May 01--After months of grappling with news of the state's proposed funding cuts, 50 city officials from Chicago's western suburbs trekked to Springfield April 29 to share their concerns.
"I don't think anyone was deluded into thinking we were actually going to make things happen our way," said Mike Bruno, a Geneva alderman who returned Thursday evening from Springfield. "These trips are mostly about making sure your presence is known in numbers."
Representatives from 15 cities in Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties met with Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti and State Senate President John Cullerton, among other state officials, to address the 50 percent cut to state funding for local governments. The cuts, announced in February, are part of what Gov. Bruce Rauner calls a "turnaround budget" to tighten the spending belt of a financially shaky state.
The cities and villages represented were Elgin, Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, DeKalb, Hinckley, DeKalb, Campton Hills, Oswego, South Elgin, Yorkville, Montgomery, Gilbert and Sugar Grove. The cities are all members of the Metro West Council of Government, an association that organizes the trip annually, Executive Director Mary Randle said.
This year's trip had the most attendants, which Randle said reflects the importance of the state funding cuts issue.
Batavia had the largest contingency, comprised of the mayor, city administrator and seven aldermen.
"I think sometimes there are people who aren't certain how effective the trip is," said Bill McGrath, Batavia's city administrator. "Our City Council has the flexible schedules to go down. And it's made up of people who want to hear the messages themselves and get a feel for what's happening."
Under the proposed spending plan, municipalities would lose about half the funds the state usually allocates to them. In Batavia, that translates to a loss of about $1.25 million, half the $2.5 million the city would otherwise receive.
The cut leaves Batavia and other municipalities with two options: to raise property taxes or trim city services. For Batavia, this translates into cutting down on emergency vehicles and equipment, which creates a safety issue, McGrath said.
Geneva officials recently made public a list of services at risk with the funding cuts, which include police protection, sidewalk maintenance, fire safety education, beautification and snow plowing, among several others, according to the city's website.
City officials are most frustrated by the notion that their towns must pay a hefty price to help the state tighten its belt. During the 2008 recession, they said, for the most part, their towns spent money responsibly, cut back on services and laid off city officials.
It's difficult not to view the cuts as an unfair consequence, they said.
The response of state leaders to city officials' concerns Wednesday and Thursday was one of empathy, McGrath said. But they also made it clear everyone had to suffer a bit under state finance reform.
"We heard the same thing from everyone in the capital, that they felt the proposal to take away 50 percent was too radical," he said. "But they said the only way to get through this was if everyone felt some pain."
The state's distribution to St. Charles is $3.2 million, which would drop to about $1.6 million if the governor follows through with cuts. State funding would then make up 3.8 percent of the city's $42.1 million budget.
Mayor Ray Rogina, who attended the Springfield meetings with city administrator Mark Koenen, said he traveled back to St. Charles feeling cautiously optimistic. The discussions between the state representatives and local officials were, to his surprise, candid and respectful.
"I'm pretty confident they're listening to us," he said. "And I think, at the end of the day, there will be some sort of give and take or bargain. It's too early to tell, but municipalities might not find themselves in as deep of a hole as originally planned. "
meltagouri@tribune.com
