2019-252 Ordinance Adopting the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget and Appropriating Monies for the Purpose of Defraying the Expenses of Departments and Funds of the City of Decatur, Illinois for the Fiscal Year Beginning January 1, 2020

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as the final product is a balanced budget. The council can make additional changes until the time of final adoption. These revenue and expenditure assumptions are explained in the narrative sections of the budget, but I have listed betow some of the major assumptions: 1. A top-to-bottom review is required of all the city's software costs, which could result in a decision to migrate to an integrated ERP solution with fewer inefficient silos. The impact of this analysis is not anticipated until 2021, but the need for it can be seen in the FY 2020 budget. 2. A top-to-bottom review is required of the city's fleet management arrangement, as overall costs have increased rapidly. 3. Since the city cannot keep adding more full-time manpower in response to afl new or existing service demands, the budget assumes the limited use of seasonal workers (Public Works), civilian employees to perform administrative tasks(Police), contracted outsourcing (HR training and special projects), and ongoing analyses to "right-size" staffing. 4. Implement other cost-saving measures: a) charge fees for use of credit cards to encourage use of debit cards and other payment methods, b) re-structure vehicle and equipment leases, c) refund 2010B bonds to take advantage of lower interest rates and reduce debt service costs, d) look at reducing workers comp and liability costs through pooling, and e) evaluate the use of an employee health clinic to reduce front- end claim costs and their impact on group employee health care costs. The budget includes known grant and loan revenues, projected increases in motor fuel tax revenues dedicated to street projects but does not include grant monies that are hoped for, or ones the city will apply for in 2020. CLOSING While all of these measures make the city more efficient, they do not correct the fundamental structural imbalance described above. In the years ahead,this structural imbalance will get worse, rather than better, especially if the State of Illinois adopts property tax caps without providing an offsetting revenue stream, and as the State continues to take away other municipal revenue streams while enacting more unfunded mandates onto the backs of local governments, all in an effort to balance their own State budget. This imbalance will be exacerbated if the 2020 census results in a marked population decline for Decatur—although the impact of this development will not be felt until FY 2021 or FY 2022 (but steps should be taken now in anticipation). Therefore, in , FY 2020 the city should begin a multi-year process of re-evaluating and re-assessing how we provide services in every department so that, over time, the city can rely less on traditional tax revenues, and provide services better, faster and cheaper. There is no "silver bullet," or single solution to correcting the city's structural budget imbalance. But with each mid-year financial review meeting, each budget session, and each council study session on employee cost management,the staff will endeavor to present new options for making gradual changes that will improve the financial health of the city. iv