Levy flat, riverboat money down in 2015 in Elgin
The city of Elgin plans to keep its tax levy flat in 2015 as it faces tough choices in allocating declining gambling revenues, traditionally a source of funding for a wide variety of projects.
Revenues from income, sales and utility taxes will allow the levy to stay level next year, City Manager Sean Stegall said Wednesday at the city council's committee of the whole meeting.
However, for the first time, the city's riverboat revenue estimates - based on projections by Grand Victoria Casino - are below budget, down by $1.6 million to $1.8 million from the expected $13.1 million, Assistant City Manager Rick Kozal said.
Riverboat revenues - which also include lease money the casino pays to the city - are projected at about $11.2 million in 2015, when the city also expects to get about $100,000 in video gambling revenues, Kozal said.
The money from the casino, which opened in late 1994, has helped fund improvements to housing, the riverfront and downtown, as well as grants for social service agencies and arts groups. It hit a peak of $29.5 million in 2001.
That, in turn, helped the general fund - which pays for the city's day-to-day operations - remain healthy while fostering the city's AAA bond rating, Kozal said.
Moving forward, "there has to be a laserlike focus on the things that matter the most to you" when allocating riverboat money, Stegall said.
City staff members are recommending eliminating a customary $1.7 million subsidy to the general fund, Kozal said. The idea had been floated by Mayor David Kaptain earlier this year.
On the upside, the last $1.6 million bond payment for the construction of The Centre of Elgin will take place in 2015, Kozal said.
The riverboat funds also account for $18.4 million in working cash carry-over, but that will dwindle to about $2.5 million after expenses by the end of 2015, Kozal said.
New proposed initiatives in 2015 include the reconstruction of Chicago Street, and resurfacing of several major thoroughfares including McLean Boulevard and Dundee Avenue.
Work at the Hemmens Cultural Center might include a $175,000 new sound system plus $487,000 in yet-to-be-determined expenses based on the conclusions of a task force studying the facility.
The city is also budgeting $300,000 in security improvements at city hall, along with roof improvements at the former Fox River Country Day School, estimated at more than $600,000, Kozal said.
Public safety expenses include $434,000 for ambulances and $100,000 for new police vehicles, the latter to be funded by video gambling revenues.
The city also will look at a way to somehow connect the Elgin Sports Complex to Route 31 "so you're a left turn and right turn away from everything that the downtown has to offer," Kozal said.