Naperville board debates cutting snow plowing, up to 50 layoffs

Some Naperville city councilmen on Monday balked at proposed reductions in city services like snow plowing as they discussed how to balance the budget.

But the city manager said some service cuts will be necessary to fill next fiscal year's deficit that now stands at $11.2 million.

Behind closed doors Monday councilmen also discussed a consultant's recommendation to eliminate the equivalent of at least 25 full-time employees.

Naperville has been wrestling with a $14.1 million budget hole for next fiscal year that it has since reduced to $11.2 million due to sharing some of the burden with Naper Settlement and the library. It has also received an energy grant and police have implemented a booking fee.

The city recently spent $60,000 for Clerestory Consulting to analyze its operations.

The consultants made recommendations in three categories - support costs, service reductions that affect personnel and service reductions that do not affect personnel. City staff then made its own recommendations based on the consultants'.

Councilmen at a budget workshop Monday breezed through recommended cuts in support costs like conferences, dues, subscriptions, cell phones, tuition reimbursement and even some fire department equipment.

However, the council made little progress in determining the non-personnel service reductions it will make.

Reductions in snow plowing, road salting, tree trimming and snow removal from sidewalks were all on the table as well as closing the Community Connections Center and suspending the Ogden Avenue corridor grant program.

Councilman Doug Krause took issue with proposed plowing reductions, saying such cuts could increase response time of police and firefighters and also put those employees in danger.

Councilman Jim Boyajian also said a proposal that would eliminate salting of cul-de-sacs would treat those residents as second class citizens.

"There are other additional opportunities in this organization to reduce costs that do not affect residential or business services," Boyajian said. "I'm not ready to accept any of these reductions until I know we've gone as far as we should go on the back of the house, the structure of the city."

City Manager Doug Krieger acknowledged that snow removal would be one of toughest reductions for residents to take, but it is also an area in which the city spends a great deal of money.

"Whenever an entity, particularly a service entity, moves into tough budget times and has to make tough decisions we knew this would be a difficult discussion," he said. "Service cuts, if the economy were fine none of these would be on the table."

Councilmen have asked for more details on the proposed service reductions. They will individually send staff their thoughts on each.

In total, staff's recommendations going into Monday's workshop would have cut $5.4 million in costs. Staff wants to fill the remaining $5.8 million budget hole through the creation of a sales tax.

Councilmen delayed their discussion of taxes until next month although Councilman Robert Fieseler suggested the city look into an alcohol or cigarette tax.

Councilmen also did not publicly discuss layoffs during Monday's workshop but did so in closed session for two hours before the workshop and almost two hours after. Consultants recommend eliminating the equivalent of 25.5 to 57 full-time staff.

The city will continue its budget discussions Dec. 7.