TO: Mayor Thomas J. Weisner
FROM: Brian W. Caputo, Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
DATE: December 4, 2013
SUBJECT: title
An Ordinance Adopting an Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year Beginning January 1, 2014 and Ending December 31, 2014 in Lieu of Passage of an Appropriation Ordinance
body
PURPOSE:
To obtain the City Council's approval of the attached ordinance that would, in turn, provide for the approval of the proposed 2014 City Budget.
BACKGROUND:
In Illinois, municipalities may conduct their financial operations under one of two alternative frameworks: an appropriations process (65 ILCS 5/8-2-9) or a budget process (65 ILCS 5/8-2-9.1 through 9.9). On November 9, 1999, the City Council approved Ordinance No. O99-096 that placed the city on the budget system of finance in lieu of the appropriations system beginning with the 2000 fiscal year.
DISCUSSION:
The Mayor released his proposed 2014 City Budget on October 15, 2013. The Finance Committee met nine times during October, November, and December to review the document. Representatives from city departments have appeared before the Finance Committee to provide additional information on specific items of interest in the proposed 2014 City Budget.
Since the initial version of the proposed 2014 City Budget was released, the Finance Department has made a number of changes into the document at the request of the Finance Committee, the Mayor's Office, and department heads. These changes are detailed in the schedule that is the first attachment to this memorandum. The second attachment to this memorandum details a number of carryovers from the 2013 budget to the 2014 budget that the department heads have requested.
Also attached to this memorandum is a "Budget Preparation Worksheet for Fiscal Year 2014." This document constitutes the currently proposed 2014 City Budget. The amounts in the 2014 Budget Preparation Worksheet reflect the amounts included in the initially proposed budget and the revisions detailed in the schedules mentioned above. (See attached schedule.)
The proposed 2014 City Budget includes gross expenditures of $406,996,871. When 2013-to-2014 carryovers of $44,512,265 are deducted, the total net budget is $362,484,606. This is $6,571,254 or 1.8% lower than the prior year's budget.
The city will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2014 City Budget in conjunction with the regular City Council meeting on December 17, 2013. A notice of the hearing will be published in The Beacon News on Friday, December 6, 2013.
We anticipate that we will publish the 2014 City Budget (including graphs, charts, and narrative) on or about March 1, 2014.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
Not applicable.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council adopt the attached ordinance that would serve to approve the proposed 2014 City Budget.
cc: Alderman O'Connor, Chairman
Alderman Mervine
Alderman Bohman
Alderman Peters, Alternate