More than 40 Evanston officials and residents scribbled notes and listened at a sporadically contentious budget meeting Thursday night to address the city’s estimated $1.2 million deficit for fiscal year 2012.
The 90-minute gathering at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave., concluded a week-long effort to solicit public input on potential budget cuts with daily field visits to community locations. Billed as “Engage Evanston,” the suggestion campaign stopped off at city locales such as the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave., and the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave., where senior staffers met with interested citizens over two-hour periods.
The process also includes online options on Twitter, Facebook and through email to offer budget recommendations. City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz described Thursday’s forum as the in-person component of Engage Evanston.
He added that the input campaign marks a serious improvement in public outreach over last year’s sessions, when there was “not much substance to it as the community would have liked.”
“The organization we were in 2006-07 is not the organization we are today, ” Bobkiewicz said. “Certainly being faced with budget challenges is not something new to the City of Evanston.”
Nearly a dozen public commenters weighed in on these exact dilemmas, with the first few laying explicit blame on city government.
“We didn’t get here overnight,” Evanston resident Kevin O’Connor said. “Nothing happens in a vacuum.”
He added that the “past is a prologue” and if elected officials do not recognize prior missteps, the Evanston community is “going to have a hard time moving forward.”
Prior to O’Connor’s statements, Bobkiewicz outlined a broad portrait of the city’s economic forecast – one relying on a multitude of factors ranging from recreational program fees to pending state legislation that could dry up Evanston’s share of the Illinois income tax. Assuming 2 percent revenue growth entering 2012, Bobkiewicz emphasized two areas of dire assistance: public infrastructure and capital projects funded by city debt.
He specified that the city’s fleet services as well as its athletic facilities and parking lots are “all things that need attention.” Bobkiewicz said he does not fully object to funding such capital improvements with city debt, but a stricter ceiling must be considered. To accomplish this, he added he will request $2 million in cash per year from City Council.
On the current track, Evanston is facing a $1.2 million deficit in fiscal year 2012 and a $3.2 million deficit in fiscal year 2013, according to a slideshow presentation during the meeting.
But resolving those budget issues must be approached carefully, especially in a city where residents have not experienced a property tax hike in three years, Bobkiewicz said.
“Adding taxes is not the first step in solving our budget crisis,” he added.
Bobkiewicz continued to detail the ongoing fiscal procedure, which would culminate in advancing a balanced budget proposal to council members on Oct. 7. Prior to that final draft, though, he said he plans to draw community participation in vetting more than 60 city services through an elaborate evaluation system.
This methodology would involve assessing each service in categories such as opportunities for innovation and public demand, composing a service scorecard accounting for how that utility coincides with the city’s strategic plan and eventually presenting a prioritized list to City Council in August. Bobkiewicz estimated that enumerated list would be narrowed down to 30 to 40 services.
He also mentioned the city would be conducting a comparative study of how similar cities in Illinois and the United States – five of each – are handling budget crises. As meeting attendees began queuing up for the public comment section, it became clear this undertaking was a heated point.
“Studies after studies are done here,” said Junad Rizki, Evanston resident and Evanston Now cartoonist, “All studies add up to is a lot of money.”
O’Connor later added he doesn’t want to compare Evanston to a national city in a similar fiscal situation – he wants to compare Evanston to a solvent community.
Other criticism of the budget process fell squarely on what public speakers deemed wasteful spending and missed opportunities for economic development.
Rizki invoked Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl’s recent denial of a liquor license for a proposed Tilted Kilt as an economic fumble, while O’Connor asked whether securing 12 new union-backed positions for the city’s 311 call center was fiscally wise.
Yet for every condemnation of a city expenditure, there were legitimate recommendations to preserve various organizations and programs.
Glencoe resident Peggy Nelson shared that her daughter, on average, attends art classes at Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 900 Noyes St., four times a week. Because of her hometown’s distance from Evanston, she said she supports local businesses while her daughter is in class, and Evanston would thus lose a routine customer if arts funding was slashed.
“I frequent virtually every store on Noyes Street and downtown Evanston while my daughter is in these classes,” Nelson said.
Ald. Coleen Burrus (9th) subsequently praised Nelson’s comments, lightheartedly suggesting she should be awarded for being the meeting’s “best guest.”
Other budget advice encompassed a diverse gamut ranging from improving public transit to generating job growth through environmentally friendly technology.
Regardless of individual issues, though, residents all agreed about the need for continued public awareness of the budget process.
“All of us who are here need to keep spreading the word,” said Kate Mahoney, an Evanston resident who advocated for budget maintenance of mental health services.
Another meeting attendee echoed Mahoney’s assertion and said comprehensive publicity is not possible without Northwestern representatives and state legislators at the next budget session.
However, the meeting’s most notable moments veered from the Engage Evanston mission and focused on what some resident speakers viewed as an unresponsive city government.
When the public comment portion ended, Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) interjected, asking Bobkiewicz how city politicians can respond to issues raised by various citizens.
As an example, Rainey addressed a resident’s suggestion that the city lure big-box retailers like Sam’s Club and Costco, revealing that Evanston representatives have been in talks with Walmart for two months now. She said city officials have even met in person with the company’s senior vice president.
“So much we do and do well, and we don’t share that information,” Rainey said.
Evanston resident John Zbesko immediately returned to the public comment podium and countered that Rainey needs to “take ownership” for this lack of public communication.
“One of the things that’s very important is an honest relationship,” he said. “Be careful what you ask for.”
