St. Charles says new fines would bank $2.5 million
St. Charles officials are expecting to finish the fiscal year in a few weeks with a small budget deficit but presented plans this week to ensure the city’s income line flourishes in the 2011-12 fiscal year.
The city solicited money-saving and revenue-generating ideas from employees and residents in recent months. That resulted in about 130 ideas to bolster the city’s coffers. Out of those, city staffers hope to win city council approval to implement 15 of them in the new budget year.
Staff members believe just the 15 ideas could rake in more than $2.5 million in new money for the city. City Administrator Brian Townsend told a city council committee this week not approving the ideas could have the reverse impact.
“We’re getting close to a balanced budget,” Townsend said. “It’s important to recognize that a lot of these proposed ideas are included in the proposed budget. So they have a very strong probability of influencing our fiscal condition.”
Some recommendations involve selling surplus property and vehicles, including the Dunham-Hunt House at 304 Cedar Ave. Others involve recouping the costs of police involvement at minor crimes and disturbances by making the people involved pay a fine or fee even if no charges are filed.
For instance, the city would start fining property owners for “nuisance parties” that are loud or disruptive. Police also want the ability to fine anyone involved in a fight that police must intervene in even if none of the parties involved want to press charges. Police want to go after money from car insurance companies to recoup the cost of any officer involvement at accident scenes.
The city also wants to recoup uncollected sales tax dollars at events where such tax collection isn’t currently closely monitored, such as at flea markets at the county fairgrounds or trade shows at any of the city’s convention facilities.
Those ideas and others will all be part of the budget discussion the newly elected city council will have in a couple weeks.