Can an Illinois county board sweep unspent money out of the coroner's special fee account into the general fund, or reduce the coroner's next-year budget by the amount of fees in that account?

Plain-English summary

In 2010 the Illinois General Assembly amended section 4-7001 of the Counties Code so that the fees a coroner collects for cremation permits and certified copies stop going into the county general fund and instead go into a coroner's special account, restricted to "the purchase of electronic and forensic identification equipment or other related supplies and the operating expenses of the coroner's office." A group of legislators asked the AG two practical questions about how counties could deal with that change.

Question one was whether a county board could sweep any year-end balance out of the coroner's special account back into the general fund. AG Lisa Madigan said no. The statute earmarked the money, the legislative debates explicitly used the word "sweeps" as the practice the change was designed to stop, and there was no separate transfer authority. The fund's purpose (ongoing operating expenses) is never "satisfied" while the office of coroner exists.

Question two was whether the county board could reduce the coroner's next-year appropriation by the amount expected to be available in the special account. The AG said yes, with the qualification that the special account was simply one of several revenue sources the board could legitimately consider. Sections 6-1001 and 6-1002 require the county budget to list all unexpended balances and probable income, and the special account fits within "operating expenses of the coroner's office," which is the coroner's primary spending need.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Why was section 4-7001 amended in 2010?
A: Public Act 96-1161 increased some coroner fees and changed where the money landed. Before the amendment, all such fees were "deposited into the general fund of the county." After it, the fees were deposited into a coroner's special account "to be used solely for the purchase of electronic and forensic identification equipment or other related supplies and the operating expenses of the coroner's office." Sponsors of the bill explained on the House floor that the goal was to make the money go directly to a coroner-budget line item and not be subject to sweeps.

Q: What is a "fund sweep"?
A: It is the transfer of money from a special-purpose fund into the general fund. Illinois courts and the AG have used the term that way (see Illinois State Chamber of Commerce v. Filan, 216 Ill. 2d 653 (2005)). The 2010 amendment was designed to prevent counties from doing exactly that with coroner fees.

Q: When can money in a special fund be moved out?
A: At the time of the opinion, the Illinois rule was that money in a special fund stays there unless its purpose has been satisfied (Hunt Drainage District v. Cole, 283 Ill. 105 (1918)) or unless a statute specifically authorizes the transfer (Valstad v. Cipriano, 357 Ill. App. 3d 905 (2005)). Section 4-7001's purpose ("operating expenses of the coroner's office") cannot be satisfied as long as the office exists, so neither route is available.

Q: If the special-account balance reduces the appropriation, isn't that a backdoor sweep?
A: The AG addressed this. The county board cannot move money out of the special account, but it has discretion under sections 6-1001 and 6-1002 to consider all available revenue sources (special funds, other special accounts, general fund) when setting the coroner's overall appropriation for the year. The money still sits in the special account; the board just adjusts how much of the coroner's expenses are paid from each source.

Q: Can a non-home-rule county get around this with a local ordinance?
A: No. The opinion reiterated the long-standing rule (Redmond v. Novak, 86 Ill. 2d 374 (1981); Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, § 7) that non-home-rule counties have only those powers expressly granted them by statute. When the General Assembly limits the use of county funds to a specific purpose, the county board is bound by that limitation.

Background and statutory framework

Illinois county boards have broad discretion over budgetary matters under section 5-1016 of the Counties Code, but only "as otherwise specifically provided." Where a statute earmarks revenue for a specific purpose, that earmark controls. The structural rule (a special-purpose fund must be kept separate) traces back to Cook County v. McCrea, 93 Ill. 236 (1879).

Section 4-7001 is one such earmark. Pre-amendment, coroner-collected fees flowed to the general fund, which gave the county board complete discretion over their use. Post-amendment, those fees are restricted to forensic equipment and coroner operating expenses, and the General Assembly removed the implicit transfer authority that came with general-fund deposit.

Sections 6-1001 through 6-1005 of the Counties Code govern county budgeting. They require the annual budget to list unexpended balances, estimate probable income from taxes and fees, and adopt a schedule of appropriations. Section 6-1005 forbids any expenditure or contractual obligation without an underlying appropriation. Together, those provisions mean special-fund money cannot be spent without an appropriation, but they do not let the board redirect special-fund money to general-fund purposes.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, §§ 4(c), 7
- 55 ILCS 5/3-3014; 5/4-7001; 5/5-1011; 5/5-1016; 5/5-1106; 5/6-1001; 5/6-1002 (as amended by P.A. 98-419); 5/6-1005

Cases:
- Cook County v. McCrea, 93 Ill. 236 (1879)
- Holmgren v. City of Moline, 269 Ill. 248 (1915)
- Hunt Drainage District v. Cole, 283 Ill. 105 (1918)
- Redmond v. Novak, 86 Ill. 2d 374 (1981)
- In re Application of County Collector, 41 Ill. App. 3d 106 (1976)
- In re Application of the County Collector of Cook County, 332 Ill. App. 3d 277 (2002)
- Inland Land Appreciation Fund, L.P. v. County of Kane, 344 Ill. App. 3d 720 (2003)
- Village of Sugar Grove v. Rich, 347 Ill. App. 3d 689 (2004)
- Valstad v. Cipriano, 357 Ill. App. 3d 905 (2005)
- Weeks v. Hoffman, 1 Ill. App. 3d 337 (1971)

Source

• Landing page: https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/
• Original PDF: https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/dA/4eb725be3c/2013%2013-003%20COUNTIES%20Retention%20of%20Coroners%20Fees%20Collected%20Under%20Section%204-7001%20of%20Counties%20Code%20Budget%20Considerations.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE OF ILLINOIS

Lisa Madigan
ATTORNEY GENERAL

December 30, 2013

FILE NO. 13-003
COUNTIES:
Retention of Coroner's Fees Collected Under Section 4-7001 of the Counties Code; Budget Considerations

The Honorable Daniel P. Brady, Assistant Republican Leader, State Representative, 105th District
The Honorable Gary Forby, State Senator, 59th District
The Honorable David Koehler
The Honorable Brandon Phelps
The Honorable Patrick Verschoore

Gentlemen:

I have your letter inquiring whether a county board may: (1) require that fees deposited into the coroner's special account pursuant to section 4-7001 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/4-7001 (West 2012)) be transferred to the county's general fund, if unexpended at the conclusion of the county's fiscal year; and (2) reduce a coroner's budget for the next fiscal year by the amount of funds anticipated to be available in the coroner's special account. For the reasons set out below, it is my opinion that a county board: (1) does not possess the authority to order that unexpended funds in the coroner's special fee account be transferred into the county general fund; and (2) is not precluded from considering the funds available for expenditure by the coroner in the special account when determining the appropriation for the coroner's office in a succeeding fiscal year.

BACKGROUND

In 2010, the General Assembly enacted Public Act 96-1161, effective July 21, 2010, amending section 4-7001 of the Counties Code to increase the fees that a coroner may collect for providing cremation permits and copies of certain records. Public Act 96-1161 further amended section 4-7001 to provide:

All fees under this Section collected by or on behalf of the coroner's office shall be paid over to the county treasurer and deposited into a special account in the county treasury. Moneys in the special account shall be used solely for the purchase of electronic and forensic identification equipment or other related supplies and the operating expenses of the coroner's office.

Prior to its amendment, section 4-7001 provided, in pertinent part: "All fees under this Section collected by or on behalf of the coroner's office shall be * * * deposited into the general fund of the county." 55 ILCS 5/4-7001 (West 2008).

ANALYSIS

It is well established that non-home-rule counties possess only those powers that are expressly granted to them by the constitution or by statute, together with those powers that are necessary to effectuate the expressly granted powers. Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, §7; Redmond v. Novak, 86 Ill. 2d 374, 382 (1981); Village of Sugar Grove v. Rich, 347 Ill. App. 3d 689, 694 (2004), appeal denied, 212 Ill. 2d 555 (2004); Inland Land Appreciation Fund, L.P. v. County of Kane, 344 Ill. App. 3d 720, 724 (2003). Section 5-1016 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/5-1016 (West 2012)) authorizes the county board to "manage the county funds and county business, except as otherwise specifically provided." County boards generally have broad discretion regarding budgetary matters. See generally In re Application of County Collector, 41 Ill. App. 3d 106, 109 (1976). If the General Assembly limits the use of county funds to specific purposes, however, the county board is bound by those limitations. See Weeks v. Hoffman, 1 Ill. App. 3d 337, 338-39 (1971).

Transfer of Coroner's Fees

Your first question concerns whether a county board may transfer unexpended moneys from the coroner's special account to the county general fund at the close of each fiscal year. As a general principle, funds that are allocated for a specific purpose "shall be kept as a separate fund in the county treasury[.]" Cook County v. McCrea, 93 Ill. 236, 238 (1879); see generally Holmgren v. City of Moline, 269 Ill. 248, 254 (1915); In re Application of the County Collector of Cook County, 332 Ill. App. 3d 277, 299 (2002), appeal denied, 201 Ill. 2d 568 (2002). Here, section 4-7001 of the Counties Code expressly provides that "[a]ll fees under this Section collected by or on behalf of the coroner's office shall be * * * deposited into a special account in the county treasury" and may be used only for the "purchase of electronic and forensic identification equipment or other related supplies and the operating expenses of the coroner's office."

Moneys that are held in a special fund for a specific purpose pursuant to law may only be transferred if the special fund's purpose has been satisfied (Hunt Drainage District v. Cole, 283 Ill. 105, 115-16 (1918)) or in accordance with Illinois law. Valstad v. Cipriano, 357 Ill. App. 3d 905, 917-18 (2005), appeal denied, 216 Ill. 2d 736 (2005). For example, when a tax is levied to pay a specific debt and its proceeds are deposited into a special fund, if money remains after the debt is paid, the General Assembly has specifically authorized the county to transfer the surplus moneys into its general fund. 55 ILCS 5/5-1011 (West 2012). In contrast, the General Assembly clearly contemplated that funds in the coroner's special account would be used for ongoing expenses (i.e., "operating expenses of the coroner's office"). As a result, unless the office of coroner is eliminated (see Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, §4(c)), the purposes of the special account will not be satisfied at any point. Further, the language of section 4-7001 does not authorize the transfer of moneys from the coroner's special account to the county's general fund.

The debates concerning Senate Bill 2529, which became Public Act 96-1161, confirm this interpretation. During the House debate, two of the bill's sponsors explained that the amendments would ensure that "the funds would go directly to a line item within the coroner's budget for specific operations of that office through the county treasurer" and would not be subject to any sweeps. The reference to fund "sweeps" describes the transfer of money from a special fund to a general fund. See generally Illinois State Chamber of Commerce v. Filan, 216 Ill. 2d 653, 656 (2005). These remarks are consistent with the plain and unambiguous language of the amended statute, and clearly demonstrate that the General Assembly intended to preclude a county board from transferring unexpended funds from the coroner's special account to any other fund at any time. Accordingly, it is my opinion that the county board has no authority to order the transfer of moneys from the coroner's special account to the county general fund at the close of the fiscal year.

Coroner's Budget

You have also asked whether the county board may reduce the coroner's budget by the amount of fees collected during the preceding fiscal year. It is the county board's duty to fund county offices, including the office of coroner. 55 ILCS 5/5-1106 (West 2012). Within the constraints of law (see 1984 Ill. Att'y Gen. Op. 9), a county board has reasonable discretion in determining the amount to be appropriated and the uses of the appropriated funds.

Sections 6-1001 and 6-1002 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/6-1001 (West 2012); 55 ILCS 5/6-1002 (West 2012), as amended by Public Act 98-419, effective August 16, 2013) set out the process that the county board must follow in appropriating funds. The annual budget must contain a statement of receipts and payments and revenues and expenditures of the prior fiscal year, a statement of all moneys in the county treasury or in any funds thereof unexpended at the termination of the prior fiscal year, estimates of all probable income for the current and ensuing fiscal years, a detailed statement of expenditures, and a schedule of proposed appropriations. Section 6-1005 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/6-1005 (West 2012)) further states that, with certain limited exceptions not applicable here, "no contract shall be entered into and no obligation or expense shall be incurred by or on behalf of a county unless an appropriation therefor has been previously made."

Although the coroner's special account constitutes a special fund, the language of the Code makes it clear that special funds are nonetheless subject to the county budget and appropriation process, and moneys in them cannot be paid out without an appropriation by the county board. As a result, when determining the coroner's annual budget, the county board must identify the unexpended moneys in the coroner's special account and the anticipated revenue in that fund for the next fiscal year. The county board also must provide an appropriation for the coroner's office's proposed expenditures. This would include appropriations for "autopsies, medical examinations, laboratory fees, * * * travel expenses of the examining physician and the costs of exhuming a body[,]" which are required to be paid from the county's general fund. 55 ILCS 5/3-3014 (West 2012).

In creating the coroner's special account, the General Assembly provided that the moneys in the account shall be used "for the purchase of electronic and forensic identification equipment or other related supplies and the operating expenses of the coroner's office." 55 ILCS 5/4-7001 (West 2012). Because of the broad language allowing the moneys to be used for "operating expenses," nothing precludes the county board from considering the anticipated revenue in the coroner's special account as a source of funding for the operations of the coroner's office. Accordingly, it is my opinion that after considering all available revenue sources (the coroner's special account, other special funds, and the county general fund), in determining the appropriation for the coroner's office, the county board may adjust the amount of the appropriation from the various revenue sources by the amount of moneys expected to be available in the next fiscal year.

CONCLUSION

It is my opinion that the fees collected pursuant to section 4-7001 of the Counties Code must be deposited into the coroner's special account to be used solely for the specified purposes. Unexpended fees must be retained in the coroner's special account at the close of each fiscal year and may not be transferred into the county's general fund. In calculating the appropriation for the coroner's office, it is my opinion that the county board is not precluded from considering the funds that are anticipated to be available for expenditure by the coroner in the special account.

Very truly yours,

LISA MADIGAN
ATTORNEY GENERAL