ROCHELLE — Budget concerns have been at the forefront for Rochelle city officials of late and Monday night talks ensued on how to close a $1.2 million deficit gap going into 2017.

Rochelle City Council will decide whether to approve the modified calendar-year budget presented Monday night or to keep the existing fiscal year budget that expires Apr. 30, 2017.
City Manager David Plyman presented the budget that included items stricken from the original one presented two weeks ago. Cuts of nearly $700,000 brought the original deficit down from over $1.2 million to $513,800, and Plyman then suggested transferring landfill tip fee funds to balance the general fund.
Monday evening’s discussion was similar to last month’s budget talks as council members once again expressed concerns relying on landfill transfer funds to balance the budget.
During his presentation, Plyman said after “heart to heart” discussions with city staff regarding personnel and equipment, several items were adjusted, or eliminated for the proposed calendar year budget.
As another approach at deficit reduction, Plyman suggested partnering with neighboring communities on services as a way to reduce costs.
“This represents a pretty meaningful decrease,” Plyman said. “This doesn’t include utilization or reorganization of personnel. We need to pursue what makes sense — finding strategic partners and other units of government where we can share resources, manpower and services. We can reach out to neighbors to see if we can find options for reduced personnel costs.”

Plyman discussed internal reorganizations already implemented in the street department, human resources, and the police department, along with employees nearing retirement. Plyman requested permission from council to “sit down with those employees and figure out their plans.”

“It could very well be we could accelerate a retirement, offering some level of inducement to someone just working for healthcare for a year or two for Medicare eligibility,” Plyman said. “It could be a win-win for the employee and a win-win for the city. The path we are currently on is to do more of the same with fewer people.”
Plyman said he proposed the specific list of adjustments based on efforts to rely less on the landfill transfer as requested by council previously, but also stressed there will still be items he believes necessary that are included in the budget.
“There are important things that we should continue to do,” Plyman said. “I’m not presenting a budget where everything is knocked out.”
Among the challenges Plyman said he faces is making tough internal operations changes, while at the same time continuing to deliver the services necessary to the public — something he identified as a top priority in the last meeting.
Specifically, Plyman talked about next year’s purchases of a generator for the fire department and new police radios. Plyman said it is necessary to be prepared for a potentially large-scale storm that could debilitate power lines and disrupt services on a longer-term basis.
“The fire department is operating with a generator that can’t operate the entire building,” Plyman said. “The plan is to purchase a generator this coming year so the station can operate if there is a wide-scale power outage. We can continue to deliver services, and it can potentially be used as a warming and cooling shelter.”
Council member Dave Eckhardt expressed concern on using landfill fees to cover the budget deficit. During the last budget discussion Eckhardt reminded other council members of the original agreement several years ago not to use landfill revenue for day-to-day operations.
Acknowledging council, Plyman offered a couple of options.
“One would be making the jobs go away and not making any accommodations to individuals and who they are and their career plans. Some have worked for Rochelle a long time,” Plyman said. “I would much rather prefer working with employees and help try and achieve their life aims and find that blend.”
Plyman also suggested a longer-term plan to reduce reliance on enterprise funds.
“I have well-intended department heads really making an effort on their staffing side. Their heart is in their jobs,” Plyman said. “The optimist in a lot of us is that we will continue to grow and attract new businesses, develop our enterprises and develop additional sources of revenues. There is no guarantee.”
Council requested Plyman offer some long-term direction that would eventually eliminate landfill fund transfers completely.
Rochelle City Council will decide whether to approve the new proposed calendar year budget at their next meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. in Rochelle City Hall, or continue with the current fiscal year budget that expires Apr. 30, 2017.