Dropping casino revenue, user fees on Elgin council plate
By Mike Danahey
A second-floor apartment is being rehabbed at 79 S. Grove Ave. in downtown Elgin last Tuesday. Nov. 9, 2010. | Dave Shields~For Sun-Times Media
ELGIN — The city council will hold another budget session Wednesday prior to its committee of the whole and regular sessions. This time, discussion will include declining casino revenue, user fees and a proposed 311 information system.
According to a recently released report, the Grand Victoria Casino’s revenue has dropped from $436 million in 2007 to $396 million in 2008 and $311 million last year, and is on track to drop another 2.8 percent in 2011.
As such, the city’s take from the casino went from $25 million in 2007 up to $26.8 million in 2008, then down to $22.15 million in 2009, an estimated $18.96 million this year and a projected $16.5 million in 2011.
That’s a gambling-related revenue decline of more than a third — 34 percent — between 2007 and 2011, the city’s records show.
At a press briefing Monday, City Manager Sean Stegall noted that since a smoking ban went into effect in 2008 and the start of the recession, Elgin has “adjusted accordingly.” The city only uses its share of taxes collected from the casino for capital projects.
Stegall said the decline in the casino’s fortunes has meant the city does less with efforts to deconvert multiple-unit dwellings back to single-family homes. At the same time, decidedly lower bids from contractors hungry for work during the recession for streets projects has lessened the blow a bit, Stegall said.
“Local nonprofits funded by the casino have been hit harder,” Stegall said.
In a related measure, a city press release Monday stated that Mayor Ed Schock and the heads of eight other river towns with gaming have formed a coalition called Cities Against Slots at Tracks. They will head to the General Assembly’s veto session in Springfield today to protest a proposal that would allow slot machines at Illinois horse tracks.
In terms of fees, while the council last Wednesday discussed proposed 7 percent increases in water and sewer rates, members will talk this week about the city taking over prosecution of DUI cases charged in Elgin. The move could bring in about $250,000 annually for the city, Stegall said.
According to staff, the city has been averaging about 350 DUI cases the last few years. The cases would be overseen by the city’s legal department but contracted out to other attorneys, Stegall said.
As for the 311 system, city management analyst Dan Ault has been overseeing a test project this year in the public works department by which calls with questions, concerns and complaints are being tracked and addressed.
That work will serve as a framework for other departments, Stegall said. Moves in 2011 will include forming a steering committee, hiring a consultant, and making a purchase of software designed to handle tracking such calls.
The city has set aside about $2.2 million over the next five years for tech improvements that would include a 311 system, but how that pie will be cut has yet to be determined, Stegall said.
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