City 2007-08 budget proposal addresses $million structural gap
1/2/2007 - Last Friday, Evanston City Manager Julia A. Carroll submitted a balanced 2007-08 budget to City Council members for their consideration. The proposed budget calls for the restructuring of municipal government and prioritization of services to help close the $2.5-4 million gap that City officials grapple with annually.
City staff recommends the changes as the beginning of a multi-year effort to resolve the structural issues of the budget. The budget adopted by City Council will go into effect March 1, 2007, and end February 29, 2008, and sets the City’s operating goals and service priorities for the fiscal year.
In addition to the changes in structure and services, the proposed budget calls for a 5.5 percent increase to the City’s portion of the property tax. According to Carroll, the increase reflects the amount necessary to fund employee pensions, retire outstanding debt and pay for vital services with one labor contract negotiation pending.
Of the increase, only $495,510 is going to fund recreation, library and other General Fund services. This revenue increase represents only half of one percent of the total General Fund budget.
One of the major service changes to Evanston government that the budget proposes is the outsourcing of clinical services provided by the Health Division. City Council members have long identified these services as areas where partnerships with local hospitals and organizations can benefit Evanston taxpayers.
“One of the strengths of this community is its amazing number of resources,” Carroll said. “Building cooperative reciprocal partnerships with our local organizations and institutions is not only a goal of our strategic plan but just plain good business practice,” she said.
According to the proposed budget, health services such as flu shots, clinics, school physicals, immunizations, home visit program, and HIV/AIDS counseling services will be taken over by either of the local hospitals, Planned Parenthood, or other organizations by June 30, 2007. Lab services for beach testing will be transferred to the laboratory at the City’s Water Department.
These changes will reduce the City’s workforce by over 10 full-time equivalent positions and reduce costs in the budget initially by $461,000, with a permanent reduction in costs of $863,000 seen in fiscal year 2008-09.
The Health Division will continue to provide birth and death certificates, Children’s Dental Clinic, Food and Environmental Health Services, Commission on Aging, Mental Health Board and Community Intervention Services.
Two consolidations are also proposed, calling for the elimination of the Human Relations and Facilities Management Departments. The City will provide the Human Relations Department’s functions and services, including the Summer Youth Employment Program, Landlord Tenant Ordinance enforcement, etc., through other departments. The result includes the elimination of two full time employees in the current Human Relations Department, including the department director.
Facilities Management will become a new division of the Public Works Department, eliminating the department director position.
The proposed budget offers the elimination of over 16 other full-time equivalent positions throughout the organization and the consolidation of divisions such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Information Systems (IS).
Carroll said, “This is truly a situation where fewer people will be doing the work. While we will try to continue to give excellent customer service, these changes may result in slightly longer response times for certain tasks.”
In order to staff priorities related to the City Manager and Council direction, the budget proposal recommends adding 9.5 full-time equivalent new positions, including a full-time Emergency Preparedness Manager, Youth Coordinator, Sustainable Programs Coordinator, Information Technology Project Specialist, Plan Reviewer, Service Desk Officer, Civil Engineer, Plumbing Inspector, and increasing two part-time positions at the library to full-time and also adding one part-time position.
According to Carroll, the new positions were either determined to be essential in meeting City priorities or are cost neutral through grants or additional fees to pay for them.
A few program changes are up for City Council consideration. One program will change the recycling charge to a sanitation charge and increase the fee to five dollars per month per household. The total revenue from the program will increase to one million dollars, covering 25 percent of the City’s total cost of refuse and recycling.
A new yard waste sticker program is also on deck. The program will encourage composting and deter the cost of sending yard waste to the landfill, defraying the cost of the yard waste services program by $90,000.
The proposed budget recommends an increase to the ambulance fee from $300 to $350 for residents and from $400 to $450 for non-residents.
The City has already implemented a pharmacy benefit carve-out for its employees projected to save $300,000. City Council will soon consider an early retirement incentive program that staff believes will allow for further opportunities to correct the structural gap.
To prepare the budget, City staff examined every service and reviewed personnel positions in every department to ensure alignment between the use of resources, the Strategic Plan and the priorities of City Council.
Budget meetings are scheduled throughout January and February for City Council members to discuss budget specifics. Check the City’s web site for more information. All budget meetings are broadcast live on Cable Channel 16.