Debates over taxes and city spending continued Monday night at one of the last budget workshops before the Feb. 28 deadline.
Aldermen, staff and residents gathered at the public forum to discuss various topics, including a tentative new pledge from Northwestern administrators to contribute $100,000 to the city’s salt dome.
The gathering – part of a continuing series of public meetings concerning the new budget for the city of Evanston – began with citizen comment, where residents voiced their concerns regarding various proposals from the previous meeting.
“The budget director is not responsible,” said resident Junad Rizki, addressing the council. “You’re supposed to show the leadership for the future.”
Rizki, a former aldermanic candidate, brought his trademark stuffed pig to the meeting, a prop he has used in the past to represent what he perceives as the council’s wasteful spending.
Others in the crowd had kinder words for the council.
Gerald Gordon, who said he has been coming to budget meetings for many years to listen and offer suggestions, praised the council and Finance Director Martin Lyons for coming up with a budget proposition that did not raise the property tax. He said it was the first time in years he had seen a budget proposal that did not raise taxes.
Mayor Lorraine Morton said she appreciated the support.
“I’m just so delighted that at last a citizen would come up and pay a compliment,” Morton said.
Then the council took up the debate.
The aldermen discussed the budget’s proposed 1 percent increase to the athletic events tax, which would generate $50,000 from NU. Lyons said this would increase the tax rate on tickets, which hasn’t been raised since 1986. He noted the revenue was also dependent on the number of tickets sold and the price of the tickets.
“It’s interesting that we can’t raise the rate, but they can raise the price of the tickets,” Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) said. “We benefit either way. Can you encourage them to raise the price of tickets?”
Since the last budget meeting, the city has worked out a tentative deal in which NU would pay $100,000 for work on the city’s salt dome. If this plan goes through, the athletic events fee would not be increased.
“What I wanted was for them to contribute in some way,” said Ald. Elizabeth Tisdahl (7th), who is running for mayor in April’s election. “I don’t care if it’s the athletic tax or the salt dome.”
Ald. Cheryl Wollin (1st), who has spoken to NU representatives, said she was in strong support of the new idea.
“I think it’s a much better way to do this than the athletic tax, which can also depend on how good the team is,” she said.
Another topic was the amount of money to be spent on training for city employees. Of particular concern to some aldermen was a city “book club” in which employees read a book about leadership, purchased for them by the city, and then discussed the leadership lessons learned in a forum.
Rainey and Ald. Anjana Hansen (9th) said they thought that this was not an appropriate use of company time for a city government.
Others supported the program.
“There are a number of municipalities around the country that have used (book clubs),” Interim City Manager Rolanda Russell said. “It’s a really inexpensive way to (train).”
