Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

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. It also would have eliminated the city funding for the Elgin Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Elgin city manager said that statements by council members indicated they wanted to find a way to continue to fund the bureau. So he suggested raising the tax 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.

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 jump company. The new staffing model will increase the incidence of ambulances available for EMS calls which is 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 emergencies. 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.

To make up the $700,000, Dunne suggested that the city 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. He claimed the moves would cover the $700,000 gap.

The council voted down adopting Dunne’s proposals as part of the 2018 budget by a 7-2 margin. 

The mayor said he has concerns about the continued use of overtime to fill fire department shifts, a policy in place for 15 years in the hopes it would save money by not having the legacy costs related to hiring more full-time employees.

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.

thanks Dan