There is going to be a special meeting tonight at 6 p.m. to talk over amendments to the draft budget. Then, during the regular meeting beginning 7 p.m. there will be a public hearing on the proposed budget. Really? Two of the proposed amendments are sizeable, and would set off lots of juggling. (PDF p.…
DeKalb’s Business Friendliness
I am rapidly developing a crush on Larry Kujovich, a member of the group of financial consultants hired by the City of DeKalb. Still working on taking in the whole of the April 13 workshop video, I swooned this time during a discussion of image-building as part of economic development strategy. Use terms like “image…
EPI and City of DeKalb Operations
Here’s a transcript of a bit of commentary by Larry Kujovich from the dynamic duo Executive Partners and Crowe Horwath, the consultants who met with City of DeKalb officials April 13 to talk strategic financial planning. You’ve gotta look into the future. . .Does your 5-year plan list what you need, or what is available…
Correction: Pilots, PILOTs & Water
In a recent post about the latest Executive Partners, Inc. (EPI) involvement with the City of DeKalb as its financial consultant, I expressed anxiety about a proposal to privatize the city’s water. Turns out, that’s not the EPI proposal for the Water Division, and I’m sorry to have led you astray. It’s a PILOT (not…
DeKalb’s Pension Picture Updated
I’ve added FY2012 numbers to the set of charts you’ll find in DeKalb’s Pension Funding Progress. They come from the latest Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). [easychart type=”line” width=”420″ title=”Yearly Funding of Pensions by Percentage Funded” groupnames=”IMRF, Police, Fire” valuenames=”’99, ’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12” group1values=”101.47, 109.49,…
New Council Gets a Good Start
City of DeKalb employees and the group Ellwood Historic Neighborhood have hatched a new plan just in time to take up a line item in the FY2014 budget: Buy up multi-family homes in the north 5th Ward, convert them to single-family and resell each property at a loss. In fact: “We have worked with a…
DeKalb’s Hiring Spree
The City of DeKalb got rid of 30+ employees at the beginning of FY2011 in order to balance its budget. There followed a year of quiet, but now we’re in the midst of a hiring spree. [table id=70 /] Here is what it has done to personnel expenses. [table id=72 /] And here’s what the…
DARA to Council: Rethink Housing Bureau Structure, Costs at Budget Time
The DeKalb Area Rental Association (DARA) has sent city council members a letter and with general budget recommendations for FY2014. EPI, of course, refers to Executive Partners, Inc., their latest report to the city and the April workshop we talked about yesterday. Jump for more.
EPI is Back
*Post corrected May 21* Executive Partners, Inc. (EPI) was hired four years ago to help put the City of DeKalb on a more sustainable path financially. The fix didn’t take, so they’re back. EPI met with city officials at an April 13 special meeting. Mr. Nuehring stated he will discuss opportunities for revenues. He noted…
Let’s Do the Math (Again) with the Economic Development Fund
The DeKalb Chamber of Commerce wants a new annual allocation from the city. The DeKalb Chamber of Commerce is requesting $45,000 from the city to create an event coordinator position to take over the events that Re:New DeKalb has run for years…Re:New DeKalb will undergo a fundamental shift later this year, said Frank Roberts, the…