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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES-2010-01-23-20107 O� EV� S� ` Ca CITY COUNCIL January 23, 2010 ROLL CALL — PRESENT: Alderman Tendam Alderman Grover Alderman Burrus Alderman Fiske Alderman Wynne Alderman Jean -Baptiste Alderman Wilson Alderman Holmes A quorum was present. Absent: Alderman Rainey PRESIDING: Mayor Elizabeth B. Tisdahl A SPECIAL MEETING of the City Council was called to order by Mayor Tisdahl, Saturday, January 23, 2010, 1:30 a.m. in the Council Chamber for the purpose of conducting a Budget Workshop on the FY2010/11 Proposed Budget. Citizen Comments Mayor Tisdahl welcomed all to the special meeting / workshop of the City Council. She announced that more than 50 people had signed up for Citizen Comment and apologized that each person would only be allowed 1 minute to speak in order to accommodate as many people as possible in the legal time allocated. She said that since November, Council has heard from so many people during previous workshops, Council meetings and thru e-mails so she asked that those who had already voiced their opinion please pass on their time to someone else or raise new issues. She noted that it would also allow Council to have time to discuss the budget. There were many comments regarding budget cuts in general but some of the more focused issues were the Ecology Center, AFSCME, garbage collection, social services / mental health, the Capital Plan and the Evanston Community Media Center. An overwhelming majority voiced their displeasure of the proposed closing of the North and South branch libraries. Several solutions were proposed on how and why to keep the branches open - one of the most popular was pleading for Council to give citizens a year to work on long term solutions such as organizing funding, looking for grants, organizing volunteers, and establishing public and private partners. A PowerPoint presentation introduced by Lori Keenan, 2214 Colfax supported reasons to keep the branch libraries open including the fact that the Library Board recently created a task force to assist with this solution. Junad Rizki, a City of Evanston resident spoke on the Capital Plan - in his opinion, a waste of taxpayer's money. He focused on the topic of old pipes under the City and repairing broken pipes %8 vs. installing new pipes and the issue of the removal of the sprinkler system in a parking garage and the possible problem of fighting a fire there. Alderman Burrus responded to his comment about the sprinkler system by stating that it was inaccurate and that the sprinkler system was removed for legal reasons, not funding reasons. She wanted to be sure the public had the correct information and called on City Manager Bobkiewicz to explain why the system was removed. Mr. Bobkiewicz deferred to Marty Lyons, Assistant City Manager, who deferred to Doug Gaynor, Director Parks, Forestry, & Recreation for a short explanation. Mr. Gaynor stated that when the garage was first built, it was a code requirement to have the sprinkler system installed. That code requirement was eventually dropped and it was either leave the system in place and maintain it as it rusts, or pull it down. The decision was made to remove the system except in the office area where there are people. Given the number of comments regarding the Ecology Center, Alderman Grover asked City Manager Bobkiewicz to clarify exactly what context /what extent the proposed budget seeks to reduce expenses at the Ecology Center. Mr. Bobkiewicz answered that the cut to the Ecology Center is contained in a list of additional reductions of $1.5 million in addition to the $9.5 million reductions and adjustments to balance the operating budget. The reduction to the Ecology Center would only be considered by Council at such time that Council wants to look at those additional cuts. He also noted that in the initial $9.5 million reductions, the Ecology Center's share would be very minimal. The citizen comment time period of the meeting was completed and Mayor Tisdahl suggested that Council get to the Capital Improvement Plan and other Improvements presentation. Mr. Bobkiewicz however, thought that that presentation could perhaps wait until a little later in the morning and that we should move first to the FY2010-11 Q&A booklet. Mayor Tisdahl agreed. Before proceeding, City Manager Bobkiewicz showed the green door hanger that 50 volunteers are canvassing throughout Evanston announcing the Affordable Living Fair next Saturday, January 30t' at the Fleetwood Jourdain Center. He then moved on to the compilation of questions raised at previous budget workshops and the answers to those questions. Each Alderman received a copy and audience members were told there were a few extra copies should someone like one. Because not everyone had an opportunity to read or study each page, Alderman Jean -Baptiste requested Mr. Bobkiewicz take the time to go page -by -page and stop if someone had a question or concern. Mr. Bobkiewicz went page -by -page, reading the heading for each topic. After finishing the entire document, the Aldermen asked for clarification on various items and staff from different departments answered their questions. Some of the questions posed: Q: Alderman Wilson: What is the termination date of the lease for the south branch library? A: Mary Johns: Lease expires April 2012 Q: Alderman Burrus: Tax Reform Bill HB 174 — what guarantees do we have that those taxes would come back to the City of Evanston? A: Wally Bobkiewicz: He checked with Illinois Municipal League who said they do not have this Bill on their radar nor have had any other inquiries about it but they will check on it and get back to him. A: Mayor Tisdahl: She has a meeting on Wednesday with the Northwest Municipal Conference Legislative Committee and will inquire about the Bill at that time. Q: Alderman Holmes: What would be the savings on tree planting if we didn't do it for a year? A: Doug Gaynor: $165,000 plus $160,000 for inoculation Mayor Tisdahl felt that a poll of the Council regarding their interest in increasing budget cuts in order to add money to reserves or police and fire pension funds. She believes that while responsible budgeting, the community could not handle another $1.5 million in cuts. However, she felt $.5 million going into reserves would be wise given the incredible problems the State of Illinois is facing in terms of their budget and her lack of faith that money from the State would be forthcoming. She is concerned the City would get far less than we had before. Is anyone interested in adding to the reserves or do you feel these budget cuts are all the City can handle? Each Alderman asked questions which were answered by the appropriate staff member, and then voiced their opinion on which items on the list of additional cuts he or she felt should be kept or should be cut and why. Mayor Tisdahl asked Council if perhaps they should try to reach a consensus — that if we are going to reject cuts from the proposed budget then we will have to accept some of the cuts from the $1.5 million. Rather than make it too easy by saying what we don't want to cut first, it might be helpful to look at the $1.5 million. Alderman Jean -Baptiste suggested that Council not make these suggested cuts hard and fast but as instructions to Mr. Bobkiewicz to look at different scenarios. Mayor Tisdahl agreed but also thought that if there are things on the list such as the Ecology Center that are not acceptable to us, it would be helpful to Mr. Bobkiewicz to know that there are some things we won't approve. Mr. Bobkiewicz stated it would be helpful to him to have a sense of what order of magnitude Council would like it to be and also useful to know what Council wants removed from consideration. He can then come back with another scenario. In a straw vote and majority, Council chose to take the Ecology Center's additional cut of $200,000 off the list and allow the Center to continue to operate as is. There was then considerable discussion of the potential additional reductions with numerous questions which were answered by various staff. Eventually, Council agreed on several things that should be taken off the list as potential reductions while keeping others, giving Mr. Bobkiewicz more direction. Mayor Tisdahl asked City Manager Bobkiewicz about the children's dental clinic. Mr. Bobkiewicz called on Evonda Thomas, Director Health & Human Services. M Ms. Thomas stated that a local family foundation came to her this week because they were concerned about the dental services being eliminated. After obtaining some statistics, their intention was to strategize with their board on whether or not they can financially support the dental operations. Ms. Thomas thinks she will have an answer by next week and will promptly inform the Council of that decision. It was determined that the next budget meeting tentatively scheduled for Saturday, January 30 be cancelled and move forward with the next meeting to be on Monday, February 1, 2010 after the Public Hearing. City Manager Bobkiewicz informed Council that because time didn't allow for Council to see the presentation on "other funds" and the capital budget today, it would be on the agenda of the February I" meeting. Alderman Jean -Baptiste then, on behalf of the Haitian community in Evanston and Haitian people everywhere, thanked the citizens of Evanston for their generosity, support and concerns. He also thanked City Manager Bobkiewicz for putting information on the City's website about where and how to donate. Being no further business, motion was made and seconded to adjourn at 12:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Elaine Autwell Deputy City Clerk A DVD of this meeting has been made part of the permanent record and is available in the City Clerk's office. F