PEKIN, Ill. – It took an extra week, but the city of Pekin has its budget for its next fiscal year.
The city council on Monday night approved a modified FY25-26 spending plan by a 4-2 vote. Councilmen Dave Nutter and Lloyd Orrick were the no votes, and also voted ‘no’ on last week’s original proposed budget. Councilman Rick Hilst was not at the meeting.
At issue the week prior, Hilst had raised councils about where some of the city’s spending priorities lie.
The original proposed $53 million budget had an estimated general fund deficit of around $140,000. After adjustments were made and presented at Monday’s meeting, the general fund now has a surplus of $84,557.
Finance Director Eric Dubrowski says changes from last week included the inclusion of foreclosure registry fees, and moving around $65,000 of unemployment expenses to the insurance fund.
But he says bids were opened on Court Street, with costs coming in about $500,000 higher than anticipated.
Mayor Mary Burress praised staff for a budget that ended up in the black, after originally looking at a large deficit.
“Whenever we can cut $5 million from wants and needs, I think that’s an amazing job,” Burress said.
Councilman John Abel voted yes for the budget, but also noted the layoffs needed to balance the budget, saying services could be affected.
The new budget goes into effect on May 1st.
Comments