|
Projects delayed as Collinsville grapples with funding dip
From the Suburban Journals By
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Some older roadways will go unpaved for a little longer after Collinsville officials decided to delay some capital projects and purchases to make up an expected $1.1 million budget shortage.
City staff are hopeful that by pushing several expenses scheduled over the next six months to next year's budget, they will be able to make up for an anticipated decrease in revenue.
Among the cutbacks are:
- $290,000 in repaving: Westbrook Court, Brookwood Drive, Coral Drive, Kroener Drive, Echo Ridge, Schiller Drive;
- $180,000 in building constructions: Street Department addition at 850 S. Morrison Ave.; - $173,500 in Street Department equipment: excavator and plow; - $132,000 in Fire Department purchases: Computer-aided design program, vehicles, software upgrade;
- $300,000 in vehicle purchases for the Police Department and City Hall.
The cuts were outlined in a emergency plan staffers created during the budget process late last year, when revenues were unclear.
The most recent numbers show sales tax revenues have dropped between 7 and 10 percent this year. Funds have also been impacted by Madison County's plan to divide real estate tax payments over four installments, instead of two. Additionally, the city lost about $804,000 in permit fees from a proposed professional soccer stadium near interstates 55/70 and 255; construction on the project did not start this year.
City Manager Robert Knabel during a city meeting Monday said the funds took a hit.
"Did the numbers miss? Yes they missed," Knabel said. "But they are what they are and we had a backup plan to get through them."
That plan will be put the projects and purchases on hold until the 2010-2011 budget. It would also cut operating expenses by 2 percent. No staff cuts are planned.
Knabel didn't believe there would be a negative impact, since the delays will postpone certain expenses by as little as six months and the city is still planning to complete about $5 million in other projects.
"Long term, we can't continue to shortchange capital infrastructure without it coming back on you," Knabel said.
Mayor John Miller and council members Nancy Moss and Liz Dalton praised Knabel and city staff for coming up with a backup plan and sticking to it when he could see revenue dropping.
"Nobody is happy about the numbers," said Moss during the meeting, a strategic planning session. "But because of the contingencies and plans up front, we are in better shape than a lot of other taxing bodies.
"We're doing the changes we need to make. We need to be realistic, prudent and positive."
But Councilwoman Lisa Ciampoli said more should be done to cut operational costs.
"I've been warning against extensive spending," she said. "I voted against the budget and I voted against the employee raises."
She questioned that if things get worse for the economy in the next few years, how that would impact the ability to complete capital projects over the next five years.
"That's my grave concern," she said.
The council is not expected to vote on an official amendment to the budget despite the changes.
What's causing the cuts
- Sales tax revenues expect to drop between 7 and 10 percent, creating a $760,000 shortage by the end of the fiscal year
- Madison County is allowing property tax payments in four payments instead of two, delaying when the city gets cash and cutting about $385,000
- A loss of $804,000 in permit fees from the failed soccer stadium and mixed use center proposal near Interstate 255
Source: City Finance Department
|
