Committee of the Whole

Mar 9, 2026

Agenda preview

The lede

  • Council will consider the FY27 Budget Ordinance for the fiscal year beginning May 1, 2026
  • Public Works items include 2026 spring branch pickup, MFT street maintenance program across multiple wards, and wastewater treatment plant change order reducing costs by $82,393
  • Intergovernmental agreement with Boone County for jurisdictional transfer of Genoa Road to enable utility extensions for development
  • Illinois DCEO Regional Site Readiness Grant project requires additional $61,540 from the City to modify lot sizes and infrastructure east of Farmington Way
  • Executive session scheduled to discuss collective bargaining matters

Decisions & votes

No content.

Discussion items

FY27 Budget

  • Budget Ordinance for fiscal year May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027 scheduled for review (Exhibit A contains budget amounts by object and purpose; Exhibit B establishes salaries for appointed officials and certain employees)
  • Staff requesting motion to forward proposed budget ordinance to City Council

Public Works updates

  • 2026 Spring Branch Pickup scheduled to begin week of March 30th with city divided into four sections; residents must place branches on terrace by 7:00 AM Monday of scheduled pickup date with specific size/placement requirements
  • 2026 MFT Street Maintenance Program proposes overlays on arterial/collector streets (Pearl, Shaw, N State, Bonus Ave, McKinley) and residential streets across Wards 2-5; $1,000,000 budgeted; ADA compliant sidewalk returns required at all intersections
  • WWTP Sludge Heater Replacement Project Change Order #1 reduces contract by $82,393.34 (removes work for sliding doors, temporary access road, and mechanical demolition; adds centrifuge feed pump pad and additional isolation valve)

Development and infrastructure

  • Jurisdictional Transfer of Genoa Road from Interstate 90 to Huber Road from County to City system to facilitate water and sanitary sewer extensions for future development; includes perpetual utility easement for City during transfer pendency
  • Illinois Regional Site Readiness Program Grant modifications requested by DCEO to increase industrial lot sizes; total project cost increased to $4,585,448 with City portion increasing $61,540 to $805,268 (split equally with property owner); includes $48,900 design engineering amendment from CES, Inc.

Future coordination

  • Discussion of Future City-County Coordinating Committee on agenda

Financial / operational notes

Budget summaries (FY27)

  • General Fund revenues: $25,227,480; expenses: $25,227,480 (balanced)
  • Water/Sewer Fund projected ending cash: $3,889,205
  • Motor Fuel Tax Fund projected ending cash: $340,920
  • Capital Projects Fund projected ending cash: $(24,240) deficit
  • Police Pension Fund projected ending: $33,745,753
  • Fire Pension Fund projected ending: $23,247,832

Specific allocations

  • General Administration revenues include property tax ($1,769,385), state income tax ($4,313,340), sales taxes ($5,071,685)
  • Police Department budgeted expenses: $9,375,887 (includes $4,650,000 salaries, $2,007,755 pension)
  • Fire Department budgeted expenses: $7,298,961 (includes $2,844,792 salaries, $1,440,366 pension, $1,825,669 ambulance services)
  • Street Department: $1,673,948 budgeted expenses
  • Non-union salary increases reflect 3.0% across most positions
  • Ida Public Library budget: $1,052,840 revenues and expenses

Debt service

  • Bond payments account shows $321,843 in principal and interest payments budgeted for FY27

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