Aldermen begin discussions of what to do with excess of nearly $5 million in revenue

QUINCY — Shari Ray, comptroller for the City of Quincy, wants to know what aldermen want to do with extra money collected during Fiscal Year 2022 before work on the Fiscal Year 2023 budget begins.

Ray explained during a Finance Committee meeting held before Monday’s regularly scheduled City Council meeting how the city has an excess of nearly $5 million in unappropriated revenue. She also explained now is the time to make a plan for what to do with that money.

“The intent was to get feedback from the council so that when we present a supplemental budget appropriation, it’s not new,” Ray said. “(The aldermen) are invested.”

The budget adopted for FY 2022 projected $40 million in revenue and $40 million in expenditures. The city hit the halfway point of the fiscal year on Dec. 1, and Ray now is projecting $46 million in revenues. Aldermen adopted a policy in 2018 that calls for keeping a 10 percent cash reserve.

“We’ve got a $4 million dollar reserve. When the reserve plus your fund balance together gets too high, you don’t want to hoard taxpayers’ money,” Ray said. “To follow our policy, when you exceed the 10 percent, you have to decide: Do you want to pay down existing debt or liabilities? Do you want to invest in infrastructure? Or do you want to spend on one-time expenses deemed appropriate?”

Ray: ‘Our spending is so restricted’

Ray reviewed with the committee what has been done in past years with excess funds, such as a $1.3 million bailout of the health insurance fund and putting $1.5 million toward pensions in FY 2021. Also discussed were options for one-time expenses.

“I send (aldermen) financial statements and talk about how our revenues are outpacing the budget. This information is not new,” she said. “Our spending is so restricted. You can’t spend more than you’re appropriated, and you have to come to the council to spend extra.”

The city has an extra $660,000 in sales tax, an extra $890,000 in home rule tax, an extra $1.4 million in PPRT (Personal Property Replacement Tax) and an extra $450,000 in income tax. Aldermen passed a $335,000 supplemental budget in May. A $2.23 million supplemental budget was passed in August.

Ray said the extra funds come from:

• The Leveling the Playing Field for Illinois Retail Act. It requires marketplace facilitators and eligible remote retailers to college both sales tax and home rule tax instead of the 6.25 percent use tax on online purchases from sellers based on where the product is delivered.
• Sales of adult-use cannabis.
• An increase of state-shared sources.
• Household finances that are in good shape, possibly a trickle-down from stimulus money.

“I want to have that (FY 2022) budget firmed up before we start trying to play with the Fiscal Year 2023 budget,” Ray said.

“This was just really sharing the information about the amount of money that’s available, and to talk about ideas of what we’ve been talking about internally,” Quincy Mayor Mike Troup said. “There’s a lot more discussion that has to happen … to define how they want to use the money. This is just the first of many conversations.”

Alderman approve ordinance levying taxes for The District

During the 22-minute City Council meeting, aldermen approved an ordinance levying taxes for the 2022 fiscal year. The total levy amount is about $7.7 million, slightly higher than the FY2021 levy. A projected increase in the city’s equalized assessed valuation of about 2.8 percent will cause the tax rate to go down from last year.

The council also approved an ordinance levying taxes for the special service area for the Historic Quincy Business District, now known as The District. The SSA levy request for fiscal 2022 is $120,000, which is about $3,000 more than the fiscal 2021 request. However, the tax rate will remain unchanged.

The ordinance passed by a 9-2 vote. Aldermen Richie Reis, D-6, Ben Uzelac, D-7 and Tony Sassen, R-4, were absent.

Mike Rein, R-5, and Jeff Bergman, R-2, voted against the ordinance. Rein questioned the need for government’s involvement in collecting the tax, and he believes the District could collect its own money from businesses.

“(The District) needed an opportunity for startup and prove their success and effectiveness (when the special service area was created),” Rein said. “We all heard last week that they’ve come a long way. At least one of their business members down there is happy to pay the money. … They’ve been very successful accomplishing their mission and their goals, and they’re doing a great job. 

“It’s puzzling to me why we want to continue to be involved in this.”

“Alderman (John) Mast (R-5) pointed out that this was something that was asked by these group of investors and property owners years ago as a way to help them with their financing,” Troup said. “And they’re happy with it. We haven’t heard any kind of an outcry from other property owners to say, ‘Don’t do it.’

“Until that happens, I think we’ll go ahead and work with them.”

City to spend $225,321 on new patch truck

Aldermen also approved spending $225,321 on a new patch truck from Bergkamp, Inc., from Salina, Kan. The city spent a little more than $10,000 to lease a similar truck from Bergkamp for three months this summer. Kevin McClean, director of Central Services, said another company ordered seven new trucks but ended up only paying for five. He said the normal cost of the truck would be around $250,000.

“We’re happy overall (with the work done this summer with the patch truck),” Troup said.  “There’s some areas where maybe the crew working this summer didn’t use enough patch to fill the holes, but when we take our time, the level of repair is so much better than the previous way.”

Troup thought the new truck would be available for use in March.

In other action, aldermen:

• Approved a petition by the Salvation Army to hold its Angel Tree Parade at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The parade will start at Smith Brothers, 5101 Oak, and head west on Broadway to the Kroc Center. 
• Approved spending $9,208 with Fischer Builders for the repair and/or replacement of three walk-through doors and a wash bay overhead door at the maintenance shop.
• Approved the creation of a school speed zone at St. Francis School.