Budget season has begun in DuPage County, and the six-month process leading up to the adoption of a 2025 fiscal year budget was kicked off with the release of a survey. Earlier this week, the County released a 15-question survey to the public, probing where DuPage residents’ fiscal priorities lie for the coming year.
Last year the County passed its largest budget to date, a $625 million forecast of operations, capital improvements, and debt repayments, in part funded by an $18.9 million surplus from the previous year.
The County has conducted budget surveys for more than a decade except for the previous year, however, this year’s survey is different from those of the past, Finance Committee Chair Elizabeth Chaplin said in an interview with the Pioneer Press.
“It was important for us since we spent all this time on a strategic plan to have our budget reflect what was in our plan … so everything is much more coordinated,” Chaplain said.
Unlike prior surveys, this year’s questions do not request demographic information from respondents. According to Chaplin, people felt uncomfortable answering personal questions, and the county felt the representation in years past was sufficient.
In the last survey conducted, for the 2023 fiscal year budget, 3,178 people took the survey, the answers, which were self-reported, showed 67.1% of respondents were over the age of 55, only .5% of respondents were between 18 and 24 years old; 94.5% of responses came from homeowners despite only 73% of DuPage County residents owning the property they live in, according to the 2020 census.
The survey closes on July 8, a first draft of the 2025 budget will be presented to the public on September 24, with final approval on November 26.
“I think the budget survey ensures that the voices of our residents are heard and considered in the budgeting process, and I think it provides them a little bit of ownership and trust in our local government, ” Chaplin said.
