Peoria County committee approves FY2026 rollovers, including $400,000 consulting rollover and $100,000 HHS public-art appropriation

Peoria County committee members on Monday advanced a package of FY2025 rollovers and FY2026 appropriations that included two contested items: a $400,000 roll forward for consulting and board initiatives, and a $100,000 appropriation for public art at the new HHS campus.

The consulting rollover was described by county staff as the normal practice for unspent consulting funds and would cover items such as legislative lobbyists and salary studies. “If you vote yes, you’re approving the $400,000 to be spent on consulting and board initiatives,” the clerk said when framing the motion. Several members pushed back, saying the county has repeatedly rolled unused consulting funds forward without a concrete plan; one member said the practice looked like a “flush fund” and preferred individual budget amendments tied to specific projects. The committee voted to approve the $400,000 roll forward.

The public-art request prompted the lengthiest debate. Member Ruland said the $100,000 reflected a prior strategic-plan direction to seed public art around the HHS campus and argued a committee would oversee any future design and fundraising. “When I learned that there was some opposition to this rollover, I started making some phone calls, and a compromise has been found,” Ruland said as he offered an amendment to change the funding source.

Under Ruland’s successful amendment the $100,000 will be appropriated from the health department fund reserves rather than from the capital projects account; the Board of Health will be tasked to appoint or charge a committee to manage the public-art effort and to present proposals for approval. Supporters said the amount is a modest seed relative to the overall HHS campus build and that a local committee and fundraising would guide design choices. Opponents said the county’s current priorities — notably jail master-plan costs discussed earlier this year — make new appropriations questionable and urged seeking private donations instead.

Procedurally the committee first divided the packet to vote on most items while pulling U (consulting) and R (public art) for separate consideration; the main packet (minus U and R) passed, the consulting rollover passed, and R passed as amended to use the HHS/health fund source.

Next steps: the approved items will move out of committee for final county-board consideration where required by statute; several members asked staff to clarify, in the future, which line items are true rollovers of previously appropriated funds and which are additional appropriations into the current fiscal year.