Thursday, May 24, 2012
The Committee-of-the-Whole met Monday to discuss funding for future capital projects.
City Administrator Bryon Vana plans to assemble a list of core capital projects, their estimated costs and a timeline for their completion as a result of a meeting Monday regarding long-term funding for capital projects. The idea of the list is to give residents an idea of what critical projects the city must complete and where potential revenues may come from. Discussion that took place during this year’s budget talks about the sustainability of the city’s spending practices spurred the City Council Committee-of-the-Whole meeting. Ward 7 Halil Avci said during the budget talks that within three years, the city will be spending about $1.4 million more on capital projects than that fund takes in, leaving it with an end balance of about $…
41.766785
-87.953114
Darien City Hall
1702 Plainfield Rd, Darien, IL
/articles/city-council-takes-closer-look-at-long-term-financial-planning
1352437
/locations/7082233
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Several aldermen continued to express misgivings about the effect of annual ditch projects on the city budget.
After a split City Council voted Monday to approve the fiscal year 2013 budget, a heated discussion broke out over one of the core issues several aldermen had throughout this year's budget talks. The city's annual ditch projects continued to come under fire for how they could impact Darien's long-term economic stability. The discussion resulted in another divided vote that led to the failure of a resolution authorizing the summer 2012 ditch projects. “We’re basically depleting the funds and kicking the can down the road and not addressing the real issue, which is we have these ditch projects that we started,” said Ward 7 Alderman Halil Avci. “But we don’t have a path for how we’re going to pay for it. In my mind, that’s not the way to …
Monday, April 2, 2012
City Council is scheduled to hold public hearings on the city's 2013 budget and its electrical aggregation plan of governance.
Have something to say about the fiscal year 2013 budget? How about electrical aggregation? It's your last chance. City Council is scheduled to hold two public hearings Monday night — one for the budget and one for the aggregation plan of governance (i.e. the process of adopting electrical aggregation). The hearings are set to begin at 7 p.m. at City Hall. To review a copy of the budget, click here. To read the electrical aggregation plan of governance, click here. Both items appear under the new items section on the agenda for Monday's City Council meeting. The meeting will follow the hearings at 7:30 p.m. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the council will vote to adopt both items at that meeting.
41.766785
-87.953114
Darien City Hall
1702 Plainfield Rd, Darien, IL
/articles/last-chance-have-your-say-on-2013-budget-electrical-aggregation
1352437
/locations/6699822
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The Administrative/Finance Committee of the Whole voted to complete infrastructure projects as proposed in the draft 2013 budget.
Despite a debate that spanned two meetings, it’s going to be business as usual for infrastructure improvements in Darien next fiscal year. The Administrative/Finance Committee of the Whole voted 4-3 Tuesday to pursue all the capital projects that were originally proposed in the draft 2013 budget. Mayor Kathleen Weaver opposed any cuts to capital projects in her opening statements. For more than two decades, she said the city has prioritized maintenance projects when constructing the budget. “Now we’re being asked to look at a philosophy of having revenues drive our infrastructure repairs, and I am dead set against that philosophy,” she said. Ward 7 Alderman Halil Avci spoke at length at last week’s budget meeting about postponing some …
41.766785
-87.953114
Darien City Hall
1702 Plainfield Rd, Darien, IL
/articles/mayor-dead-set-against-letting-future-revenues-drive-current-projects
1352437
/locations/6540872
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Within three years, the city's capital projects fund balance is expected to drop to roughly $268,000, a level some city officials say is too low for comfort.
If the city continues spending the way it plans to during fiscal year 2013, by 2015 it could be left with a capital projects fund balance of about $268,000. That’s a balance Ward 7 Alderman Halil Avci said he finds worrisome. “The issue is (the spending) is not sustainable,” Avci said during Tuesday’s Administrative/Finance Committee of the Whole budget meeting. The question before the committee became whether the city spends now at the detriment of a robust capital projects fund balance or potentially sacrifices later through an inconsistently maintained infrastructure. The draft fiscal year 2013 budget includes capital projects expenditures of about $3.2 million, with revenues of $4.2 million. The ending fund balance is projected to be…
41.766785
-87.953114
Darien City Hall
1702 Plainfield Rd, Darien, IL
/articles/alderman-city-spending-trends-not-sustainable
1352437
/locations/6483448
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Discussion of the $10.9 million fiscal year 2013 budget continues Tuesday.
Round two of Darien’s fiscal year 2013 budget talks starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Administrative/Finance Committee of the Whole held its first budget meeting of the season last Wednesday to discuss the draft budget that includes roughly $10.9 million in expenditures. The city estimates it will bring in about $12.6 million in revenues during 2013, down about 3.5 percent from its projected fiscal year 2012 income. Items the committee discussed last week include: $1,000 for City Council training: Darien did away with a small budget allotted toward training elected officials a few years ago, but on Wednesday the committee agreed to add some money back in for 2013. Treasurer Michael Coren said he couldn’t see spending taxpayer money on …
The city first discussed continuing to function with one fewer Municipal Services employee at last week's budget meeting.
After listening to an impassioned speech from Municipal Services Director Dan Gombac, the Municipal Services Committee agreed Monday to recommend the city of Darien maintain its current number of Public Works positions. At last week’s budget meeting, the Administrative/Finance Committee of the Whole discussed eliminating a position since Municipal Services has gotten by with a smaller staff for the past eight months. The department has functioned with one fewer employee since the city’s mechanic retired in June. A general Public Works employee has filled in for the mechanic on an interim basis. City Council voted two weeks ago to continue employing its own mechanic rather than sending vehicle repairs to Downers Grove’s service shop. The …
Thursday, February 9, 2012
The Administrative and Finance Committee of the Whole will examine the budget over the course of three to five meetings.
In just about two weeks the city will begin its review of the fiscal year 2013 draft budget. This year the Administrative/Finance Committee of the Whole, which includes the entire City Council, plans to review the budget over the course of as few as three or as many as five meetings. All meetings are scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at Darien City Hall. The budget meetings will be divided by category, with two extra meetings tentatively scheduled in case the committee needs more time for discussion. Elements of the budget will be discussed in smaller committee meetings prior to the full committee review. The Police Committee discussed the Darien Police Department’s draft budget at its Feb. 2 meeting. The full review …
41.766785
-87.953114
Darien City Hall
1702 Plainfield Rd, Darien, IL
/articles/city-budget-review-scheduled-to-start-feb-22
1352437
/locations/6326613
Mark Kiwiet
4:37 pm on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
How many ditches could be improved for say ... the amount of Bryan Vana raise? ;) more ›