The City of Evanston’s 2011 budget, which will go into effect this March when the city adopts a new calendar year budget schedule, decreased by more than $33 million from the 2010 budget.
The 2011 budget is only in effect for 10 months because the city is transitioning to a calendar year budget rather than a fiscal year budget. The budget will begin in March and last through Dec. 31. After that, it will span January 1 to Dec. 31. City officials made the switch so approval of the year’s property tax rate coincides with approval of the yearly budget. Before the transition, the city had to approve the property tax before the budget.
The 2011 budget sees cuts to the general, emergency telephone, police pension and motor fuel funds. The general fund decreased by about $8 million this year, while the police pension and motor fuel funds decreased by about 35 percent. The emergency telephone fund decreased by 65 percent.
“We’ve been fortunate to make small adjustments that added up to larger numbers,” Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said.
The city did not increase property tax for the third year in a row, but it did increase the electric utility tax and other taxes. The city made downward salary adjustments and cut off merit increases for some employees.
“We cut our way out of budget problems not relying on fees or taxes,” Bobkiewicz said
The city also cut funding for the Evanston Public Library branches on 2026 Central St. and 949 Chicago Ave. The funding will be cut off before the end of this year. The main branch of the library at 1703 Orrington Ave. will remain open.
The biggest cuts to the general fund were in the public works and community and economic development categories. Public works, including tree maintenance and upkeep efforts, were cut almost in half. Funding for non-profits and other economic development projects was cut by 28 percent, and the legal budget was cut by over 20 percent.
While every part of the budget was cut, the smallest decreases were in the police department and health categories.
The largest expenditures are in the police department, which makes up 28 percent of the total general fund, and community services, which includes the city parks and is 21 percent of the total fund.
The city’s goals for the 2011 budget included focusing on safety issues, an improvement to the efficiency and effectiveness of city services and increased partnership with Northwestern. The city recently launched a new, more transparent city website, and plans to to improve staffing, accountability and data collection at the civic center and police department.
To improve dialogue between NU and its neighbors, the city plans to promote economic development and community outreach partnerships between the city and the school.
The city also has plans to improve pedestrian safety by cracking down on driving while talking on a cell phone and enforcing cross-walk laws. The city also plans to partner with Chicago Transit Authority to make improvements to Evanston public transportation.
