With a $9.5 million deficit looming over a one-week deadline to finalize the city’s budget, Evanston aldermen decided the fate of several city positions at its Saturday budget workshop.
The Evanston City Council voted 7-2 to save two forestry positions while eliminating three jobs in community development and three in fleet services.
Several aldermen and citizen commenters questioned terminating the community development cuts, especially the structural inspector position. They said the structural inspector has a unique skills set that will be needed with the upcoming influx of work stemming from an $18 million grant the city recently received to develop foreclosed buildings.
“When I’ve got people with roaches and toilets that don’t flush and roofs that are leaking, I don’t want those inspectors out looking at some McMansion’s driveway; that’s for sure,” Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) said.
Community Development Director Lehman Walker said there’s been a significant decline in development activity over the past few years, with a 15 to 20 percent decrease in permits since the 2006-07 fiscal year.
“We don’t require that level of staffing in order to continue to provide the services that we currently have,” Walker said. “The development activity as it currently exists does not warrant the staffing levels in those particular areas.”
The council also decided in a 5-4 vote to eliminate a proposed 5 percent cut to all managerial salaries, a $150,000 item. To maintain a balance, the aldermen voted unanimously to add a fifth furlough day for all city employees-excluding life-safety positions-which saves $180,000. Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) said this is not excessive because other cities have double or triple the amount of unpaid vacation days.
After more than an hour of debate, the council voted 5-4 to forego cutting the branch libraries for at least the next six months. Some of the aldermen said they were disappointed the library board showed no flexibility in using endowment funds to cover the cost of operations.
“All of it’s so contradictory; that’s where my frustration is,” Ald. Coleen Burrus (9th) said. “If they’re convinced they’re going to raise the funds they need, why don’t they use endowment funds to help support the branches over the six months? And then after the six months when they’ve raised the funds, they can replenish the endowment for that exact amount that they’ve used.”
Rainey showed concern on several issues, including the possibility of school resource officers being outsourced to the school districts. City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said both districts orally confirmed to take on the cost.
The council voted unanimously that if school districts failed to find the funds to pay for the police officers, it would not supply them.
Bobkiewicz also asked the council to give him a “short leash” of 60 days in order to iron out financial details that are difficult to predict at this point in the year.
“We have to look practically at moving forward at the beginning of budget year but also understand that there are a few things that are not under our total control,” he said.
At that point he said he’ll propose additional reductions, if necessary.
The council plans to finalize its next budget tonight at 7 p.m. at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.[email protected]
