One of the things I’ve been meaning to ask about the FY2012 budget, but simply did not get around to, is about the total in staff pay raises included in the budget. We supposedly MUST raise taxes to build a police station. What if we extended the pay freeze a couple more years, as we…
Tag: budget
Voluntary Separation Agreement
The Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) agreement landed in my inbox last evening. The actual contract agreement signed by qualified individuals is the same for AFSCME union employees as for non-AFSCME IMRF/management/“Chapter 3” employees. Due to the AFSCME side letter and the difference in required numbers of service years for the two groups, I had gotten…
City of DeKalb Tax Revenues and Budget Estimates
Each of the images below represents the first portion of a three-part spreadsheet devoted to tax revenues and budget estimates for each of four tax revenue sources. The city’s new central purchasing director says this is the data she used to determine sales tax revenue projections for the draft FY2012 budget.
FY2012 Budget Questions Answered
If you watched the DeKalb City Council meeting last Monday, you know that I had prepared questions for the public hearing but was prohibited from asking them. So I sent the questions to Laura Pisarcik, who was hired as the central purchasing person but who now seems to be acting as an assistant city manager,…
Error Correction: FY2011 TIF Surplus
In “City & School District TIF Surplus Budget Surplus Budget Estimates”, I put up a chart showing a City of DeKalb TIF 1 surplus for FY2011 (to be budgeted for FY2012) of $221,000. While this part is correct, I somehow at the time failed to understand that this was only the amount of the surplus…
Hotel/Motel Revenues & the Economic Development Fund
[table id=16 /] Hotel/motel tax revenues used to go into the General Fund, but as of FY2009 were earmarked for an Economic Development Fund (Fund 46). According to the FY2012 budget, [t]he Economic Development Fund accounts for our agreements with outside agencies that help provide various economic development functions on behalf of the City. These…
Legal Services Outsourcing Question Revisited
The May 23 Committee of the Whole meeting contains this discussion item: 1) CONSIDERATION OF A DISCUSSION REGARDING LEGAL SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF DEKALB. The City Manager has received a request from a minimum of three aldermen to place on this agenda an item to discuss further the matter of outsourcing of our legal…
Sales Tax Losses in Central Area TIF
Figures are pulled from annual fiscal year TIF reporting of “revenue deposited in fund during the reporting year.” [table id=14 /] See p. 117 of the FY2012 proposed budget for the FY2012 sales tax projections for the Central Area TIF. The sales tax portions of TIF revenue will be discontinued in 2013.
The Egyptian, TIF, & the Survival Budget
The Daily Chronicle published my comments on this lovely Friday the 13th. In Thursday’s editorial, “Egyptian worth the investment,” the Daily Chronicle’s editorial board asserted that an improved Egyptian Theatre would be a plus for downtown. I agree. However, something’s been missed in the analysis: a peek into our collective wallet.
City of DeKalb’s EAV Plunge, Part 1
The City of DeKalb FY2012 budget draft proposal (p. 23) says: FY2012 Revenue Highlights: Property Tax Revenues are expected increase approximately 4.35 percent due to a tax increase from 60 cents to 65 cents per $100 of equalized assessed valuation. It should be noted that revenues received from the property tax only go toward the…