EDWARDSVILLE – Madison County Chairman Alan J. Dunstan today said comments made by the county treasurer Kurt Prenzler regarding the proposed 2016 county budget indicate he does not understand the budgeting process or the sources of revenue for programs administered by the county.
In a news release issued by the treasurer, he was critical of cuts to the Low Income home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) . “LIHEAP is funded by grants from the State of Illinois and the federal government. Madison County does not control the amount of funds in those budgets. The budget we have submitted to the county board reflects the grants which are being awarded to the county,” stated Dunstan.
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Dunstan said Prenzler is attempting to create a narrative that does not exist. “Madison County has administers millions of dollars in grant funds for low income families in the county,” the chairman continued. “We will continue to administer those monies based on grants received from the state and federal governments.”
“Once again, Mr. Prenzler is simply pandering over an issue that does not exist,” Dunstan said. “He is trying to deflect an issue raised by Republican and Democratic members at last week’s Finance Committee meeting where it was disclosed that over a two-year period, he gave excessive pay increases – totaling $79,332 – with several of the raises resulting in pay increases of more than 60 percent.”
The legitimacy of one of the raises was questioned by finance committee members because it was given to one of the employees in question immediately after that employees’ wages were garnished.
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