Public weighs in on Elgin budget woes

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An Elgin resident raises questions about the refuse waste fee the city is considering for the 2012 budget, during a city budget public hearing Saturday morning at the Centre of Elgin. | Kevin D. Sherman~For Sun-Times Media

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Updated: May 9, 2012 10:01AM

ELGIN — Police, fire and dispatch services, arts and social services funding, employee pay and overtime — and even the condition of individual streets in Elgin — were top topics Saturday morning as residents came out to air their concerns about the proposed Elgin city budget.

Mayor David Kaptain asked those who sought to address the city council — five pages of names of people who signed up at the budget public hearing held at the Centre of Elgin — to offer the city solutions for the budget problems now facing the city, instead of merely airing individual grievances.

Many of those speakers asked the city to not give up on the arts or social services the city has historically funded through Grand Victoria riverboat income. Others, however, said they wanted core services placed before arts, and staff salaries cut before adding new taxes and fees to taxpayers.

The city is attempting to determine how to plug a $10 million to $13 million hole in its budget. The size of that hole ultimately will be based on what Elgin’s equalized assessed valuation (EAV) ends up being for the 2011 tax year — as determined by Kane and Cook county property assessments — payable in 2012, explained City Manager Sean Stegall.

One way city staff has proposed to close the gap between spending and income is to no longer use riverboat funds to aid social services programs, historical grant programs, two Pace bus programs, youth sports and historical home grants, city vehicle replacement or the senior citizen tax rebate program.

With that plan, city staff has proposed three different ways of addressing the budget — a “balanced” approach that combines cuts in spending and increased revenue; a revenue-only plan that increases fees while not reducing expenditures; and an expenditure-only plan that cuts 110 full-time city employees, two fire stations, 20 police officers, snowplowing routes, code enforcement, and the Centre of Elgin, community pools, Hemmens Cultural Center and other cultural and activity centers.

Those alternatives, said resident Jeff Meyer, are “tax, tax light and Armageddon.”

For some social service organizations that have relied on funding from the city through riverboat funds, cuts in city funding could mean Armageddon for them.

Social service pleas

“I … bring solutions. I believe the Boys & Girls Club are a solution,” said Rose Reinert, executive director of that organization. “We are a critical partner with the Elgin Police Department,” serving 1,100 young people and giving children places to go after school when they might otherwise be sitting home alone — or on the streets without supervision, Reinert said.

Public Action to Delivery Shelter (PADS) case worker Kathy Oswalt also lamented what the cuts would mean to that agency, noting that 425 men, women and families including children seek emergency shelter there every year. Several nights in recent days, 33 percent of PADS’ overnight guest have been families who have lost their homes, Oswalt said. With other funding sources cut, she said, PADS already has cut 15 percent of its budget and city funding amounts to another 5 percent overall.

Instead of funding social service agencies outright, Kaptain said, the city is looking at creating a $150,000 pool for grant funding for which agencies must compete.

Other speakers, however, said core services must come first, and they criticized the amount budgeted for overtime and staff pay.

Resident Chuck Keysor read off pay amounts for Elgin officials as compared to national averages for similar positions — amounts that created many gasps from those in the audience.

Stegall, however, defended those salaries as being competitive in this region’s market.

The city must finalize its budget by the year’s end, Kaptain said, and he asked residents with more questions or ideas to contact the city council by phone or email.

“We will create a budget that we all can live with while meeting needs in the community and while still providing services,” Kaptain said.

Kaptain estimated that about 200 people attended the hearing, which lasted from 9 to about 11:30 a.m. Although the session evoked critical comments, it also was appreciated by at least some who attended.

“We have been so thankful that the city of Elgin has been such a great supporter of the club,” Reinert said afterward. “We were happy to hear all the support of the club today. The council has a tough job, and I am thankful that they welcomed the community into the process.”