The newly adopted local-option county income tax promises an additional $15.3 million in revenue for Lake County government alone on Jan. 1, and the temptation will be great to pretend like it's Christmas.
Various county departments are likely dreaming up ways to spend the money before they even have it in hand. But as the county prepares for September budget workshop sessions, those who control the purse strings must resist the urge to view the new revenue as a windfall of mad money.
County government finance officials are already bracing themselves for a wave of requests to increase spending in various departments, including likely requests for county employee pay raises.
County Financial Director Dante Rondelli expects spending proposals for $5 million for health and sanitation improvements in the Lake County Jail, $7 million for employee pensions and benefits and more than $3 million to maintain the county's bridges and for flood control.
Add all those expected requests for additional funding together, and the $15.3 million in new revenue will have all-but evaporated.
There will no doubt be other requests too, as some covet the cash to create or preserve patronage positions and other waste. But government leaders need to keep their priorities straight.
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A glut of local government borrowing has occurred lately, some of it explained away by elected leaders who said they were waiting for an income tax windfall.
But they better be careful with that new money. Those same leaders owe it to the taxpayers -- who are providing the new revenues through 1.5 percent of their hard-earned wages -- not to blow through the cash and commence the typical borrowing trend yet again.
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