PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — By a vote of 16-2, the Peoria County Council voted to approve the $157 million budget for next year, which was actually down from what was originally recommended.

The budget process took six weeks and after some comments from the board it was approved.

County Council member Brian Elsasser was one of two no votes, the other being Nathan Hoerr. Elsasser explained the reason for his vote, saying he appreciates the work staff members put into the budget to reduce it.

However, he expressed dismay at the number of people working in administrative roles, saying there weren’t that many when he first joined the council.

“I think we can still make some cuts in the future,” he said.

The Peoria County Council will approve the 2025 budget and road projects at the meeting

Speaker James Dillon congratulated those who worked on the budget, describing it as a collaborative effort.

He also noted that the budget is usually voted on at the beginning of the year, but he believes the later date gave council members more time to review everything.

“Everyone had plenty of time to prepare and watch. It worked really well this time,” he said.

He also said that work will begin immediately on next year’s budget, expressed in a light tone.

County officials are expected to get about 7.5 percent more this year in property tax revenue than last year without a rate increase. Peoria City Hall, just a block away, saw a similar increase in the amount of tax revenue going into city coffers.

The reasoning, officials say, is that property values ​​have risen, leading to a corresponding increase in the revenue those taxes generate. This year, the county’s EAV, or equalized assessed valuation of all taxable property, is more than $4 billion.

Highlights include fully funded pension obligations, completion of the health and human services building, and funding for infrastructure projects through the American County Rescue Plan Act – COVID-19 relief dollars – appropriation.

There’s also money in the budget for road projects like the nearly $10 million Maxwell Road project, much of which comes from federal and state funding as well as fuel tax revenue.

The bulk of that, $7.6 million, will come toward construction costs for that one-mile stretch of road, as well as some work on Middle Road, according to the county board’s agenda packet.

“The pavement and storm drains for both roads are in poor condition and in need of reconstruction,” the package states.

Horseshoe also voted to unanimously pass the consent agenda that contained 24 items, one of which was the hiring of Aupperle & Sons Inc. to replace the steps on Main Street at the Peoria County Courthouse. The cost will be approximately $162,105.

The steps on the main street side had begun to give way, causing the door on that side to be closed for several years.

The steps, which were an original part of the building from the 1960s, were still used by the public until earlier this year when unsafe conditions forced it to close. The new steps are set to have an ADA accessible ramp as well.

According to the approval agenda, the county also approved the transfer of Glen Avenue from University Street to Sheridan Road to the City of Peoria.

“It has recently come to the attention of the County Engineer that the portion of Glen Avenue from University Street to Sheridan Road has never been transferred to the City of Peoria, although it had been upgraded to an urban section long ago,” according to an item on the order day from the council package.

Also at the meeting was a proclamation to designate November 14 as Dyana Penigar Smith Day. She is the wife of pitcher Lee Smith, who played for both the Cubs and Cardinals during his career.

A moment of silence was also observed for former Peoria County Farm Bureau Director Patrick Kirchhofer, who died Monday. He was 60 years old.

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