At the last work session concerning the City budget at the end of June, the budget as it stood after all the adjustments made during the weeks of hearings was presented. Mayor Soliman then followed with questions of the council members regarding their opinions on various budget issues. The final budget was approximately $300,000 in deficit even after every fix was made.
The Mayor kicked off the questions by asking each Council member individually if they would support increasing the utility tax on electricity and natural gas or the sales tax. The City Administrator and the Mayor discussed the rates in surrounding communities to justify that Crest Hill is below average in taxes and should catch up. The majority of Council members supported doubling the utility tax to bring in a little of $100,000 of additional revenue annually. This will be enacted in the near future since the Mayor got the support he needed to raise it. The Council was also open to raising the sales tax, but recognized that it would be years before any additional revenue would be seen, since the tax would need to be approved by the voters and they would need to do a long educational campaign before there would be any chance of getting it passed at referendum.
The Mayor then asked each member if they were comfortable with the budget being in deficit as it stood. A number were comfortable with it either because they felt that it was the best that could be done under the current circumstances, felt that a great effort had been made and it was much better than it could have been, or recognized that a large part of the deficit is due to one time costs due to switching insurance. Others were uncomfortable with it, but were challenged by the Mayor and council members who pointed out that there had already been weeks of discussion and that a budget had to get passed. There seemed to be an attitude of this is the best that we could come up with so everyone should be comfortable with it.
The final question each alderman was asked was if they had any ideas to fix the budget. A number of members advocated tightening on small expenses such as costs of conferences, the purchasing coffee and disposable cups for City Hall, and the Mayor's gas and petty cash expenditures. These items would not make a huge dent in the budget, but were looked at as every penny counts and making sure the Council was feeling some of the pain as well as the city staff. Alderman Sternisha spoke on some of the suggestions he has made to the Council early on in the hearings regarding freezing salaries and not hiring more employees, but he did not have the whole list because the Council had not been expecting this line of questioning at this particular budget hearing. Alderman Convery for some reason decided to attack Sternihsa's suggestion of not hiring more employees and kept asking him to be specific as to who not to hire. Convery did not seem to grasp the idea that not hiring any additional employees did not mean to firing recently hired employees, but instead meant that from that point forward not hiring any more. The Treasurer also spoke on some of his ideas for furlough days for city employees and creating an annual business license as opposed to the current license that is good forever. He was pointing out that Menard's paid $25 for a business license that is good forever, while many households pay more than that each year just to get city vehicle stickers. The City Clerk got quite upset at this since her office would have to issue the permits and she had not been consulted.
The Mayor gave everyone an insight into his thinking just in the order of the questions and how he presented them. His first thought was to raise taxes, then to gauge comfort with being in deficit, and lastly to looking for other solutions. This city needs leadership who put finding solutions and alternatives first and put raising taxes as last resort. Unfortunately, Mayor Soliman looks to our pocketbooks first and makes it clear that higher taxes come before all else.
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Looking to the Future
The Crest Hill City Council has still not balanced the current budget, however that has not stopped them from committing to spending money out of future budgets. They apparently feel that it is better to try to bust future budgets instead of fixing the current one.
This is topped off by the fact that the expenditure was for landscaping the medians at the intersection of Weber and Renwick roads at at cost of $20,000 - 30,000. Both of these are county roads, but the county has the sense not to pay such a high cost for landscaping in the middle of a roadway. Romeoville is paying a similar amount to landscape their half of the intersection though and a number of Crest Hill officials did not want our half to not match theirs. So the taxpayers will be stuck paying to keep up with our neighboring community and rejecting the county's offer to pave the median like they have elsewhere around the county.
The only council member to question this expenditure was Alderman Sternisha, who was quickly shot down by another alderman who saw no problem spending future year's money since it did not impact the budget they were currently looking at. Alderman Convery also brought up the need to beautify this gateway to the city. However, if we are looking to beautify I can think of many other places to do work at a lower cost. For example, a number of commercial property owners in this city have decided that mowing is unnecessary. It would cost the city far less to enforce its weed ordinance and would go a long way to make our commercial properties attractive to developers and businesses.
If we really want to make this an attractive community; lets balance our budget, have property owners along our main thoroughfares clean up their properties, look for less expensive ways to enhance all of our entrances, and not commit future funds unless future revenue sources have been identified.
I am all for planning for tomorrow, but those plans should not be how to create future deficits to add to the one we are currently facing.
This is topped off by the fact that the expenditure was for landscaping the medians at the intersection of Weber and Renwick roads at at cost of $20,000 - 30,000. Both of these are county roads, but the county has the sense not to pay such a high cost for landscaping in the middle of a roadway. Romeoville is paying a similar amount to landscape their half of the intersection though and a number of Crest Hill officials did not want our half to not match theirs. So the taxpayers will be stuck paying to keep up with our neighboring community and rejecting the county's offer to pave the median like they have elsewhere around the county.
The only council member to question this expenditure was Alderman Sternisha, who was quickly shot down by another alderman who saw no problem spending future year's money since it did not impact the budget they were currently looking at. Alderman Convery also brought up the need to beautify this gateway to the city. However, if we are looking to beautify I can think of many other places to do work at a lower cost. For example, a number of commercial property owners in this city have decided that mowing is unnecessary. It would cost the city far less to enforce its weed ordinance and would go a long way to make our commercial properties attractive to developers and businesses.
If we really want to make this an attractive community; lets balance our budget, have property owners along our main thoroughfares clean up their properties, look for less expensive ways to enhance all of our entrances, and not commit future funds unless future revenue sources have been identified.
I am all for planning for tomorrow, but those plans should not be how to create future deficits to add to the one we are currently facing.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Crest Hill Budget Hearings Update
The budget hearings these past two nights have been pretty routine, with the tough discussions being put on hold until Tuesday, June 8th. So far most of the presentations have focused on numbers that are being held pretty close to last year's budget with only a few notable exceptions. The real excitement was at the end of Wednesday night's meeting as the Mayor brought up issues related to the city website.
The only two areas of the budget to see large increases have been Health and Life Insurance Costs and Legal Fees. The insurance costs are understandable in this environment, however there has been virtually no discussion related to these significant cost increases or ways to address and manage them. The increase in legal fees in related to the upcoming contract negotiations with the various city unions. The city is expecting these negotiations to be potentially costly.
The lack of any increases in salaries and wages in most departments is also of note. It is not yet clear if they city is actually expecting to freeze all salaries and wages for the coming year or if this is just a starting point. Whenever these matters come up during the hearings, the Council has been asked to save the discussion until Tuesday, June 8th. It would seem that this is going to be a major issue since the budget is almost a half million dollars in a deficit with these items frozen, so any increases would only worsen the problem. It appears that the only department with an increase in wages or salaries budgeted is Economic Development.
The first two hearings were very informative, however I was the only person in the audience both nights. I would strongly encourage others to show up, especially as the hearings move into the Council having to make hard choices and further discuss how to resolve our financial situation. The City Administrator has been very gracious to provide me with a copy of the budget to follow along with the presentations, so this year's hearings have been much easier to understand than in previous years. Also, the Mayor has a history of asking for opinions and thoughts from the audience. So if you would like the chance to possibly be heard or to at least better understand the City's finances, come at 7 PM on Tuesday, June 8th to City Hall.
While the budget itself may not always be the most interesting topic, the Council has been having updates and discussion on other matters as well at the end of each meeting. These discussions have been quite heated and show the divide between the Mayor, Council members, and other elected officials. While the topics may not be of the greatest importance, it is a valuable opportunity to see how the Council works together and how they act when not on camera.
The only two areas of the budget to see large increases have been Health and Life Insurance Costs and Legal Fees. The insurance costs are understandable in this environment, however there has been virtually no discussion related to these significant cost increases or ways to address and manage them. The increase in legal fees in related to the upcoming contract negotiations with the various city unions. The city is expecting these negotiations to be potentially costly.
The lack of any increases in salaries and wages in most departments is also of note. It is not yet clear if they city is actually expecting to freeze all salaries and wages for the coming year or if this is just a starting point. Whenever these matters come up during the hearings, the Council has been asked to save the discussion until Tuesday, June 8th. It would seem that this is going to be a major issue since the budget is almost a half million dollars in a deficit with these items frozen, so any increases would only worsen the problem. It appears that the only department with an increase in wages or salaries budgeted is Economic Development.
The first two hearings were very informative, however I was the only person in the audience both nights. I would strongly encourage others to show up, especially as the hearings move into the Council having to make hard choices and further discuss how to resolve our financial situation. The City Administrator has been very gracious to provide me with a copy of the budget to follow along with the presentations, so this year's hearings have been much easier to understand than in previous years. Also, the Mayor has a history of asking for opinions and thoughts from the audience. So if you would like the chance to possibly be heard or to at least better understand the City's finances, come at 7 PM on Tuesday, June 8th to City Hall.
While the budget itself may not always be the most interesting topic, the Council has been having updates and discussion on other matters as well at the end of each meeting. These discussions have been quite heated and show the divide between the Mayor, Council members, and other elected officials. While the topics may not be of the greatest importance, it is a valuable opportunity to see how the Council works together and how they act when not on camera.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Still Waiting for a Plan
The City has begun some improvements to the water and sewer systems. Smoke testing of the sewers has been done and further analysis is scheduled. Cora Street is under construction and other improvements have been begun. What has not happened however is a plan has not been presented. Over a year after our water and sewer rates were increased, there is still no detailed Capital Improvements Plan for the water and sewer system improvements.
This plan should include lists of projects to be completed each year for the next 10 to 20 years, both new infrastructure as well as major improvements to existing infrastructure. Also the source of funding for these projects should be identified for each year. This type of plan allows the city to balance its expected revenue against its expected needs and then plan the work over a longer time frame. Major maintenance items are budgeted for so that they are not surprise costs when things break down from age and potential shortfalls are known about years in advance.
Most cities have these types of plans for all capital spending, such as roads, buildings, water systems, storm and sanitary sewers, and even vehicles. They are valuable tools for ensuring the long term financial health of a city and the most efficient use of city funds through planning. I do not expect that Crest Hill implement Capital Improvement Plans for all aspects of the city immediately, although it would be a good thing and should have been in place already. I do feel though that after putting in place steep rate increases on top of automatic annual increases, that exceed inflation, they should have such a plan for the water and sewer systems. Continuing to use pay-as-you-go does not serve the best interests of the citizens of Crest Hill.
We deserve better, we deserve well planned improvements to bring our water and sewer systems, we deserve to have our money used wisely and efficiently. I just want to know when we will get what we deserve. I want a plan that is more than just raising our rates. I want a plan that is fixing our problems and letting everyone know what our money is being used for.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Almost $2.2 Million Vanished
On Monday, April 28th, an employee of the Treasurer's Office stated to the City Council that the City of Crest Hill had no reserve funds left. She repeated that it was all gone.
According to the Treasurer's Annual Report, had a cash fund balance of $2,191,273.03 on April 30, 2007. This report was published in the Herald News on October 19, 2007.
The city was budgeted to spend $1.1 million of the reserved during this past year. However, based upon the statements from the April 28th Council Work Session, it is clear that the deficit was twice what was budgeted. This is most likely the reason why the Treasurer's Office has refused to give projections for the entire fiscal year, which just ended.
The news is not going to get better by delaying it. I fear that the reason for the delay is that the news may be even worse than this. Has the City dipped into other funds to pay for general operating expenses? Have our increased water and sewer bills been going to fund other departments? Is this why the city refuses to release a capital plan outlining how the new water and sewer revenue is going to be spent?
These questions cannot be answered because the financial information is being kept secret, even from City Council members. It is time to shine some light on the financial situation of Crest Hill. Nothing positive can come from keeping everyone in the dark.
According to the Treasurer's Annual Report, had a cash fund balance of $2,191,273.03 on April 30, 2007. This report was published in the Herald News on October 19, 2007.
The city was budgeted to spend $1.1 million of the reserved during this past year. However, based upon the statements from the April 28th Council Work Session, it is clear that the deficit was twice what was budgeted. This is most likely the reason why the Treasurer's Office has refused to give projections for the entire fiscal year, which just ended.
The news is not going to get better by delaying it. I fear that the reason for the delay is that the news may be even worse than this. Has the City dipped into other funds to pay for general operating expenses? Have our increased water and sewer bills been going to fund other departments? Is this why the city refuses to release a capital plan outlining how the new water and sewer revenue is going to be spent?
These questions cannot be answered because the financial information is being kept secret, even from City Council members. It is time to shine some light on the financial situation of Crest Hill. Nothing positive can come from keeping everyone in the dark.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Digging a Deeper Hole
The City of Crest Hill keeps digging the hole deeper. The budget for the fiscal year ending in two days was $1.1 million dollars in the red. After a year of looking for ways to cut costs and increase revenues, the city is now considering a proposed budget that is $800,000 in the hole. While this is an improvement, it is far from good enough. According to an employee of the Treasurer's office, the city has no reserve funds left. This means that if the budget is not balanced the city will be broke. The time for action is long passed, but the Council seems reluctant to take action.
It is hard to understand why the same council that raised water and sewer rates without a plan of how to use the money, would not be willing to have a balanced city budget. The general fund budget leaves much to be desired in that sufficient explanation was not offered as to why many lines were increased by several hundred percent over what was budgeted for the past fiscal year and what was actually spent this past year. But, it is a plan which is more than can be said of the still non-existent capital plan for the water and sewer systems.
The time has come to insist that our elected officials pass a balanced budget, that all city departments and employees reduce city spending, and that the city begin sharing information so that we all know the real state of our city. As of right now we have hit the rock bottom of the hole and the Council is trying to keep digging.
It is hard to understand why the same council that raised water and sewer rates without a plan of how to use the money, would not be willing to have a balanced city budget. The general fund budget leaves much to be desired in that sufficient explanation was not offered as to why many lines were increased by several hundred percent over what was budgeted for the past fiscal year and what was actually spent this past year. But, it is a plan which is more than can be said of the still non-existent capital plan for the water and sewer systems.
The time has come to insist that our elected officials pass a balanced budget, that all city departments and employees reduce city spending, and that the city begin sharing information so that we all know the real state of our city. As of right now we have hit the rock bottom of the hole and the Council is trying to keep digging.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Disappointing Mayoral Achievement
The City of Crest Hill has passed a budget that shows the sad state of affairs in the city. The mayor decided earlier this year that a finance committee was not necessary since a City Administrator had been hired. So the City Administrator brought a budget to the City that was over $1.5 million in the red. After slashing and raising fees and rates, it was passed still over $1 million short. So this is what is accomplished without a finance committee. How very sad. I hope the mayor is proud of his brilliant idea.
Some of the blame rests at the City Administrator's feet as well though. He is the one that brought a budget so out of line to the Council in the first place. When I served as a City Administrator, I would never have even considered bringing the City Council an unbalanced budget. And that certainly was not easy in a city that had seen its finances destroyed by years of poor spending and embezzlement. In fact, my aim was to have a budget that had 3% surplus and then to be able to work during the year to keep spending below budget and revenue above it. Even the most fiscally irresponsible person can put together a budget that is over a million dollars short of balancing. However, I believe that a City Administrator is a professional who should bring with them a set of skills in matters such as finance.
The third person bearing some responsibility here is the City Treasurer. While, I have seen nothing to indicate that he is not fulfilling his duties as specified, I think at this time Crest Hill needs something more. I feel that the City Treasurer needs to stand up and be the voice of moderation and reform. I call on him to watch every cent of the budget and not to release a cent of it that is not specifically budgeted. This type of discipline is the best we can hope for the coming months. He also should publicly release all the financial data of the City. This would allow citizens to know what is really going on and may help to spur a public demand for reform. Finally, the Treasurer needs to take a stand and be a leader pushing for fiscal responsibility even beyond what is role is. He should use his office to pound at the problem and keep it on the front burner. He should lead the call for change.
The City Council should never have approved a budget that sends Crest Hill closer to financial ruin. However, they had to work with a budget proposal that was badly out of balance, they lacked input through a finance committee, and they were threatened that State funding would be lost if a budget was not passed before the end of July. If I were in their place, I would have insisted on passing a bare bones balanced budget and then amended it after August 1st.
In summary, Mayor Churnovic and the City Administrator should have been the leaders of improving Crest Hill, instead the City is facing unprecedented financial difficulties because of the choices and actions of these two officials. It is sad that the time for change has come so soon.
Some of the blame rests at the City Administrator's feet as well though. He is the one that brought a budget so out of line to the Council in the first place. When I served as a City Administrator, I would never have even considered bringing the City Council an unbalanced budget. And that certainly was not easy in a city that had seen its finances destroyed by years of poor spending and embezzlement. In fact, my aim was to have a budget that had 3% surplus and then to be able to work during the year to keep spending below budget and revenue above it. Even the most fiscally irresponsible person can put together a budget that is over a million dollars short of balancing. However, I believe that a City Administrator is a professional who should bring with them a set of skills in matters such as finance.
The third person bearing some responsibility here is the City Treasurer. While, I have seen nothing to indicate that he is not fulfilling his duties as specified, I think at this time Crest Hill needs something more. I feel that the City Treasurer needs to stand up and be the voice of moderation and reform. I call on him to watch every cent of the budget and not to release a cent of it that is not specifically budgeted. This type of discipline is the best we can hope for the coming months. He also should publicly release all the financial data of the City. This would allow citizens to know what is really going on and may help to spur a public demand for reform. Finally, the Treasurer needs to take a stand and be a leader pushing for fiscal responsibility even beyond what is role is. He should use his office to pound at the problem and keep it on the front burner. He should lead the call for change.
The City Council should never have approved a budget that sends Crest Hill closer to financial ruin. However, they had to work with a budget proposal that was badly out of balance, they lacked input through a finance committee, and they were threatened that State funding would be lost if a budget was not passed before the end of July. If I were in their place, I would have insisted on passing a bare bones balanced budget and then amended it after August 1st.
In summary, Mayor Churnovic and the City Administrator should have been the leaders of improving Crest Hill, instead the City is facing unprecedented financial difficulties because of the choices and actions of these two officials. It is sad that the time for change has come so soon.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
City and County Finances
Have you ever seen the budget for your city, school district, or Will county? I am willing to guess that you have not, even if you have tried. I have tried and found local governments want to hide their financial documents and to deter anyone from seeing them. They want to keep collecting more and more in taxes, but never want to tell us how they actually spend OUR money.
I tried to see Crest Hill's budget several months ago and was treated to quite an adventure. I went to City Hall and asked to see a copy of the most recent city budget. I was told that the person who would have that had left early for the weekend and to come back on Monday. I agreed to return on Monday and left written information as to who I was and what I wanted to view. I returned the next week and the information still was not available. The following day I came in once again and this time the information was ready. However, I was handed a set of printouts that appeared to be a report of year to date expenses and revenues compared to the current budget. This document lacked any explanation and was far from being clear. I asked if there were any additional financial documents available and was told that they were not.
At this point, I sent a written request to the City Treasurer asking to view copies of the current budget as passed by the City Council, the most recent audit of the city, and the most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). I received no response. Two weeks later, I sent the same written request to the Mayor, City Clerk, and the alderpersons for the ward I live in. A week later, I got a call from the Mayor's office and was able to set up a time to view the CAFR.
This was an acceptable outcome for me because the CAFR was fairly recent and contained everything I wanted to see. However, it is amazing how much effort it took to see this document. I believe that the responsible thing to do would be to have copies of all reports, budgets, and other significant documents available at City Hall and the local library. I have yet to find a library that is not willing to add city documents to their reference collection. In fact, the Crest Hill library has planning documents from 40 years ago for Crest Hill, but very little from recent years.
I wish this was an isolated event that applied only to my request in Crest Hill. However, I have watched Alderman John Vershay ask the Crest Hill City Treasurer for a listing of the bills being paid at each council meeting. The treasurer however is behind by a number of weeks so he expects the council to approve paying the bills and not being told what they were for until a month or more later. And when confronted he has flatly refused to provide this information to an Alderman. No wonder he is so unresponsive to citizens. A year ago I had a similar experience with the Plainfield School District when I wanted information about their bond referendum to build additional schools. They only took 2 weeks and 3 written contacts to provide me the information I asked for.
One must really wonder why our local governments do not want to share financial information with the public. They have no problems taxing us, but they seem to have more difficulty telling us what they do with our money.
I tried to see Crest Hill's budget several months ago and was treated to quite an adventure. I went to City Hall and asked to see a copy of the most recent city budget. I was told that the person who would have that had left early for the weekend and to come back on Monday. I agreed to return on Monday and left written information as to who I was and what I wanted to view. I returned the next week and the information still was not available. The following day I came in once again and this time the information was ready. However, I was handed a set of printouts that appeared to be a report of year to date expenses and revenues compared to the current budget. This document lacked any explanation and was far from being clear. I asked if there were any additional financial documents available and was told that they were not.
At this point, I sent a written request to the City Treasurer asking to view copies of the current budget as passed by the City Council, the most recent audit of the city, and the most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). I received no response. Two weeks later, I sent the same written request to the Mayor, City Clerk, and the alderpersons for the ward I live in. A week later, I got a call from the Mayor's office and was able to set up a time to view the CAFR.
This was an acceptable outcome for me because the CAFR was fairly recent and contained everything I wanted to see. However, it is amazing how much effort it took to see this document. I believe that the responsible thing to do would be to have copies of all reports, budgets, and other significant documents available at City Hall and the local library. I have yet to find a library that is not willing to add city documents to their reference collection. In fact, the Crest Hill library has planning documents from 40 years ago for Crest Hill, but very little from recent years.
I wish this was an isolated event that applied only to my request in Crest Hill. However, I have watched Alderman John Vershay ask the Crest Hill City Treasurer for a listing of the bills being paid at each council meeting. The treasurer however is behind by a number of weeks so he expects the council to approve paying the bills and not being told what they were for until a month or more later. And when confronted he has flatly refused to provide this information to an Alderman. No wonder he is so unresponsive to citizens. A year ago I had a similar experience with the Plainfield School District when I wanted information about their bond referendum to build additional schools. They only took 2 weeks and 3 written contacts to provide me the information I asked for.
One must really wonder why our local governments do not want to share financial information with the public. They have no problems taxing us, but they seem to have more difficulty telling us what they do with our money.
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