2011 presents long-term budget challenges for City of DeKalb | Daily Chronicle

The undesignated, unreserved fund balance is expected to be just $50,000 at the end of Fiscal Year 2011, which runs July 1 through June 30, 2011. …

It’s supposed to be at 25 percent of what’s spent on an annual basis – about $7 million of the $28.2 million budgeted.
The fund balance will be at 0.18 percent under current financial projections.

The city’s plan to cut 25-30 workers was also discussed.
Though the voluntary separations and layoffs are expected to save millions, the upfront costs – like paying out accrued vacation time and other benefits – could be more than $1 million, Espiritu said.
To cover these upfront costs, it is proposed to extend debt another 20 years, which would free up about $1.4 million the next fiscal year for the buyouts and layoffs, along with pursuing capital projects.

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Cutting labor costs – Stephenson County, Freeport, IL

 

most courthouse employees work an estimated seven hours a day, five days a week, officials say. Blum said his proposal is to reduce the schedule to four days a week, but increase the hours worked to eight hours a day. This would minimize the impact to employees, and ensure they still qualify for benefits, Blum said.

“It would only reduce the employee work week by three hours,” Blum said.

Making such a change would reduce the county’s labor costs by 9 percent, saving anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000….

County Board approved a 2009-2010 general fund budget with a roughly $400,000 deficit late last year. If you couple the existing deficit with the negative cash flow, the county may be looking at a deficit in the range of $800,000 for the fiscal year 2010-2011 budget, Blum said.

Cutting labor costs - Freeport, IL - The Journal-Standard

Chicago CFO Taking Orders From Daley Increases Taxpayers’ Costs -

 

two-decade tradition of shunning open bidding for Chicago’s long-term debt, selling $2 billion in bonds through private negotiations with banks. Arranging competitive auctions instead would save taxpayers millions of dollars, according to internal documents and a review of bond sales by the country’s third-largest municipality.

Efforts to introduce competition fail because the city and its aldermen want to reward those who support public officials and politically connected charities, said a former investment banker in Chicago.

Click on the following for more details:  Chicago CFO Taking Orders From Daley Increases Taxpayers’ Costs - Bloomberg.com

24 look to lead Boone County Health Department

Twenty-four people from across the country have applied for the $78,000-a-year job.

[Chairman, Dr.]  Hess expressed his stance against adding members and his belief in smaller committees, even if that means blocking out some board members from picking the next administrator. A candidate’s confidentiality needs to be a priority and if candidates request total anonymity, a smaller committee could honor that versus a larger group which could slip up and reveal the names, thus jeopardizing the search process, Hess said.
“(I’ve) gone through this two times in the last three years,” he said. “I just don’t want something to implode.”

[Selection subcommittee member, Gary Turner, differs with Dr. Hess]

“I’m looking for stability and whatever it takes to get the best person,” Turner said, after the meeting. “We got into problems the last time we selected somebody and I’d like to get someone who will stay for a long time. I had in mind to get more input from more people.”

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24 look to lead Boone County Health Department - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Lawsuits target police vehicle seizures :: The Courier News

Police seizures of autos questioned in court.  Has anything changed in Boone County?  Why is Kane County’s States Attorney approach so different?

Both suits deal with essentially the same concepts: What is the proper procedure to seize someone's car? What rights do the car owners deserve?

"We're not trying to stop them from seizing cars," said Thomas Peters, the attorney in both cases. "Any government agency could still seize the car, but you have to give them a hearing."

Until those cases are resolved, Barsanti is proceeding with caution. For more than a year, he has ordered all Kane County police departments to stop seizing cars.

"Before we go rushing to start seizing and forfeiting vehicles again, let's see what the federal court is saying," Barsanti said. "If we don't (stop), in my view, what we're doing is possibly incurring further damages."

Click on the following for more details:  Lawsuits target police vehicle seizures :: The Courier News :: Local News

State owes millions to Twin City[Bloomington-Normal] companies

 

When Bloomington dentists John and Stacey Van Scoyoc treat patients who are covered by State Farm’s Cigna dental plan, their practice electronically files the claim and often gets payment within two weeks.

But for a patient on the state’s CompDent dental plan, such as an Illinois State University employee, that wait becomes four months,

state is seven months behind on its rent for a Department of Human Services Office of Rehabilitation Services site at 207 S. Prospect Road, Bloomington

State owes millions to Twin City companies

Illinois is $4.4B behind in bills, expected to rack up another $1B by June

 

The backlog of 200,000 bills is forcing the state to spend more on emergency purchases to buy items and services needed for daily state operations because officials are scrambling rather than seeking out the lowest bidder.

Forecasters predict the financial problems facing state government could linger throughout the next 19 months. The $4.4 billion backlog is projected to hit $5.5 billion in June.

Click on the following for more details:  Illinois is $4.4B behind in bills, expected to rack up another $1B by June