City HallFriday, November 6
Evanston's Finance & Budget Committee won't endorse the 2027 budget as alders push for more cuts
The 5AM Evanston team
If you pay Evanston property taxes or water bills, here's where the 2027 budget stands. The Finance & Budget Committee Wednesday voted down approval of City Manager Luke Stowe's proposed budget, which includes a property tax increase and sewer and water rate increases. Stowe and staff presented about $2 million in potential reductions, but Ald. Matt Rodgers (8th) said, “I don't think we're making anywhere near the progress we need to be making in the budget.”
A partial hiring freeze is the biggest of the proposed cuts
Source: Evanston RoundTable
View as table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Hiring freeze, vacancy rate | $1.34M |
| Special Assessment Fund | $0.35M |
| Cook County property tax losses | $0.32M |
| Two staff positions | $0.3M |
| Nonunion raise to 1% | $0.23M |
Committee member David Livingston called the proposed cut in the nonunion raise, from 2% to 1%, a “big slap in the face” for city employees. Stowe said he's “not done with position reductions” and expects a staffing recommendation by Monday's council meeting. We'd watch that meeting.
- Council meeting: Monday, when alders review the draft budget again
- Initial plan trims: six city positions, 1.15 library FTEs
- Added by Stowe: two more positions, saving about $300,000
- Vacancy rate: 3% to 4.5% with a partial nonunion hiring freeze
889.78full-time equivalent city employees today
That's an increase of 79 from 2020, the COVID year.
Source: Evanston RoundTable
Sources: Evanston RoundTable, Evanston Now