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HomeMy WebLinkAbout19 - October 14, 2009 (Budget) COW SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING October 14, 2009 The regular Committee of the Whole meeting was called to order by Mayor Schock at 1:10 p.m. in the Hawthorne Hill Nature Center, located at 28 Brookside Drive, in Elgin. Present: Councilmembers Dunne, Gilliam, Kaptain, Prigge, Steffen, Warren, and Mayor Schock. Absent: None. City Manager Stegall and Fiscal Services Group Director Nowicki gave a joint presentation covering the following topics: • Opening Remarks • Basic Budget Primer • Financial Ratios • Update on 2009 General Fund Revenues • Update on 2009 General Fund Expenditures and Summary • Riverboat Gaming and Admissions Tax • 2010 Forecasts and the Next Steps in the City’s Financial Future Opening Remarks City Manager Stegall stated that the City of Elgin has prepared itself well for the current financial stress it now finds itself under due to the current downturn in the economy. He stressed the importance of remaining committed to the City’s long-range financial plan which has allowed Elgin to improve and redefine itself using the examples of Festival Park, River Park Place, Downtown Re-development, Historic Home Restoration, and new Residential Development. He urged the Council to continue to embrace innovation and new ideas that may be presented to them in the future, as well as continue to have the courage to remain committed to the long-range financial goals of the City. He stated that the City needs to understand our “competitive set” and develop strategies around this knowledge in order to move forward with Elgin’s future and continue to grow as a community. City Manager Stegall believes that communities will fall into the following three categories in regards to the country’s economic downturn and how they react to it: • Some communities will not recognize that the world has changed and as a result do nothing. • Many, if not most, communities will recognize that the world has changed - yet they will fail to act. Or if they do act, it will be reactionary. • A few communities will not only acknowledge that the world has changed; they will embrace it, learn from it and create numerous opportunities for the future. Committee of the Whole October 14, 2009 Page 2 City Manager Stegall stated that the City of Elgin should have an “us vs. them” mentality. Other communities typically take a reactionary, year-by-year budgetary approach, and have not committed to long term financial planning. As a result these communities will be ill-equipped to benefit from any opportunities that come their way in the form of new businesses and financial opportunities. He stated that the City of Elgin has benefitted from this in the past and urged the Council to have the courage to continue to plan for Elgin’s future by remaining committed to its long-term financial plan. Basic Budget Primer Fiscal Services Group Director Nowicki stated he felt it was important to give the Council an overview of the budget and the budget process because of the addition of newly elected Councilmembers. He explained that the City’s budget is a plan that balances the resources drawn from the public against the demand for services and projects. He stated that the budget is not primarily a financial document, but a policy document that is driven by numbers. He explained that the budget is a statement of priorities, and a reflection of the community’s desires, wants, and needs. He believes that the City’s budget process is a year long process that involves the following: policy/strategy formulation by the City Council, analysis of the City’s financial capacity, needs assessment, review and development of budget requests, budget preparation by Staff and adoption by the City Council. Councilmember Dunne questioned why this informational budget meeting for the benefit of the new Councilmembers wasn’t scheduled sooner. City Manager Stegall stated that this meeting is about educating the Councilmembers so that they will be better prepared to answer the questions that may be put to them by their constituents. He also felt that during his one-on-one meetings which occurred earlier in the year with each of the newly elected and existing Councilmembers, that he had explained what the City’s goals were, and it was his hope that the Councilmembers wouldn’t split from those existing goals. Financial Ratios City Manager Stegall stated the City uses financial ratios to give the City an idea of how best to proceed going forward. The ratios allow the City to compare, over a three year period, how the City stacks up against other communities both regionally and based upon population. He explained to the Council that the following factors are used when analyzing financial ratios so that the City is comparing apples to apples or like to like. Those factors were listed as: who, what, when, and why. He informed the Council that the same company the City had hired to conduct an analysis of the City’s development review process, Sikich LLC, had compiled the ratio data at no cost to the City. Councilmember Dunne asked why Sikich LLC had been used to consult on the budget process when the City had found their analysis of the City’s development review process to be so flawed. City Manager Stegall stated that he found the Sikich LLC review to be excellent and he hasn’t heard any negative comments regarding it from the development community. Committee of the Whole October 14, 2009 Page 3 Mayor Schock agreed with City Manager Stegall that he had only heard positive comments from both the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce and the development community about the analysis. He believes that the company did a fine job with its review of the City’s development process. He attended all of the meetings where the review was presented and stated he had heard nothing but positive comments regarding it. Councilmember Dunne also questioned why the report from Sikich LLC hadn’t been implemented if the report was as on target and positively received as stated. Mayor Schock stated that the report was separated into two different sections: immediate actions and long-term implementation which will be spaced out over several years. He believed that all of the items to be immediately addressed had been implemented already and that there are plans for the long term attack outlined in their review. Councilmember Kaptain stated that he found the report by Sikich LLC to be valuable. Councilmember Kaptain commented that he would find it helpful if Staff could provide a list of prioritized goals that were discussed previously by the Council at earlier budget meetings. He feels that it would be helpful for new Councilmembers to have the top 10 prioritized goals listed for them at the next budget meeting. Also, Councilmember Kaptain requested a comparison of financial ratios between the City of Elgin and the City of Aurora due to the following factors: similarity in size, demographics, and the fact that they also have a riverboat. Councilmember Steffen seconded Councilmember Kaptain’s request for the goals and would like to see the addition of the policies and performance measures that have been previously established. City Manager Stegall stated that those items would be provided, along with additional comments and ideas that he and the Staff feel are important in the budget review process. Update on 2009 General Fund Revenues City Manager Stegall updated the Council regarding the most current 2009 General Fund Revenues and stated that the shortfall that was projected in July for the City’s budget should be less significant than initially expected. He stated that Elgin’s Sales Tax, Income Tax, and Interest Income revenues will all fall short of their projected budgets for 2009, however the losses will not be as sizeable as what was projected in the initial evaluation that was presented in July. Elgin’s Property Tax and State Use Tax was expected to be on budget for the year, with the Telecommunications Tax expected projections to be right at or just below budget for 2009. He also stated that even though the issue of building permits has decreased, the year end estimate for revenue generated through Permits, Licenses and Fines was expected to come in at $3.17 million. Councilmember Warren questioned if the Council should take a more conservative approach to the goals the Council will be setting. City Manager Stegall acknowledged that a more conservative approach is important, but stressed that being too conservative has potential pitfalls as well. He stated that this is one of the challenges of putting together a budget and that it is very difficult to project profits because of the economy and how people have reacted to it. He stated Committee of the Whole October 14, 2009 Page 4 that most people are now buying what they need versus what they want, and have tightened their household budgets. Councilmember Dunne asked what the total projected shortfall would be for 2009. City Manager Stegall answered that as of September this current year’s the shortfall is estimated to be between $1.7 to $2.2 million, which is significantly better than the initial $3.5 to $4.0 million that was projected in July. Councilmember Dunne asked if the City has the ability to project the assessed value of property and whether the budget should reflect a lower number to be more conservative. Fiscal Services Group Director Nowicki responded by stating that the City relies heavily on the numbers received by the township for its assessed property values. He stated he doesn’t like to speculate on the assessed property values because those numbers don’t take into account foreclosures or bankruptcies and there is the possibility of the county offsetting some of the negative impact. City Manager Stegall cautioned the Council about speculating on outside entities input into the City’s budget. He stated that money will flow to the community that is prepared for it. He encouraged the Council to be open to change so that Elgin could continue to promote business growth within the community. Update on 2009 General Fund Expenditures and General Fund Summary City Manager Stegall presented the Council with an update on the 2009 General Fund Expenditures. He stated that corrective action has been taken by the City to slim down operating expenses. He went on to say that a total of $9 million has been cut from the City’s expenditures without a significant disruption of services, however the long range impact from the reduction has not quite hit yet. In summary, City Manager Stegall stated if the current trend continues revenues will be under budget by $1.7 to $2.12 million versus the July projection of $3.50 million. He stated that the City has prepared for this and has General Fund Cash Reserves that total $14.1 million. He acknowledged that it will be necessary to use the Cash Reserves to offset the 2009 General Fund deficit, but a plan will need to be developed between Staff and Council to replenish the money within a flexible timeframe. He stated that during the 2010 budget process he expects to address the City’s revenue decline. Riverboat Gaming and Admissions Tax Update City Manager Stegall stated that currently the Riverboat Fund is $1.95 million under budget. The average budget shortfall has increased from 12% to 13.17% since July, and if it remains at 13.17% the City will be $2.55 million under budget by year end. If the current trend hits 15% the City will be $2.91 million below budget. He explained since the shortfall has been identified the City has stopped spending and curtailed projects that were being supported by this fund. Committee of the Whole October 14, 2009 Page 5 Councilmember Gilliam asked how the new Des Plaines riverboat may affect the City’s revenue from the Grand Victoria. Fiscal Services Group Director Nowicki stated that it is projected to bring the City’s revenue down by 30% and that the budget has already been adjusted to reflect that drop. Councilmember Gilliam questioned if other communities used their riverboat revenue in their General Fund. Fiscal Services Group Director Nowicki responded in the affirmative, but stated that the City of Elgin only uses it for Capital Projects, not for the General Fund. Mayor Schock commented that Aurora and Joliet are two communities who have used their riverboat money in their General Funds and are now trying to re-trench due to the overall decline in gambling statewide. Mayor Schock asked how much we would be receiving from the riverboat this year. Fiscal Services Group Director Nowicki stated that we would be receiving around $16 million. Councilmember Prigge questioned if Staff could ever imagine using riverboat funds in the General Fund and if not, what would have to happen for the City to consider using it in such a way. City Manager Stegall and Fiscal Services Group Director Nowicki did not recommend using the riverboat funds for the General Fund. City Manager Stegall stated that we are currently dealing with the most significant financial downturn in the economy since the Depression and in order for the City to consider using the riverboat funds in the General Fund it would have to be worse economically than this. Councilmember Steffen questioned how using the funds in this manner would affect the City’s bond rating. Fiscal Services Group Director Nowicki stated that it would decrease the City’s bond rating, but he was unclear as to how far it would drop. Councilmember Dunne inquired if we could cover the annual loss from the Centre of Elgin with riverboat funds versus raising citizen’s property taxes in this tough economy. Fiscal Services Group Director Nowicki stated that he felt the riverboat fund money was properly allocated to Capital Projects that help to improve the City overall. Councilmember Dunne stated that it was hard to justify to his constituents, many of whom are unemployed, that raising taxes was the appropriate action when the money is available to pay for the losses at the Centre with the Riverboat Fund. Councilmember Gilliam stated that there has been no discussion about raising taxes at all at this point and that the City is doing its best to ensure that it does not happen by cutting expenses internally. 2010 Forecasts and the Next Steps in the City’s Financial Future City Manager Stegall outlined in brief the 2010 Preliminary Budget Information. He stated that the City would continue to provide all core and essential public services to the best of its ability and that a tax increase would not be recommended. The City has done a comprehensive review of user-fees and has recently passed several ordinances updating those fees. He also stated that operational realignments could be discussed and implemented which would allow the City to adapt to changing circumstances. He stated that strategic planning would be discussed in future meetings with the Council as well. He also declared if nothing was done to correct the problems as far as the 2010 budget that the Council would be looking at a $4.0 to 5.0 million dollar budget shortfall. Committee of the Whole October 14, 2009 Page 6 However, the Council would be presented with a balanced budget on November 4, 2009. The balanced budget will highlight some of the service innovations that have already been put into place and also have recommendations regarding new ideas and concepts. He emphasized again that a property tax increase will not be part of the 2010 budget. Prior to that, on October 30, 2009, Council will be presented with a proposed budget and departmental budget decision packages which will be available on the Intranet and in hard copy for review. Following that, City Manager Stegall, announced the following schedule for the Budget: – 11/04/2009 City Council Budget Discussion – Special Meeting: 5:00 p.m. – 11/11/2009 City Council Budget Discussion – Special Meeting: 6:00 p.m. – 11/18/2009 City Council Budget Discussion – Special Meeting: 5:00 p.m. – 12/02/2009 City Council Budget Discussion – Special Meeting: 5:00 p.m. – 12/02/2009 Truth in Taxation Public Hearing: 7:00 p.m. – 12/16/2009 Public Hearing on Budget and Budget Adoption: 7:00 p.m. – 12/16/2009 Ordinance Adopting the Budget – 12/16/2009 Ordinance for the Levy and Assessment of Taxes – 12/21/2009 2010 Budget and 2010-2014 Financial Plan due to Kane County Councilmember Gilliam believes that City Manager Stegall is correct in that the City needs to continue moving forward with projects that are included in its long-term financial goals. The City cannot completely stop spending or it risks dying on the vine financially. Councilmember Prigge stated he would like to continue to fine tune the budget. He believes it’s important to remain responsive and receptive to questions from the community and its citizens. He would like to come up with sympathetic yet firm answers to the public’s questions regarding spending and projects that justifies the Council’s decisions so that he can respond appropriately to questions from the public. City Manager Stegall stated that he agrees that becoming educated regarding the City’s budget will help Council to answer citizen’s question. He also encouraged the Council to respond to the public regarding today’s financial issues that the Council is planning for the City’s future 10-30 years as well. Councilmember Dunne agreed that Councilmembers need to educate themselves regarding decisions made in the past in order to answer questions from the public in regard to today’s budgetary concerns, but in order to do that when requests for documents are submitted they need to be fulfilled as soon as possible by Staff. City Manager Stegall responded by saying that the last request by Councilmember Dunne was quite voluminous and has taken quite a while to compile the data that was requested. He also stated that service expectations have gone up and that Staff is currently swamped with compiling data for the current budget, but that his request for documentation was not being ignored or neglected, however it does require a significant amount of time to assemble. Committee of the Whole October 14, 2009 Page 7 Councilmember Kaptain stated that being too conservative would be inconvenient for Elgin’s citizens, but to be too lenient would be disastrous. He would like to see the City start looking toward the future and consider what would happen when the riverboat is no longer viable and decides to leave. Adjournment Councilmember Steffen made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Gilliam, to adjourn the meeting. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dunne, Gilliam, Kaptain, Prigge, Steffen, Warren, and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. The meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m. s/Jennifer Quinton November 4, 2009 Jennifer Quinton, Deputy City Clerk Date Approved