Batavia battles $1 million budget gap

Raise property taxes, charge a fee for leaf and brush pickup, bring back the vehicle sticker and/or take more money out of savings.

Batavia aldermen and city administrators Wednesday discussed how to contend with a possible $1 million gap between spending and revenue in 2010 in the city's general fund budget. And that is without budgeting a fix for stormwater problems related to Braeburn Marsh, which has been estimated to cost at least $400,000.

Batavia should know by Monday whether a state law passed this summer will allow it to claim home-rule status immediately, said city administrator Bill McGrath. If so, the council would have the power to raise the city property tax rate without having to ask voters for permission, in time for the 2009 levy. That levy request has to be filed with the county in late December.

A levy increase that raises the rate by 5 cents could generate about $500,000, according to McGrath.

The entire proposed budget goes on display Nov. 3. The fiscal year starts Jan. 1. The 2009 budget called for $24.27 million in general expenses, which does not include the city's utility departments. The city expects to spend $1.4 million less than that.

But wage freezes and cuts, early retirements and layoffs done this year won't be enough to make up for the lower income and sales taxes the city expects to receive, if present trends continue.

Mayor Jeff Schielke, sitting in on the meeting, said you won't find him championing vehicle stickers. They were enacted in 1978 and eliminated in 1998 in exchange for raising the utility tax. Administrators estimate that at $15 a sticker, the city could gross $270,000 annually. But it would have to devote at least one full-time-equivalent worker to running the program, plus police time to enforce it, costs that have not yet been calculated.

"It was probably the most problematic issue, along with (the installation of) cable TV, that I dealt with in terms of citizen complaint," he said, with neighbors tattling on those who didn't buy them, people giving all sorts of excuses why they shouldn't be charged, and the Secretary of State supplying inaccurate registration information to the city, leading to invalid tickets. "It was constant. It was the biggest hassle. I couldn't wait to get this thing out of the community of Batavia."

Other measures discussed including charging a stormwater utility fee, to bring in about $324,000; charging a fee of about $3 a month per household for brush and leaf pickup, to generate $324,000; and taking $500,000 to $1 million out of the city's reserves.

The committee will next discuss the issue at 7 p.m. Nov. 3. The city is going to post information on BATV and the city Web site encouraging residents to submit questions about city spending, and will likely have several public forums to discuss the budget before the council votes on it in December.

Gap: Council meets again Nov. 3