Elgin backs funding for tourism bureau, cuts to fire station staffing

Dec. 08--The Elgin City Council agreed this week to double its hotel tax and keep measures in place to reduce the number of firefighters per shift from 34 to 32.

The initial budget proposal would have raised the hotel tax from 4 percent to 6 percent, adding about $1.39 to the average room rental, according to city staff. It also would have eliminated the city funding for the Elgin Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Elgin City Manager Rick Kozal said during the 2018 budget discussion Wednesday that statements by council members indicated they wanted to find a way to continue to fund the bureau. So he suggested raising the tax another 2 percent, for a total of 8 percent, which would add close to $3 per night per room and bring in an additional $240,000.

Elgin has been funding the Elgin Area Convention and Visitors Bureau since the 1980s, with money from a hotel/motel tax and a matching grant from the state. The bureau will receive about $212,500 from Elgin's tax in 2017, according to city staff.

By consensus, the council directed Kozal and staff to amend the budget to raise the hotel tax rate to 8 percent. Come January, the council will consider a new deal with the Elgin Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Council member Carol Rauschenberger said the visitors bureau's budget is too heavily weighted toward salaries instead of marketing. Its recent "Explore Elgin" campaign was "too little, too late," she said.

"There is room for improvement with the bureau," Council member Corey Dixon said. "They need to be made more accountable."

Council member John Steffen said that the visitors bureau has value, but it needs to be reset to bring marketing and promotions to a higher level and work more closely with other organizations to market Elgin events as a package.

"It's a top-heavy organization, and they need to change that culture," council member Terry Gavin said.

The proposed budget also posits $700,000 savings in Fire Department overtime by reducing two positions per shift, from 34 to 32 firefighters required to fill positions. The savings would be realized without the need to lay off firefighters by restructuring how 32 shift firefighters are deployed for service calls, according to the budget document.

This would reduce the number of shift positions from six to five at Station 1 on the east side and Station 2 to operate a "refined jump company. ... This new staffing model will increase the incidence of ambulances available for responding to EMS calls, the overwhelming majority of fire department activity," the document states.

Council member and former Elgin firefighter Rich Dunne said the move could negatively affect the city's Insurance Service Office rating and could increase the time needed to form teams to fight fires or handle other emergency situations.

Dunne said the reduction could affect the safety of the public as well as firefighters. The department already is down 12 positions in the last 10 years and is doing more with less, he said.

To make up the $700,000, Dunne suggested that the city of Elgin could bill businesses for fire alarm service, lease equipment instead of purchasing it, and consider allowing a proposal made by Elgin Association of Firefighters IAFF Local 439 for firefighters to get their health insurance through the Illinois Firefighters Association. Dunne claimed the moves would cover the $700,000 gap.

Gavin reminded Dunne that the city had looked into having an alarm service several years ago and was met by resistance from companies that already provide such a service.

Mayor Dave Kaptain said he has concerns about the city's continued use of overtime to fill Fire Department shifts, a policy the city has had in place for 15 years in the hopes it saves money by not having the legacy costs related to hiring more full-time employees.

"I'll be calling for a public discussion for early next year on the way we're funding the Fire Department," Kaptain said. "We might just be throwing a Band-Aid on the matter, so let's look at the whole nine yards."

Other council members, including Dixon, Tish Powell and Toby Shaw, agreed with Kaptain's call for further discussion.

Still, the members voted down adopting Dunne's proposals as part of the 2018 budget by a 7-2 margin. Dunne and Dixon were the only "yes" votes.

Fire union President Joe Galli said the union opposes proposed staffing cuts as a matter of safety. Galli said, since 2005, with the overtime staffing model in place, there has been a rise in the number of firefighter injuries. To fill some shifts open due to hurt workers, there has been some mandatory overtime, Galli said.

Further staffing reductions could mean even more injuries, which would increase the amount of money Elgin pays out in workers' compensation claims and also drive up the amount of overtime doled out, defeating the purpose of the measure, he said.

With the firefighters' contract up at the end of this year, Galli said he hoped the city and the union could come to an agreement that helps the city save money while addressing the union's staffing concerns.

The budget discussions continue at 9 a.m. Saturday at City Hall. The public is invited to comment on the proposed $259 million 2018 budget and the 2018-2020 financial plan. Final approval is set to happen Dec. 20. The document can be viewed online at www.cityofelgin.org/budget.

mdanahey@tribpub.com

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