Instead of passing a proposed $1.26 million annual budget for the township of Evanston on June 27, Evanston City Council members asked their attorney to study how they might dissolve the smaller governing body.
The City of Evanston and the township share borders but differ greatly in the scale of their responsibilities, said Eric Palmer, community information coordinator for the city. The township consists of only three employees - a supervisor, an assessor and a deputy assessor. Evanston aldermen serve as township trustees and are responsible for approving the township’s budget.
In order to comply with a state law requiring some budget to be in place by June 30, the council voted approved proposed spending levels for the next 90 days. But Ald. Jane Grover (7th) urged City Attorney Grant Farrar to report as soon as possible on the feasibility of the township’s elimination.
“As we parse through the township’s proposed budget tonight, I’d like us to think even bigger,” Grover said. “Can some other entity provide those services?”
Some services the township provides, such as assistance with property tax appeals, are already available through the city, the Levy Senior Center and other agencies, Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) said. In addition, some of the expenses listed in the budget proposal, such as a $1,500 fee for payroll processing, seem extravagant, she said.
City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said the city may be able to include township employees in its payroll processing in the future, which would likely save the township hundreds of dollars. He will work with township officials to find more ways to cut costs, he said.
Ald. Delores Holmes (5th) particularly objected to a proposed $10,000 increase in Deputy Assessor Nick Pavletic’s salary, from $45,000 to $55,000. City employees’ salaries increased by only four percent this year, and it would be unfair to raise Paveltic’s more, Holmes said. She proposed changing his salary to $46,800, but the vote failed 6-3.
Ald. Coleen Burrus (9th) said she voted against the smaller salary increase because Paveltic is one of the few Evanston officials about whom she has received positive phone calls. Payment should be based on merit, and the proposed salary for Paveltic reflects his worth, she said.
But Rainey, who voted for Holmes’ proposal, said the township will eventually have to make tough budget choices that may include cutting an employee.
“I know, I know, they’re so wonderful, and everybody loves them, et cetera,” Rainey said. “But we are in desperate times.”
Township Assessor Bonnie Wilson, Paveltic’s boss, said the 90-day budget extension will allow her office to complete its duties. She is not concerned that the township’s trustees might dissolve it because that would involve a complicated legal process that could take years, she said.
“They can’t just do it overnight,” she said.
Farrar said he will have an answer for the aldermen by the time the 90-day budget extension expires.
