Boys and Girls Club braces for city aid shortfall

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Updated: December 16, 2011 8:10AM

ELGIN — Discussions on how the city might plug a $10 million to $13 million hole in its budget will continue Wednesday, and suggestions offered at last week’s initial city council session have the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin concerned about how it will continue to operate.

The plan City Manager Sean Stegall calls “the balanced approach” could mean a change in policy for the city’s take of Grand Victoria Casino money, which to this point has been used to fund nonprofits and capital projects.

A proposal puts $150,000 into the Community Development Block Grant Program for which all nonprofits could apply on an annual basis. Under consideration is doing away with using the riverboat fund for aiding any charities, historic grant programs, two PACE programs, youth sports and historic home grants, city vehicle replacement or the senior citizen tax rebate program.

Hardest hit under that plan would be the Boys & Girls Club, which received $100,000 this year.

On Monday, BGCE Board President David Kujawa said, “I understand the process the city is going through, and there has been good communication between the club and the city. But what’s being suggested would significantly effect how we operate as a club. Hopefully the council will look at the impact the cuts would have not only on the club, but on the city and its residents, too.”

He noted that club cutbacks could leave kids with more unstructured, unsupervised free time on their hands, which can lead to public
safety issues. Quite a few parents struggling to make ends meet might have to give up work hours or find other ways to find supervision for their children, he said.

Kujawa, who is a financial adviser, said that the club’s current annual operating budget is between $600,000 and $700,000. While Kujawa noted the club would try to find alternative funding sources, BGCE Executive Director Rose Reinert said that a gap that big could mean a reduction in days open, hours of service, staff, and closing four school sites in which the club oversees activities after classes.

According to the 2009 annual report on the BGCE website, 1,408 youths that year were registered as members, with another 1,593 counted as being served by club programming.

Councilman Robert Gilliam said Monday that he was left a little off balance by the proposed slashing of club funding.

“It bothers me, but I am not sure how it can be saved,” Gilliam said.

Other cuts eyed

Wednesday afternoon’s discussion will be led by Elgin Chief Financial Officer Colleen Lavery and will go into further detail for the city’s general, riverboat and Tax Increment Financing funds.

The proposed $268 million budget is about 17 percent less than the $323 million peak the city hit in 2007, prior to the recession, and 5.7 percent less than the current budget.

The “balanced approach” calls for a combined $2.8 million in general fund cuts and $2 million in cuts to the riverboat fund. It includes cutting 12 to 15 full-time staff and having the Hemmens Cultural Center operate purely as a rental facility for 2012.

The plan also would set the city’s annual property tax levy at $4.2 million. The city also would charge $18 a month for garbage pickup to help close the deficit and to fund a replacement 911 system estimated to cost $12 million to $14 million. Those living in areas where leaves are raked into the street for pickup would be charged about $24 a year at $2 per month on their water bills to pay for that service. The city no longer would provide leaf bags, which residents would have to buy themselves.

Elgin’s portion of retail sales tax would go from 0.75 percent to 1.25 percent, with that money earmarked for street and sewer projects.

Elgin residents wishing to have their views heard on the proposed budget are invited to attend a meeting from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Heritage Ballroom at The Centre downtown. Those wishing to view the proposed budget may find it online through a link on the city’s homepage, www.cityofelgin.org.