H1N1 Swine flu in 2009
Pink markers are suspect
Purple markers are confirmed
Deaths lack a dot in marker
Yellow markers are negative

In the weeks and a day leading up to the April elections voters were given the good news. The City of DeKalb is looking at a near $1 million budget surplus in the current year budget. All the other neighboring and beyond municipalities are envious of this city’s financial prudence, especially in these tough times.

As a member of the city’s budget advisory committee I should be puffing my chest out and maybe even putting out bids for my expert city finance consulting services. But being that I am the Doubting Thomas of the group and it’s budget time again (and I haven’t been kicked off the committee yet) I figure I should prepare a proactive plan for worst case scenarios.

Who knows. Maybe revenue projections will fall short and/or some unexpected high bills have come in since the pre-election budget forecasts. There’s always a chance that we won’t have those $1 million surplus dollars.

Now, for the long term, we’ll be presented with $60,000 worth of city financial consulting advice complete with Community Benchmark and Best Practices studies. I hope we get some good advice.

Last year, each of us on the advisory committee submitted our suggestions for the current budget. Those suggestions are contained in this report (link).

My suggestions are on pages 2-28 on that report. Actually, though, my suggestions were a collaborative effort of many citizens including Gracie Mott, Ivan Krpan, Mike Tritle, Herb Rubin, Paul Greenlee, Steve Berg, Lynn Fazekas, Kay Shelton, Chad Whitney, James Mason, Greg Davis, Ed Pevonka, Mark Charvat, John Anderson, along with various readers, commenters and bloggers. Our recommendations could have saved $949,610 on the expenditure side without a reduction in services. Of course not all of our recommendations were adopted.

My approach for next year’s budget is going to be the same. I’ll start by asking for your help. That would start with your reading of the full 32-page report; your checking back on this discussion string as it develops through the budget process for updates, charts and links; and your input along the way. A compiled report will be presented at the proper time to the advisory committee and the city council.

One new element to the budget considerations that I will be promoting is RAI. That’s an acronym for Resident Affordability Index. I do not know what that index would be but I think trying to calculate that factor into the equation would help prioritize services and expenses.

BUDGET PROCESS SCHEDULE: (City of DeKalb)

05/01/09 (Friday)        Proposed FY2010 Budget distributed to City Council

05/11/09 (Monday)    Committee of the Whole – 6:00pm
Budget Workshop – 3rd Quarter Budget Report, Budget Overview

05/12/09 (Tuesday)    Budget Workshop – 6:00pm
Legislative, City Clerk, Administrative Services, Legal

05/13/09 (Wednesday)    Budget Workshop – 6:00pm
Engineering Department and Capital Expenses

05/18/08 (Monday)    Budget Workshop – 6:00pm
Public Works

05/19/09 (Tuesday)    Budget Workshop – 6:00pm
Police and Fire

05/20/09 (Wednesday)    Budget Workshop – 6:00pm (tentative)

05/26/09 (Tuesday)        Regular Meeting of the City Council – 7:00pm
Public Hearing on the proposed FY 2010 Budget
FY 2010 Budget (first reading)
FY 2010 Staffing Plan (first reading)
Chapter 3 revisions (first reading)
Chapter 3 COLA (first reading)
Water rates (first reading)

06/08/09 (Monday)        Regular Meeting of the City Council – 7:00pm
FY 2010 Budget (second reading)
FY 2010 Staffing Plan (second reading)
Chapter 3 revisions (second reading)
Chapter 3 COLA (second reading)
Water rates (second reading)

06/22/09 (Monday)        Regular Meeting of the City Council
Funding Agreements
Human Services Funding

06/26/09 (Friday)    Adopted FY 2010 Budget printed and distributed to City Council.  Budget posted on City website.

Committee Members Present:
Cohen Barnes Ronald Beldon Don Biggs Chris Brady
Scott Cochrane Andrea Gorla Gary Gustafson Dan Kenny Ivan Krpan Kim Lyle Mac McIntyre Bill McGuire
Ron Naylor Roger Scott Tom Teresinski

Guests Present:
Carrie-Abbott-Walk Melissa Butts Amanda Christensen Trent Sexton
Brian Tobin Brian Walk

Committee Members Not Present:
James Briscoe Roger Chilton Fred Davis Russ Farnum
Russ Fletcher Lindsey Hall Michael Lord Becky McCabe Brian Schrader Mike Verbic Holly Wallace
Bill McGuire

Attendance & Agenda Review
The meeting was called to order by Mr. Cochrane at 6:33 p.m. in the Education Center Board Room.
Sign-in sheets were available for attendance purposes. The agenda for the meeting was reviewed.

Review of Minutes – January 13, 2009
Mr. Krpan requested that a correction be made on page five of the notes. The sentence that needs to be corrected reads as follows: He (Mr. Krpan) feels that the city should be more receptive and give the district 50% versus 100% in surplus. The sentence should read “He (Mr. Krpan) feels that the city should be more receptive and give the district 100% versus 50% in surplus. Mr. Barnes made the motion to approve the minutes. Mr. Krpan seconded the motion.

Update on land acquisition – DHS
Ms. Gorla shared that the district is trying to acquire an additional 25 acres of land. It seems that the desire to shift Wildflower Road could be a possibility. Shodeen is willing to do this, but not as much as the district had hoped. Mr. Gustafson will provide additional information. The District may also be able to acquire an additional 20 acres to the North of the site. Shodeen has closed on the property and Macom is now totally out of the picture. Mr. Gustafson says that he anticipates the Board will approve the additional land purchase at the Board meeting on March 16, 2006. How will the additional acreage impact the site layout? Mr. Gustafson directed the group to look at the handout that shows the options that are available. Mr. McIntyre asked what the purpose of acquiring more land is. Mr. Gustafson responded that more land equals more opportunities for water and sewage pipe placement, future purposes, and the ability to move playing fields if needed. Mr. Barnes asked if the original plan for the new high school was 100 acres. Ms. Gorla responded yes, but we were restricted by the land that we had due to the fact that Macon was unwilling to negotiate more land for the District. Mr. Barnes asked how the district is proposing to pay for this. Ms. Gorla responded through the existing land purchase agreement with the developers. Shodeen is willing to throw all the land cash from the downtown project and any future projects to this site. The District would forgo the impact fees up to a specified credit in lieu of the land cash. A city representative is calculating what the land to cash equivalent is. The hope is that everything will be finalized by the March 23rd School Board Meeting. Mr. Naylor asked if all the retention ponds would be removed from the site. Mr. Gustafson shared that the decision regarding retention ponds has not been finalized yet, but he doubts that all the ponds will be eliminated from the site. Open discussion among group. Mr. Krpan shared that he feels that Shodeen is coming out on top with this deal in regards to the price per acreage. Ms. Gorla responded that our legal council is working on this issue with Shodeen. Mr. Cochrane feels that the additional land gives the site a lot more flexibility for future use or expansion to maximum capacity.

Construction Manager Decision
Requests for Proposals were sent to thirty-nine (39) firms as well as advertised in the Daily Chronicle as prescribed by law. Thirteen (13) firms submitted Statements of Qualifications. The Statements of Qualifications were opened on Monday, February 2, 2009 at 9:00 am at the Education Center, and all Statements of Qualifications were carefully considered for qualifications and suitability. Four (4) firms were selected by the Administration to be interviewed by the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee consisted of seven (7) members: Mike Verbic, Jim Mitchell, Scott Cochrane, Ivan Krpan, Andrea Gorla, Gary Gustafson, and Don Biggs. The four (4) selected firms were:
• Pepper Construction
• IHC Construction Company
• George Sollitt
• Nicholas & Associates

The Committee interviewed the four (4) firms on Monday, February 9, and Tuesday, February 10. Each firm was allowed twenty (20) minutes to present, the Committee had twenty (20) minutes for questions and answers, and then the firm had five (5) minutes for a final statement. At the conclusion of each interview, each Selection Committee Member completed an Interview Evaluation. On Wednesday, February 11, the Committee discussed each firm and ranked them from one (1) to four (4) with one (1) being the top choice. Listed below is the ranking of each firm:

1. Nicholas & Associates
2. George Sollitt Construction
3. IHC Construction Company
4. Pepper Construction

Nicholas & Associates of Mt. Prospect, Illinois, was chosen by the Selection Committee as the top choice for the Construction Management Service provider for the new DeKalb High School.

A meeting was held on Friday, February 13, between the Administration and Nicholas & Associates to negotiate contract documents and fees. Mr. Krpan wanted to know if the architect’s contract has been rewritten to reflect the change from General Contractor to Construction Manager on the high school project. Mr. Biggs advised that there is a meeting on March 11, 2009 to finalize the details of the contract. There was open discussion among the group regarding the fee reduction for the architect since the job responsibility has somewhat shifted to the Construction Manger and the role the architects will play on the job site.

Progress report for Cortland Elementary & DHS
Cortland – Mr. Gustafson shared that we have had a particularly hard winter, but there has been significant progress made on the project. The project is about 40% complete. With the weather changing the project should pick up some speed. As of today all the site grading is complete, all underground utilities are installed and the roof decking and framing should be complete by next week. The building should be fully enclosed in about two weeks. The overall project budget is in pretty good shape. Mr. Biggs and his department are in the process of awarding FFE bids. At this point we are on schedule to open the building on time. Mr. Cochrane asked what the grass will be. Mr. Gustafson advised that the areas around the building will be sod, but the play areas and fields will be seeded. This fall there will probably be little to no grass growth, but by next spring the grass should begin sprouting.

DHS – Final documents are been finalized and scheduled to be released on March 18th. Mr. Nicholas is putting the sub contractor bids together. He expects that the building should break ground in May. With the recession the construction market is slowing and we should expect pretty good numbers for our sub contractor bids. With the prequalification statements that Nicholas & Associates put out they received a response from 311 contractors. Of that 123 (39%) were local. The following are important dates to remember: Pre bid – April 6, 2009, Bid date – April 21, 2009, Board Approval – May 4, 2009 or May 18, 2009. Mr. Cochrane asked how they did the bid packets. Mr. Biggs responded they were broke out into 33 different divisions. The bid meeting will be held at Hopkins Park to accommodate the estimated 300-400 people that will be in attendance.

Facility update
Mr. Biggs opened by saying that during one of the first FPC meeting that he attended he heard the committee asking for a building maintenance report/schedule. He is reviewing a 2005 survey of each building. He read off some of the deficiencies identified in the report. A committee member asked if this was a wish list or a list of building needs. Mr. Biggs responded that it is a combination of both. He is looking at several sources to come up with a comprehensive program of attacking the needs of each building. Malta Elementary may not be here in three years but the boiler at that building will not even pass inspection in its current state so it needs to be replaced immediately. In the District ADA requirements are also an issue, science rooms need to be upgraded, asbestos needs to be removed, and food service need assessments have to be implemented. He shared a list of projects that have been completed since last summer. Mr. Biggs predicts that it will take 4-5 months to come up with a comprehensive plan to present to the committee. Mr. Cochrane said his concern is that we are pouring money into an old building (Malta Elementary). Mr. Biggs responded that the district only has a two year permit on our current boiler and we have already been told that our permit will not be renewed with our current boiler. A committee member asked if we could just close the building and place the students in another building. Ms. Gorla responded that it takes quite some time to move an entire building. We don’t have that kind of time. Is the old Cortland Elementary building a viable option to move students into in the future? That discussion still has to occur. Malta Elementary is almost at capacity so we would have to find space for all those students at other buildings. Open discussion among group. An attendee asked what happens to that building if the building is no longer a school. Ms. Gorla advised that there may be a situation like we have in Cortland. The city of Cortland has expressed interest in using a portion of the old Cortland Elementary building. The purpose is not yet defined, but it is possible that a portion of the building would become a community center, library, city meeting space, etc… The hope is that the unused portion would be used for storage. Mr. Biggs said we are running out of solutions when it comes to the boiler. Ms. Gorla said it may be a possibility that the stimulus would help us out with a project such as this, but there are a lot of stipulations on what the stimulus money can be used for. There may be a component for construction projects, but not new construction. The dollar amount and the information keeps changing daily so the District has to wait and see until the dollars are released to us before it is certain how the funds can be used. Most districts’ that are due to receive funds are being cautiously optimistic. The claim is the monies should be to districts within 40 days. Open discussion among group. Mr. McGuire asked if all our buildings are handicap accessible. Can we use the funds for ADA projects? Ms. Gorla responded that all our building meet ADA requirements, but not to the extent as to what is required in new construction. Mr. McIntyre asked if the stimulus funds are a renewable source. No, it is only for two years and that is why there is a caution against using the funds for staffing.

Mr. Krpan suggested the district figure out how to get Wright up to a four section school to avoid pouring money into Malta. Mr. McIntyre asked if we have a grant writer on staff. Mr. Gorla responded we do not. Mr. Cochrane asked if maybe we can work with NIU to pool our resources in this area. Mr. Biggs added that the committee has to consider if nothing is done to the boiler at Malta Elementary how attractive of a property will it be if we decide to discontinue using the building as a school. Will the Malta community want to invest in a building with no working boiler? Also, if the boiler goes out during the winter, the pipes could burst and flood the building. Ms. Christensen had a couple question. Has it been decided already to replace the boiler at Malta? No, the project has not been approved by the School Board yet. Are the three HVAC projects Mr. Biggs mentioned been approved? Yes, one out of three projects has been completed. Her last question was if the boiler at the high school is being replaced this summer. Mr. Biggs, responded that has yet to be determined.

Schedule of upcoming meetings
Mr. Cochrane asked what we would want to cover at upcoming meetings. Ms. Gorla said her thoughts are that as Mr. Biggs prepares the master program for the buildings in the district he would flow that information up to the committee. Mr. Biggs will be working with Scott Johnson of RL Johnson & Associates to identify deficiencies and tackle upcoming projects. He would then need to put together a comprehensive schedule in order to identify priorities. Again, we will have to wait and see if stimulus funds will be able to pay for some of the projects we may need to do soon.

Mr. Teresinski asked Ms. Gorla to give a brief overview of how we are rated in terms of bond issuance and the district’s financial standing. Ms Gorla started off by saying it is very important that we come as close as possible to a balanced budget because when we go out to issue our 78 million in bonds; we need to get a good rating. Leadership has been able to identify 1.5 million dollars in reductions in order to come as close as possible to a balanced budget this upcoming fiscal year. CFAC has been exploring all financial issues including the bond issuance. The hope is that we can wait to the very end of the project to issue the last 8-10 million dollars to mitigate our costs. We are looking to improve our bond rating at the next bond issuance. We are talking about the possibility of saving millions of dollars over the life of the bond. Open discussion among group. Ms. Gorla explained bond rating and revenue deferment. The consensus is that the committee should come together again after the April 20, 2009 School Board meeting.

Ms. Gorla created a schedule for regular monthly FPC meetings. The meeting in April was scheduled for April 14th, but to accommodate the committee’s wishes the next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 28th. If we follow the schedule then the next meeting will be on May 12, 2009. At the April 28th meeting the committee can discuss the bid results. The May meeting will be held at Malta Elementary in order to tour the facility. Mr. Krpan requested a copy of an operational budget for two new school buildings.

Good of the Order
Mr. Cochrane adjourned the meeting at 8:29 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

~ Tori Monique Addison

Huntley Middle School Media Center
821 S Seventh Street
DeKalb, IL 60115

Tuesday, April 28, 2009
6:30 p.m.

Agenda

1. Agenda Review
2. Update – Cortland Elementary
3. Update – DeKalb High School
4. Energy Presentation – Dan Kenny
5. Review Bids for DeKalb High School
6. Schedule of upcoming meetings
6. Good of the order

click image for enlarged view

Kishwaukee Community Hospital, already straining under the demands of its patient load in 2003, embarked on one of the most expensive  new construction projects in the history of DeKalb County. KishHealth System (KHS) raised a $102 million budget for construction, equipment and furnishings for a new 230,000 square feet tri-level hospital.  Approximately $60 million of the financing came from tax-exempt bonds. KHS also used cash reserves, ongoing operating revenue and secured a record near $9.5 million dollars in community pledges and donations for the new facility.

The all new hospital opened on schedule in 2007.

A year later, in a Nov. 20, 2008 letter to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board (IHFPB),  KHS  notified the state of its intent to close its behavioral health unit at the hospital. Kishwaukee Hospital has provided short-term inpatient care for mental illness for 33 years. The unit had 16 beds when it opened in the 1970s. The state reduced that number to eight beds in 1998 and reduced it again to six beds when the new hospital opened in 2007, according to KHS sources.

KishHealth System CEO Kevin Poorten told an audience of more than 100, during a two-hour forum held in the multipurpose room at the DeKalb County Health Department, that it was a “very difficult decision” to ask the state to close the unit.  He noted that in recent years it has become difficult to staff the unit because most psychiatrists and clinical staff now prefer to work in an outpatient setting. The Illinois Department of Public Health State Summary released in October 2008 found that there are 33 excess acute mental illness beds in the geographical area that includes KCH.

Poorten noted that the number of people seeking mental health services at KCH is increasing, and that $1.7 million has been spent during the last three years on recruiting psychiatrists to come work at the hospital. It was also noted that the mental health unit was not profitable.

Reports from the forum indicate that many in attendance were vehemently opposed to the closing of the mental health unit.

The director of the closed mental health unit Dr. Fatima Hadi told the audience there is not as much need for inpatient care anymore. Has she been reading the news about the crises among families who are out of work, the stress of returning veterans from Iraq, and the fact there were 60 attempted suicide victims in our county last year who were brought to the hospital by the Sheriff’s Department alone?

And I was sorry to find out that the Ben Gordon Mental Health Center is caught up in the contractual entanglements of providing the unit director to the hospital, so their public position on its usefulness has to be neutral. If the unit has been closed since November why is Dr. Hadi still being paid to manage it? These are federal grant funds paying for her services, our tax dollars. Maybe they have to spend all the grant monies or be required to give some back?

– Barry Schrader
DeKalb County Citizens for Better Mental Health Care

Eileen Dubin, county board representative to the DeKalb County Mental Health Board, noted that the “DeKalb County Human Service Delivery in a Challenging Economy” was being conducted by the DeKalb County Community Foundation, Kishwaukee United Way and the NIU Center for Governmental Studies. There is also a study in progress by Health Systems Research at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford to provide the DeKalb County Mental Health Board with an up-to-date assessment as to current mental health needs in the county.

Added to the information above are the upsetting statistics reported on suicides within our armed forces abroad in war zones, the experience last year on campus and a trend toward growth in suicides among our young populations.

National surveys report a growing jail population indication of 20 percent of inmates with substance abuse and mental health needs. In addition, when one looks at the severe downturn in our economy causing greater unemployment and veterans returning home, in need of help readjusting to everyday life, it seems unreal to eliminate the mental health unit at this time.

– Eileen Dubin,
DeKalb County Board

Shrader requested four considerations: (1) [KHS] Withdraw their application to the state seeking to close the unit; (2) conduct a nationwide search for a qualified mental health unit director; (3) let that person hire and train a staff; (4) restore the trust of admitting psychiatrists who have lost faith that this hospital cares about mental health.

All reasonable. But KHS should receive financial assistance from the DeKalb County government to help offset its loss of profits for providing an essential and needed health care service. The County has a funding source.

click on image for enlarged view

The DeKalb County Infirmary and Farm was originally the home to those who were unable to pay for their own medical attention. Many had no living relatives and no money and when they died they were interred at the expense of the county in the DeKalb County Cemetery on the same property. The buildings have been torn down and the county home is now located on the west side of DeKalb at Dresser Rd and Annie Glidden.

The former site known as the DeKalb County Farm is now occupied by the Target shopping center and portions of the Walmart shopping center. In granting the City of DeKalb permission to annex the property a long term sales tax sharing arrangement was worked out in an intergovernmental agreement between the two bodies. Whenever the City of DeKalb increases its Home Rule sales tax, the County receives additional monies.

In recent times the City of DeKalb has increased its sales tax twice. The least the County could do is “earmark” their share of those increases towards making sure the community does not lose a vital service for those who need it most.