Commissioners will continue with the veterans assistance commission.

Elizabeth Soto will give the presentation.

Hello.

All right, good afternoon, Commissioners.

Thank you for the opportunity to present the veteran disciplines.

Veterans Assistance Commission of Cook County's mid-year budget for FY26 update.

Accompanying me today is our Deputy Superintendent, Mr.

Grant Jacobson, our manager of finance and business operations behind me, Mr.

Rajiv Samuel, as well as our manager of communications and operations, excuse me, communications and outreach, Mr.

Connor Interest, who are present for any added inquiries after this very short and succinct presentation.

So I would like to begin with an overview of our FI26 general fund performance through the mid-year reporting period.

At the mid-year of FY26, we continue to manage our budget responsibly and remain on track to meet our fiscal goals.

As expected, we have experienced some variances within individual budget categories to address personnel expenditures.

They are currently below budget due to delays in filling authorized vacancies.

A key factor was the implementation of the Cook County resolution, which required us to update job descriptions and salary memoranda before recruitment could proceed.

Regrettably, at the time of this resolution's passing, our agency was not made aware of the updates, and so our hiring process was delayed significantly.

However, since then we have worked very closely with the Cook County Department of Human Resources as well as the Cook County Department of budget throughout this process and are moving forward with recruitment.

Our pending positions have been posted, and we will be in the process of interviews and selections within the next two weeks.

As positions are filled during the remainder of the FY26, personnel services expenditures are expected to align more closely with the approved budget.

Continuing on with contractual service expenditures, they are currently above a budget due to a significant 114% increase in emergency financial assistance provided directly to Cook County veterans in comparison to the same time period as last year.

The increase is so great that we will need to uh request um 144,000 budget transfer from personnel service salaries to contractual services for board approval to ensure we can continue meeting these critical needs.

We do want to keep you in mind that uh we anticipate to expend all funds from our direct disbursements line items by the close of August.

So this 144,000 transfer will potentially only cover September and not October or November.

And just to clarify, this will not be an increase to our overall budget, but rather a reallocation of existing funds.

Um and so we will begin requesting additional funding uh for FY27 so as not to run into this issue uh again next year.

But this year we are looking to the board for recommendations on what our next steps forward uh could be so that we do not halt these much needed services.

Uh that brings us lastly to supplies and material expenditures, which are currently below projections due to the timing of planned purchases as we continue hiring staff and expanding operations at our headquarters, the Chicago Regional Office, and the newly projected rolling meadows location.

We anticipate increased spending on office and operational supplies overall.

But at this time, no corrective action is needed, and we expect expenditures to align with the approved budget by the end of this fiscal year.

So on to our initiatives and goals for the remainder of the FY.

Our first priority continues to be strengthening our workforce to support operations at both our headquarters and our Chicago regional office.

And as we fill key positions, we expect to improve service delivery, reduce wait times for financial assistance, and veteran service officer appointments, expand outreach efforts, and enhance customer service for veterans throughout the county.

Our second largest priority is preparing for the opening of our third VAC office location in rolling meadows.

This new location will expand access to services for veterans in the northwest suburbs by reducing travel barriers and increasing opportunities for outreach and community partnerships.

And once operational, the office will strengthen our regional presence and allow us to serve more veterans closely to where they live.

So as of as of the mid-year reporting period, the VAC has 20 authorized positions with 11 currently filled and nine vacancies.

As earlier stated, we remain on track to fill all authorized positions by the end of FY26.

And as hiring progresses, we will fully staff our headquarters, strengthen operations at our Chicago Regional Office and prepare for the opening of our new rolling meadows district office.

Again, I stated that this would be short, succinct, and to the point.

So we uh are available now for any questions you may have.

Well, let me begin by thanking you for you and your entire staff for your dedication.

Thank you.

I know we've been in communication, Commissioner Miller has, in reference to some of the concerns, especially when you've mentioned And you're going to be running running out of money for services.

And with a transfer funds cover of the September, or is it August, September actually?

We're averaging about a spend of 125,000 each month.

And so we're we're crossing our fingers that this month was a little slow, so we may be able to completely uh fulfill September, but by the second week of October, we may expend completely out of this line item.

Because uh I know also and I'm glad to hear the vacant the um improvement has been made and going to be made as it made the agencies and the applications will be done.

In reference to the rolling meadows location, when is it anticipated to open?

We are working closely with real estate and uh the Bureau of Asset Management right now, and so it is pending.

I know that there are some final facilities management um items that they need to address, but outside of receiving some information on when that will be completed, um you'll be the first to know once we get to the remote.

Well, I would hope the because I would assume the entire board would be in favor of whatever facility, whatever is needed at this facility rolling rolling meadows.

And gets a fast forward from the entire board from and I would assume the entire board would be supporting it.

Uh Commissioner Lower.

Chairman, thank you, and thank you for the presentation.

I too am looking forward to uh the rolling meadows facility.

Um I should know this, but I don't recall.

How many total facilities or locations do we currently have or do you currently have?

With the exclusion of rolling meadows, we have two.

One located at the juvenile detention center at 1100 South Hamillon Hamilton, and the second, which we recently opened at uh 69 West Washington on the 14th floor.

And on average, um what's the outreach to you?