By Igor Studenkov | Bugle Staff
nweditor@buglenewspapers.com
@NilesILNews
The Park Ridge City Council voted 6-0 to pass a $69.1 million city budget for the 2017 fiscal year, with Sixth Ward Ald. Marc Mazzuca voting “present.”
The budget was passed April 18, less than two weeks before the new fiscal year is set to begin. Originally, the budget had a $276,550 surplus, but the council’s decision to use $300,000 from the sewer fund to pay for a stormwater management plan turned that surplus into a $23,000 deficit. However, the figures don’t take the $2.75 stormwater fee into the account.
Even with the delayed implementation, the fee would bring in enough revenue to create an overall surplus of at least $143,600. The city added that the budget changes wouldn’t have affected general operations.
The general fund, which covers most of Park Ridge’s day-to-day expenses, has a surplus of $156,000. Most of the city’s 13 funds have surpluses, as well. Only five of those – the water fund, sewer fund, the asset forfeiture fund, motor equipment replacement fund and debt service fund – are showing deficits.
While the stormwater fee was originally expected to generate $500,000, the council’s decision to delay the implementation means that the city will only collect four months worth of fees. Delayed implementation could bring expected revenue down to $166,666, assuming the current rate stays in place. The city council expects to change the fee once it has a better idea how much the flood mitigation projects would cost.
Fifth Ward Ald. Daniel Knight, who chairs the finance committee, said he was mostly pleased with how the budget was put together, added that he did have one issue with the process.
“For a second consecutive year we did not experience any sort of advance planning process presented or conducted by the city manager and staff,” he said. “If, in the city manager’s budget, we are being presented with significant new programs, significant changes to existing programs, headcount changes – which often follow program changes – or changes to capital projects of any significant magnitude, then those new or altered programs should be previewed well in advance with the elected officials who will ultimately vote to approve the budget.”
Learning about those projects in advance would give aldermen more time to consider their merits and downsides, Knight added.
Mazzuca said he felt that the budget had too many flaws, but he didn’t think there were any amendments that could address his concerns. While he didn’t detail any complaints during the April 18 meeting, during previous meetings, he said he had reservations about increasing overtime in several city departments and expanding the urban forester and social worker positions from part-time to full-time.
He also cited reservations over the fact that Park Ridge Police Department Chief Frank Kaminski decided not to pilot the body camera program next fiscal year, choosing to only request enough money to buy 2-3 body cameras.