After four amendments to Waukegan’s budget — three were approved, and one was rejected — and months of work before the changes were introduced, the city has a spending plan for the fiscal year that starts on May 1.
The City Council unanimously approved a balanced budget of slightly more than $245 million, containing no property tax increase as amended, just before midnight Monday at City Hall, creating a financial plan for the next 12 months.
Before any of the amendments were offered, Ald. Sylvia Sims Bolton, 1st Ward, who used a legislative tool to postpone the budget vote from April 1 until Monday, tried to delay it again, this time until June 3.
With projected expenditures of slightly more than $245 million and anticipated revenue of close to $238.4 million, Bolton wanted to know the source of the remaining $6.6 million. Mayor Ann Taylor said there may be a confusion of terms.
“I think she is still confused on the ($6.6 million), that she’s counting it as a deficit,” Taylor said.
Interim Finance Director Donald Schultz said the $6.6 million differential to balance the budget comes from reserves of approximately $53.9 million which are like a savings account. Bolton insisted on the postponement. The council voted 8-1 to continue the debate, with her casting the lone yes vote.
Ald. Jose A. Guzman, 2nd Ward, proposed three amendments, including one to keep animal control with the police department rather than create a new division with a director at a higher salary. Taylor said she wanted the police to put emphasis elsewhere.
“We need police to do police things, not animal control,” she said.
Guzman suggested putting a sergeant in charge of animal control to supervise the department, rather than a higher-ranking officer as it is now. The council unanimously approved the change.
A second amendment from Guzman to remove the $25,000 budgeted for the lakefront coordinator was unanimously approved after it was explained it would not impact the coordinator’s actual pay.
When Guzman asked to move an employee from the City Clerk’s Office to the Finance Department because the clerk was handling fewer duties, both City Clerk Janet Kilkelly and Ald. Thomas Hayes, 9th Ward, balked
Kilkelly said it would take the only Spanish-speaking employee from the clerk’s office in an environment where there is significant interaction with the public. Hayes said it was not treating the individual properly.
“To just assume with the stroke of a pen, or a few votes, we can allocate that person to another place in the city without asking his or her opinion — whether they’re interested in that position — it just doesn’t feel right,” Hayes said.
Council members voted 7-2 against the change, with Bolton, Ald. Juan Martinez, 3rd Ward, Ald. Edith Newsome, 5th Ward, Ald. Keith Turner, 6th Ward, Ald. Michael Donnenwirth, 7th Ward and Ald. Lynn Florian, 8th Ward joining Hayes. Guzman and Ald. Victor Felix, 4th Ward, voted yes.
Though pleased with the approval of her fourth consecutive balanced budget without a tax increase, Taylor said she was disappointed it was not as smooth as the past three, in part because of what she said was micromanagement on the part of some council members.
“This is a good budget, and it is good for the city,” she said. “It was unusual, because it’s not the job of the council to direct city operations. Their job is legislating.”
Representing an 11.9% increase over the current fiscal year ending April 30, when the city spent approximately $218.7 million, there will be just under $26.3 million more spent, according to the budget.
Approximately half the city’s anticipated revenue of $234.8 million will come from projected real estate and other taxes of $119.3 million of which $37.2 million are property taxes, according to the budget.
