FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Veterans Assistance Commission (VAC) announces that it is proposing the elimination of transportation and homeless support for veterans in Winnebago County due to budget cuts proposed by the Winnebago County Board, according to Superintendent Pereira. The VAC has assisted with over 35 homeless Veterans since November of 2023.

Pereira, a retired Army veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and veteran advocate who began his role in November 2023, realigned the VAC with staffing to support the nearly 15,000 veterans not including the eligible dependents and surviving spouses in Winnebago County. “For the first time in the history of the VAC we are finally adequately staffed, we now have five nationally accredited Veteran Service Officers accredited by the National Association of County Veteran Service Officers (NACVSO) and registered with the Veterans Administration’s Office of General Counsel,” he stated. “The budget cuts will eliminate our ability to maintain our Continuing Education Units (CEUs) which are statutorily required. As a result, our employees’ accreditations are now at risk. This accreditation has brought over a million dollars into the pockets of Winnebago County veterans since November.”

The VAC, a unit of local government, is currently staffed with eight full-time and one part-time employee, including the Superintendent, an executive assistant, four Veteran Service Officers, two administrative assistants, and a full-time driver.

Pereira added, “I want to be transparent: the cut the county is planning to make applies to the 2025 Fiscal Year budget. County board members are correct in stating they have ‘given’ an increase in funds to the VAC over the years, but unfortunately, they may not understand that the VAC was still underfunded.” Prior to January 2024, the employees of the VAC worked without benefits. One Veteran Service Officer was making fourteen dollars an hour, compared to the state average of $73,050 a year. A mandate in Public Act 102-1132 requires that the employees of the VAC receive the same benefits as county employees. Consequently, the VAC now bears the cost of those benefits.

“I believe many of the disagreements over funding could have been avoided if the County CFO and Finance Committee had maintained an open dialogue since the VAC budget approval in May. Unfortunately, the CFO and other involved parties remained silent about the budget until its presentation on August 8th, 2024,” said Pereira. The VAC commissioners have final approval of the VAC budget, which is then forwarded to the County Board for funding.

A formally homeless Veteran spoke on behalf of the VAC at the August 29th finance committee meeting which unphased the finance committee. Later John Sweeney, finance committee member, mentioned that he thanked the Veterans but that he also has an obligation to his constituents to be fiscally responsible with their tax dollars.
“I sympathize with the legislative body, who have to make difficult decisions regarding the utilization of county tax dollars. However, are the veterans of Winnebago County indebted to the taxpayers, or are the taxpayers indebted to the less than 1% of our nation’s population who served in the Armed Forces?” Pereira asked.

Taxpayers who wish to express their opinions may direct their statements to the Superintendent at jpereira@vac.wincoil.gov or to their County Board District Representative. Their contact information can be found at
https://wincoil.gov/government/county-board.