How COVID-19 could affect future funding for St. Charles organizations

St. Charles will continue offering financial support to community organizations this fiscal year, but officials warn that the coronavirus pandemic may change the outlook for future contributions.

The city council last week approved service agreements with the St. Charles History Museum and St. Charles Business Alliance, both of which receive funding from the city.

St. Charles officials say it's too early to tell how significant an impact the COVID-19 outbreak and stay-at-home order will have on the city's bottom line.

Though some aldermen expressed concerns over making financial commitments amid such uncertainty, Mayor Ray Rogina said he believes supporting community partners is the right move.

"We don't know what the next few months are going to bring, and we're going to have a responsibility to look at that carefully," he said. "But for the moment, this is a good expenditure."

The city has agreed to contribute $698,600 to the business alliance for 2020-21, with $436,600 coming out of hotel/motel tax revenues and the remainder being funded through special service area taxes, documents show. Serving as the city's marketing and promotional arm, the nonprofit has been crucial in supporting local businesses and tackling other economic issues during the pandemic, Rogina said.

For the museum, the city granted $46,000 in hotel/motel taxes to align with a previously proposed five-year funding plan, Finance Director Chris Minick said. The organization requested $50,000.

The city is locked in to those contributions regardless of how much tax revenue is generated this year.

That obligation is unsettling to Aldermen Ron Silkaitis, who said he wouldn't want to dip into the general fund if hotel/motel taxes fall short.

He voted in favor of the museum contribution but cast the lone dissenting vote against the business alliance agreement.

Alderman Rita Payleitner echoed Silkaitis' concerns, adding that the city is already facing a financial hit due to the recent closure of the Pheasant Run Resort.

Though it would be unfair to renege on its contributions for this year, she said, next year could be a different story.

"Post COVID, I just want to at least ... issue a bit of a warning that this money may not be here," Payleitner said.