first was in 2009; in that
operation, 11 Fox Valley municipalities, the Kane County Sheriff's
Department and the Illinois State Police netted 14 drunken drivers the
weekend of Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2009.
This year, the Halloween 'No Refusal' operation
will be conducted late Friday, Oct. 28, through early Saturday, Oct. 29,
and late Saturday, Oct. 29, through early Sunday, Oct. 30. The operation
will be conducted in multiple Kane County jurisdictions.
Read More
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Additional
Neighborhood Work Planned
The Illinois Housing
Development Authority (IHDA) has approved Kane County's application for
additional Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds, according to
Scott Berger, director of the Kane County Office of Community
Reinvestment.
Under the county’s
proposal, $1.47 million in federal funding will be matched with $350,000
from local sources to help finance the purchase and rehabilitation of
about seven foreclosed homes in Elgin's Southwest Area Neighborhood,
which has been hit hard by foreclosures, said Berger.
Read More
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Clock
Ticking on 2012 Primary Election
The calendar might
say 2011, but election year 2012 election has begun.
The official kickoff
of the biennial election year cycle leading up to the March 20, 2012
General Primary was Sept. 6, the first day that candidates of established
political parties were allowed to begin circulating nominating petitions
for an array of federal, state and county offices ranging from United
States President to the Kane County Board.
The period when
petitions can be filed begins Nov. 28.
Read more
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Lindgren
Ready to Move On, But ...
"Think ahead.
Think big. Educate yourself. Talk to each other," says Kane County
Board member Hollie Lindgren (D-Carpentersville) when asked what she
would share with her fellow board members as she prepares to begin the
final year of a County Board career that began in 2004.
Read more
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Kudos to
South Elgin
Congratulations to
South Elgin for being the only Kane County municipality included in this
year's 100 best small towns (population between 8,500 and 50,000) in the
United States, according to an annual survey by Money Magazine and CNN.
Coming in at #98,
South Elgin was one of only four area towns to make the magazine's annual
top 100 list. Carol Stream (49th), Glen Ellyn (54th) and Oswego (58th)
also were listed.
Read more
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Way Cleared For "Garden of Hope"
The Kane County
Board voted unanimously Sept. 13 to approve a use permit and license
agreement with Court Appointed Special Advocates of Geneva, or CASA, that
clears the way for the organization to create and maintain a garden on
the west side of the County's Third Street courthouse.
Read more
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Tips For Ensuring a Future Water Supply
We introduced the What Our Water’s Worth (WOWW) Program in
the last issue. It’s the joint creation of the Metropolitan Planning
Council (MPC) and Openlands and its main purpose is to
help educate people from Lake Michigan to the Fox River about better ways
to value our present and future water supplies.
Read more
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Community
Health Assessment Update
The Kane County
Health Department (KCHD) is in the process of completing a community
health assessment and creating a community health improvement plan. The
five county hospitals, INC Board, and the United Ways of Elgin and the
Fox Valley have partnered with the department to develop the community
assessment and collaborate on identifying and prioritizing the needs of
county residents.
Read more
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Pingree
Church Designated Landmark
The Kane County
Board voted Sept. 13 to designate a 101-year-old church in Pingree Grove
as a county landmark. The designation of St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran
Church as a Kane County landmark was the first in Pingree Grove since the
Board's recent approval of an intergovernmental agreement with the
village for the extension of the County's Historic Preservation Program.
Read more
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