By Nick Reiher

As we head into the Dog Days of summer, expect even higher temperatures than we’ve seen so far.

One reason for that is Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant will present her proposed 2026-27 budget at the August 20 County Board meeting. And Republicans on the board already have served notice they want tax spending decreased by 2 percent from last year’s levy.

They did this through a letter signed by all of them at the July 16 County Board meeting. How Board Member Mark Revis, R-Plainfield, secured the signatures and had the copies made during the meeting has become a part of social media and third-party lore.

“Based on the FY2026 levy, this proposal would reduce the County’s property tax collection by approximately $4 Million resulting in an FY2027 levy of approximately $154 Million,” the letter says. And this can be achieved by the county being able to:

• Provide meaningful property tax relief.
• Protect essential public safety and transportation services.
• Reduce administrative overhead and unnecessary spending.
• Eliminate duplicative programs and contracts.
• Use taxpayer-funded reserves responsibly.
• Slow the continued growth of the County’s bureaucratic structure.

All solid suggestions. The devil, of course, is in the follow through. Like, where do you see these malfunctions? I asked if the County Executive had a response, and she said thusly:

“I have made it clear to all county board members that I appreciate negotiations, and I hope for a smoother process than last year. I want honest communication rather than last minute political surprises.

“I have repeatedly provided budgets that do not require a full tax levy, while prioritizing that critical services that keep up with the pace of county growth.”

Last year’s budget discussions started off amicably, with Board Republican Leader Jim Richmond of Mokena, who did a pretty fair job a few years ago as board Finance Chair, thanking Budget Director ReShawn Howard for keeping the levy, the amount of property taxes the county planned to use, at a 2 percent increase.

Board Member Judy Ogalla, R-Monee, after it was all done a few months later, said Richmond shouldn’t have said that. This also was during a call when she chastised me for using the term “fecal production” to describe the previous weeks’ discussions, or lack thereof, toward a compromise.

Republicans, and Board Member Destinee Ortiz, D-Romeoville, who rarely hides her disdain for Bertino-Tarrant (but apparently likes Board Speaker Joe Van Duyne’s blue-eye-enhancing suits, see YouTube of July 14 Committee of the Whole), refused to say where the cuts should come from to result in a 0 percent levy increase, rather than 2 percent.

I apologize. Ortiz did propose during one of the special budget meetings $22 million in possible cuts, although she admitted many of them were not “realistic.”

She also thought the county Finance Department was spending an awful lot of money on training for only two employees. In fact, at least at that time, there were 11 positions, 10 filled, who, in the words of a County Executive spokesman, “oversee, reconcile, and implement a $791 Million county budget.

You can review my full diatribe following last year’s budget debacle here: https://fwrnews.com/2025/11/21/will-county-residents-deserve-better-the-truth/.

I am not new to county budget discussions. I have covered them on and off since 1988, including the daily fun of the new County Executive form of government, when there was two of everything for a while, including migraines.

Although I’ve missed a few, I cannot ever recall a time when one side or the other decided to throw down a demand and back off from negotiating in Finance and/or budget meetings. There have been questions – sometimes a bounty of them – going line by line, with both parties getting answers until they were satisfied.

Only one other time can I remember, when it came time to vote on the different levies at the November County Board meeting, there was a tie each time – with Republicans protesting – meaning then-County Executive Larry Walsh had to break the tie on each one.

I told him later, he should have abstained on all and said, “It’s obvious the board has more work to do. Please let me know when you have an agreement, and we’ll call a special meeting in the few days before the budget year ends, and bills, and employees, won’t get paid.”

I hope every County Board member, especially the ones who signed the letter, attend the budget meetings, questioning until they have the answers they need. And not just throwing down this letter and saying, “do it.”

Every County Board member, regardless of party, needs to roll up their sleeves. Do the work.

Not doing so will lead to another fecal production. Will County residents deserve a better show than that.

Nick Reiher is editor of Farmers Weekly Review.