Montgomery County Faces $1.5 Million Deficit in Draft FY2027 Budget

Article Summary: A first draft of Montgomery County’s fiscal 2027 budget predicts a $1.5 million general fund deficit even with an anticipated $1 million transfer from the county’s coal fund, the Finance & Budget Committee was told Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. Initial levy requests point to a 7.5864% increase and, the committee concluded, a likely Truth in Taxation hearing.

FY2027 Budget and Levy Key Points:

The first draft FY2027 budget predicts a $1.5 million general fund deficit, a figure that already includes an anticipated $1 million transfer from Fund 375, the county’s coal fund.

Driving factors identified in the record are additional staffing requests and an anticipated 40% increase in employee health insurance costs.

Initial FY2027 levy requests predict a 7.5864% increase, not including known increases for IMRF, Social Security and insurance levies.

Budget hearings are set for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, and Wednesday, Aug. 19. The committee took no vote on either the budget or the levy.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Montgomery County’s first draft fiscal 2027 budget predicts a $1.5 million general fund deficit, a shortfall projected even after an anticipated $1 million transfer out of the county’s coal fund, the County Board’s Finance & Budget Committee was told at its meeting on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in the County Board Room on the second floor of the Historic Courthouse in Hillsboro.

Treasurer Nikki Lohman compiled the budget requests and distributed the first draft, which the record says was prepared as requested. The two factors the record identifies as driving the projected deficit are additional staffing requests from county departments and an anticipated 40% increase in employee health insurance costs.

Committee Chair Connie Beck asked the committee to thoroughly review the budget requests and to be ready for some difficult decisions at budget hearings, which are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, and continue Wednesday, Aug. 19.

The $1 million transfer contemplated in the draft would come out of Fund 375, the coal fund the committee reviewed earlier in the same meeting. Under that item, the committee noted a June coal royalty payment of $128,562.45 and a total Fund 375 balance of $10.9 million. The committee took no motion on the fund report.

Levy Requests Point Toward a Truth in Taxation Hearing

The committee also reviewed initial FY2027 levy requests, which predict a 7.5864% increase. That figure does not include known increases for the county’s IMRF, Social Security and insurance levies, meaning the eventual request could land higher.

On that basis, the committee concluded that a Truth in Taxation hearing will likely be necessary. Under Illinois law, a taxing district that proposes a levy above a statutory threshold generally must publish notice and hold a public hearing before adopting it. The minutes do not record a target date for such a hearing, and no levy figure was adopted.

No Votes Taken on Either Item

Neither the budget item nor the levy item drew a motion. Both were listed on the agenda as “Update/Approval” items, and the record shows discussion only. Nothing about the FY2027 budget or the FY2027 levy was decided at this meeting, and neither figure binds the county.

That distinction matters at the committee level generally. Finance & Budget is a committee of the Montgomery County Board; its actions are recommendations, and no appropriation is made, no levy is set and no money moves until the full County Board acts in open session. The budget hearings later this month are the next scheduled step in the process, with any adopted budget and levy coming after that.

The record of the Aug. 6 meeting is thin on specifics beyond the top-line numbers. It contains no departmental line items, no comparison to the current-year budget, no headcount attached to the staffing requests, no carrier or plan detail behind the 40% health insurance projection, and no copy of the draft budget or the levy worksheet. The draft budget document and the levy request compilation Lohman distributed are the two records that would allow readers to see where the pressure actually sits.

The minutes list committee members Rob Corso, Chris Daniels, Dr. Patty Whitworth, Chad Ruppert and Committee Chair Connie Beck as present, and Evan Young and Doug Donaldson as absent. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Beck. There was no public comment. The meeting adjourned at 10:22 a.m.