Financial and Administrative Committee Meeting – August 27, 2026
Financial and Administrative Committee Meeting – August 27, 2026
On Thursday, August 27, 2026, at 8:31 AM, the Lake County Financial and Administrative Committee convened with six members present (a quorum). The meeting covered the consent agenda, a discussion on future uses of Monsanto settlement funds, several resolutions, a director’s report on bond ratings, a presentation on the 2027 health insurance plans, and administrative updates.
Consent Calendar
- Items 8.1 through 8.3 (not specified) were approved unanimously without discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were offered.
Discussion Items
- Monsanto Settlement Funds (Item 8.8): The committee discussed potential policies for the remaining ~$5.5 million of the $7.5 million Monsanto PCB settlement funds (after $2 million committed to a Waukegan economic development project). Members expressed broad consensus that funds should be spent in the Lake Michigan watershed (where damage occurred), on capital or infrastructure projects (not programmatic), and with a focus on water quality, shoreline stabilization, harbor improvements, and remediation. The county administrator was directed to draft a policy for future committee review. No vote was taken.
- Estimated Tax Levy (Item 8.5): Chief Financial Officer Regina Tuzak presented the estimated 2026 tax levy of $191,311,274, reflecting the full allowable PTEL CPI of 2.7% plus new property growth. Several members voiced concern over the cumulative tax burden on residents and urged careful scrutiny of new program requests during the budget process. The resolution was approved.
- Director’s Report – Moody’s Ratings (Item 8.6): County Administrator Patrice Sutton reported that Moody’s reaffirmed Lake County’s AAA rating on August 17–19, 2026. However, a new Moody’s methodology classifies the Forest Preserve District as a component unit of the county because both boards have the same membership. Committee members expressed strong displeasure and argued the two entities are governed under separate statutes with different leadership. The committee encouraged coordinated pushback with the Forest Preserve District.
- 2027 Health Insurance Plans (Item 8.7): Staff presented proposed renewal rates of 21.5% for PPOs and 24.8% for HMOs, attributed to national trends and high claims costs (cancer, nervous system disorders, and GLP-1 weight loss drugs costing over $3 million in 2025 for 396 users). The recommended “RX Safecard” program would require employees using weight-loss drugs (only on-label use for weight loss) to purchase directly from the manufacturer for a $10 copay, reducing premiums by 1.4% for PPOs and 3.3% for HMOs. Committee members supported the recommendation but raised concerns about new hires who might lose coverage if they are already below the BMI threshold. Staff agreed to check with IPBC on flexibility. The committee gave concurrence for implementation.
- Solar Project Pivot (Administrator’s Report): The county administrator announced that the planned rooftop solar project at Waukegan (Center Courts and B Building) was being pivoted to a ground-mounted array near Libertyville because the original roofs could not support panel loads. The new site offers a six-year payback and could achieve net-zero energy for two county buildings. No formal approval was required, but the committee was supportive.
Key Outcomes
- Approved (unanimous): Consent agenda (8.1–8.3), Resolution 8.4 (window washing contract, $40,000 annually with renewal options), Resolution 8.5 (estimated tax levy, $191,311,274), and staff recommendation on health insurance (Item 8.7) with direction to proceed with the RX Safecard program.
- Direction Given: Staff to draft a policy on Monsanto settlement funds for future committee review. Staff to explore options for new hires on GLP-1 coverage continuity.
- Action Items: County administration will coordinate with the Forest Preserve District to push back against Moody’s component‑unit classification. The director of facilities will seek committee approval for any contract amendments related to the solar project pivot.
- Informational: The committee was notified of a reclassification request from the Sheriff’s Office (hourly grade 6 to 7 for a payroll specialist) and of a potential funding gap for the Health Department’s 988 crisis line; the county administrator provided assurance of up to $102,000 in contingency funding if needed, subject to future committee approval of the funding source.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. It's 8 31 on Thursday, August 27th. I call to order the Financial and Administrative Committee to please rise and join me in Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republican or which stands. One nation under uh indivisible with liberty and we have a role conference. Member Clark. Here. Chair Frank. Here. Member Hewitt. Here. Member Main. Vice Chair Park is absent. Member Peterson. Member Volitzek. Here. We have six members present. We have a quorum. Do we have any addenda to the agenda? No. There's no public comment. Okay, Chair Marks, I'll just note there's one item. I'd ask committee's consent just to bump up discussion item 8.8. Um if we could. I know Chair Hart wanted to participate in that discussion, and she's going to be logging on in a second. So if that's okay, I'd like to bump that up to right after the consent agenda members. Great. Thank you. Um no unfinished business. New business starts with our consent agenda, items 8.1 through 8.3. Motion to approve by member Clark, second by member Hewitt. Any comments, questions, anything that needs to be polled. All in favor, please say aye. Any opposed. Items are approved. Okay. Um so we're going to go to 8.8, which is a discussion regarding future potential uses of the counties received Monsanto settlement funds. And I know we're going to hear from uh uh administration on this, but I just wanted to add, like for perspective, when we first received these funds, um we kind of as a committee gave direction to put them aside. We didn't we didn't attach a policy or potential future uses to that. We did make a decision earlier this year that we would allocate two million dollars of it for an economic development project in Waukegan. Um we I think we're gonna have a further discussion about that specific item uh in the near future as well. But again, generally speaking, for this uh pot of funds, which is about seven million dollars. We didn't uh have a specific policy, and I think that's what we wanted to start the discussion with today. Yep, thanks, Chair. Um year ago, as of tomorrow, actually, I I was uh in front of the FNA committee uh presenting background on the Monsanto funds, and it was Monsanto was a company that manufactured PCBs from the 30s and uh between 1930s and 19 uh 70s, and uh municipalities asserted that um uh through a class action suit that uh various impairments to the environment uh were caused by Monsanto, uh including public water bodies, and they received compensate uh compensatory damages and adjunctive uh equitable relief uh for that. It was a 550 million dollar settlement. Um Lake County was eligible as an MPDES county uh with urbanized unincorporated boundaries within a watershed that contains a water body impaired by PCB. So we were eligible. We received 7.5 million dollars allocation, which was a maximum allowed under the settlement.
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