Chairman calls for reduced spending – and starts with her own salary

Families across Kane County are making sacrifices and the most turbulent economy in decades, families across Kane County are finding ways to become more efficient in order to make ends meet – and their government has an obligation to do the same, Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay said in her annual county budget remarks.

Citing economic challenges that range from soaring gasoline prices to a record rate of home foreclosures, McConnaughay stressed that Kane County taxpayers are making sacrifices when it comes to their household budgets. With government facing similar economic difficulties of declining revenues and budget shortfalls, it also must do what is necessary to become more efficient, she said.

“I appreciate that these are not easy decisions to make,” McConnaughay said to fellow elected officials about their budgets. “But as public leaders, I believe we have a responsibility to conduct the same belt-tightening that is going on in kitchens and offices across Kane County,”

Specifically, McConnaughay instructed all county departments and offices to identify 1.5-percent savings in their annual budgets, and called for a countywide hiring freeze. She also announced that she will reject a scheduled salary increase if re-elected County Board Chairman next year, and called on other elected leaders and senior staff members to do the same.

The conservative budget approach is consistent with McConnaughay’s leadership since being elected Board Chairman in 2004. Under her administration, Kane County has strengthened services, balanced its budgets and maintained a property tax rate that is less than 5-cents of every dollar paid by Kane County residents. At the same time, the county has maintained fully-funded pensions, limited its level of debt and maintained responsible cash reserves.

A Republican who became involved in government as a grassroots community leader, she seeks a second term to ensure that Kane County continues its accountability to taxpayers. To join that effort, please visit karen4kane.com, or call 630-525-1615.