City of Evanston Blog
City Council Actions on February 3, 2010
The City Council met again this evening to continue work on the budget. While the Council took no final actions, the Council decided the following through preliminary votes:
1. Amended its previous decision on the fate of the branch libraries by allowing them to remain open through August 31, 2010 to allow time for community supporters to develop alternate funding plans for their operation.
2. Restored proposed reduction in Fire Department overtime.
3. Restored $50,000 in funding to the Evanston Community Media Center. ECMC has agreed to develop additional programming for the City under the agreement to restore some funds.
4. Restored $100,000 to the Community Purchased Service account that funds non-profit youth and mental health organizations.
5. Eliminated further reduction of hours at Main Library restoring hours to pre-December, 2009 times.
6. Eliminated some of the proposed staff reductions at Fleetwood Jourdain, Levy Center, Robert Crown Center and Forestry Division.
With these actions, the City Council has crafted a funding strategy to balance the budget’s $9.5 million deficit using only on-going revenue and expenditure adjustments as well as no new taxes. The budget also sets aside approximately $400,000 to replenish the City’s reserves. The City Council is scheduled to take final action on the budget Monday February 8, 2010.
How did any of those actions balance the budget? They all restored funding to things that were previously proposed to be cut.
February 4, 2010 2:31 PM