Board considers possibilities for refuse fund

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DeKALB - An available fund of about $500,000 that was revealed to DeKalb City Council members and to the public Monday may have come as a surprise, but it was not hidden from view, two city officials say. The possibility of using a special refuse fund - money saved with the intent to buy new waste-management equipment - as a way to help balance the city's budget has received mixed reactions. “It mystifies me that ... an attempt to be a good thing has turned out to be a bad thing,” City Manager Mark Biernacki said. City officials have been grappling since late last year with how to fill a budget shortfall of about $500,000 for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Biernacki said he was aware of the money in the refuse fund at the beginning of the year but that he and Public Works Director Rick Monas started talking a few weeks ago about it, noting that the money was just “sitting there,” and they wondered if it could be used for other purposes. Recent budget workshops and advice from a citizens' finance advisory committee confirmed that the refuse fund was no longer necessary for its original purpose and could be used elsewhere for more pressing needs, he said. Opinions expressed by council members and the financial advisory committee over the past few months indicated a “constructive, critical” look at needs and wants, Biernacki said, which has led to a set of changed priorities for the city. The reserve began as a way to fund two pieces of equipment for the Public Works Department. In 2002, the city's cold-storage facility had been filled with an accumulation of waste from street sweepings over the years. The Public Works Department began building up a reserve to eventually purchase a trommel, which separates waste, and a new garbage truck to replace a 22-year-old truck, Monas said. But that equipment is “not a critical need” at the moment, Monas said, and the intent of Monday's announcement was to alert aldermen the money was available. Sixth Ward Alderman Dave Baker said that he thought the equipment had been approved for purchase more than three years ago, and did not realize the money was still in reserve. “It's just the tip of the iceberg as to what's wrong with the unacceptable accounting practices at the city,” Baker said in a phone interview. In his office Wednesday, Biernacki flipped to Page 114 of the 200-page budget, which showed that the refuse fund has $484,000 currently and is estimated to be $584,000 next year. The money is in a special refuse and recycling fund, also known as Fund 47, and not in the Public Works Department's operating budget, he said. The council has proposed using 75 percent of the $500,000 for capital projects and the remaining money to build up a reserve in the general fund. The council is scheduled to vote on how to use the refuse fund at a June 23 meeting. The council also could consider a refuse fee increase of 3 percent - which means the average residential customer would see his or her monthly cost go to $15.82 from $15.37 - to cover the rising cost of contracted services. If that's the course the council goes in, the dollars will most likely be used for worn and torn sidewalks and streets, Biernacki said. “There's an opportunity to take some of these monies and make these very badly needed repairs for the safety of our community,” Second Ward Alderman Kris Povlsen said at Monday's meeting. Baker said he'd like to see some amount go back to the consumer, and this could be done by using the funds to offset proposed fee increases and freezing rates this year. He also agreed with Povlsen that capital improvement are needed.