City Administrator and budget officer Stephanie Dawkins presented the City of Geneva’s recommended Fiscal Year 2026 budget and a forecast for 2027, summarizing major funds, staffing changes and capital investments. Dawkins said the recommended budget is balanced across all funds and that the council will consider the budget after a public hearing at the Feb. 3, 2025 City Council meeting.

Dawkins told the council the city is presenting the budget with context and that detailed line items are available in the agenda packet and on the city’s website, including a new interactive online budget tool. “The budget is a planning document,” Dawkins said. “Pursuant to state statute, the municipal budget must be a balanced budget.” She said the fiscal 2026 recommendation is the culmination of many meetings and workshops, and the city will post responses to written council questions each week ahead of the public hearing.

Dawkins summarized the city’s financial highlights: the general fund projection will maintain a fund balance of approximately 55 percent, which she said exceeds the goal of at least 90 days of operating expenditures; the city retained an Aa1 bond rating from Moody’s; and Government Finance Officers Association awards were received for financial reporting. The total recommended budget across 37 funds is presented in the packet at approximately $140.6 million for 2026, with a similar forecast for 2027.

Major fund details presented include:

- General Fund: Dawkins said revenues are budgeted relatively flat vs. FY25 and projected flat for FY27. Personnel is the largest general fund expense; personnel costs are up 6.1 percent over FY25 largely because of increased pension contributions for police and fire recommended by the city actuary. The budget includes a part-time fire prevention inspection position and a modest increase tied to incoming elected-official compensation pursuant to Ordinance 2023 (effective May 2025). Contractual expenses decline from prior year largely because of a $1,000,000 ARPA-funded grant program that was budgeted in FY25 but not repeated; “other” expenses include nearly $800,000 in increased transfers out of the general fund to capital funds.

- Electric Fund: Dawkins said electric sales and purchase-of-power make up the largest portions of the fund. Capital expenditures are estimated at $15,000,000 and contractual costs are projected to rise because of an estimated $4,200,000 increase in purchased power tied to capacity and market changes. Rich Babica (staff) explained how the Geneva Generating Facility (GGF) reduces the city’s capacity charges on select high-index days and that the facility produced roughly $4.2 million in reduced capacity charges during the summer of 2024. Babica said GGF “is very similar on a macro scale to solar on your house,” reducing demand on the PJM system during targeted high-capacity days and lowering capacity charges that are passed through to ratepayers.

- Water/Wastewater Fund: The presentation anticipates other financing of about $12,000,000 in an IEPA loan and the planned use of $4,500,000 of fund balance to support capital investment. Capital expenditures comprise about 55 percent of the water/wastewater fund budget; planned investments include a sanitary sewer river crossing and roughly $3,600,000 in water-main infrastructure replacement, with an expectation that approximately 130 to 150 service lines will be replaced either via capital projects or the city’s reimbursement program. The budget recommends adding an environmental compliance coordinator at the wastewater treatment plant to handle unfunded mandates and compliance testing and reporting.

Capital programs: Dawkins outlined three capital-focused funds (general capital projects, infrastructure capital projects funded primarily by a half-percent non-home-rule sales tax, and a capital equipment fund supported largely by transfers from the general fund). Among projects highlighted, East State Street received budgeted amounts for multiple funding sources: $1,800,000 for bridge/railing and sidewalk widening work, $1,300,000 for reconstruction (plus $1,400,000 from TIF 2 and $1,200,000 from TIF 3). Staff said the East State Street project has been discussed for years and, per recent communication, will be let by the Illinois Department of Transportation in March with construction expected to begin in late spring/early summer and to run at least two years, with staged closures and significant utility relocations.

Process and schedule: Dawkins said the council will have opportunities for questions in January and that a special Committee of the Whole meeting may be scheduled January 27 if desired. Written questions submitted by noon on Friday will be posted with responses by the following Monday. Dawkins closed by thanking staff and the Strategic Plan Advisory Committee for their work on the budget.

Council members asked substantive follow-up questions during the presentation. Alderman Swanson and others asked how to submit questions and when they would be discussed; Dawkins directed members to submit questions by Friday for posting and indicated committee meetings would be used for deeper review. Councilmembers also asked for timeline details on the East State Street project and received a staff timeline that the project would be advertised through the IDOT bulletin in March, be awarded in early April, and begin construction around May 1 depending on weather, with the work staged to remove eastbound lanes for utility work and later reconstruct westbound lanes. Staff said a communications plan will be prepared to advise residents and businesses during construction.

No formal action was taken on the budget at the meeting; the council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Feb. 3, 2025 when it is expected to consider adoption of a resolution to approve the FY2026 budget.