Postage and Jail Medical Costs Drive Will County Contingency Requests

Will County Finance Committee | October 6, 2026

Article Summary: The Will County Board Finance Committee on October 6 recommended two draws on County Board Contingency for the remainder of the fiscal year — $175,000 for postage tied to vote-by-mail and delinquent tax mailings, and $75,000 for medical services at the Adult Detention Facility. Both recommendations go to the full County Board.

Contingency Fund Requests Key Points:

Resolution 26-5516 moves $175,000 from County Board Contingency to Mail Services – Postage for two large mailings.

Resolution 26-5534 moves $75,000 from County Board Contingency to Medical Services at the Adult Detention Facility.

The postage request covers vote-by-mail materials in the County Clerk’s Office and delinquent notices in the Treasurer’s Office.

Neither draw takes effect until the full County Board amends the FY2026 budget by a two-thirds vote.

WILL COUNTY — The Will County Board Finance Committee on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, recommended that the County Board tap its contingency account twice to carry two offices through the end of the fiscal year, authorizing nothing itself in the process.

Both items are budget amendments under 55 ILCS 5/6-1003, which the resolutions quote as permitting budget amendments “at any meeting of the board by a two-thirds vote.” Until the full County Board acts, no money moves.

The larger request, Resolution 26-5516, would decrease County Board Contingency at account 1010-547080-110-10000-10 by $175,000 and increase Mail Services – Postage at account 1010-547030-120-20403-10 by the same amount. The resolution states that the County Executive’s Office requested the funds to cover postage through the end of the fiscal year for two large mailings: vote-by-mail materials in the County Clerk’s Office and delinquent notices in the Treasurer’s Office.

The committee took the item up without discussion. On a roll call, Berkowicz, Freeman, Traynere, Winfrey and Newquist voted yes. Butler was out of the room and did not vote.

The second request, Resolution 26-5534, would decrease County Board Contingency by $75,000 and increase Medical Services at account 1010-542590-190-74010-20 by $75,000. The resolution states that the Sheriff’s Office requested the funds to cover the cost of medical services at the Adult Detention Facility through the end of the fiscal year. Traynere moved the item and Winfrey seconded; the committee moved the previous question and approved the recommendation on a voice vote with no audible opposition and no discussion.

Contingency draws are a recurring feature of the county’s fall budget cycle, and the committee has used the same mechanism in previous months to cover departmental shortfalls before a fiscal year closes. The two October requests arrived alongside Resolution 26-5559, a separate package of FY26 budget transfers totaling $188,028.80 in both directions, which the committee also advanced. That package moves $150,000 within the Facilities budget from a Capital Outlay – Building line to Other Professional Services, and moves $32,000 and $6,028.80 within Sheriff’s lines from Capital – Machinery to Sign and Safety Supplies and to Operating Supplies/Materials, respectively. Each transfer is described in the attachment as “transferring funds between budget lines.”

Taken together with the contingency items, the transfers reflect mid-year repositioning rather than new spending authority: the transfer resolution states that a mid-year review of Fiscal Year 2026 determined it was necessary to move appropriations between line items in various departmental budgets, and that the County Executive’s Office requested the changes.

All three items now go to the full County Board.