Post by title1parent on Oct 6, 2009 4:52:15 GMT -5
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=326754&src=76
$9.25 million deficit looms for Dist. 204
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald 10/06/09
One year ago, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 finance guru Dave Holm presented the board with a $6.5 million deficit budget for FY 2010 and spent the next 10 months whittling it down to the balanced budget approved last month.
Holm's coming 10 months likely won't be as easy, with a nearly $9.25 million deficit looming for the next fiscal year.
"It's important to know that the numbers I'm about to show you truly are before we do our work, if we don't do any changes, what the bottom line would look like," Holm said before flashing the $9.25 million figure on the overhead screen. "We have every intention of addressing the deficit and it will look different when we're done. Is it a more difficult challenge this year than it was last year? Yes it is."
Last year the district took on several budget cuts coming from restructured service contracts, the addition of the federal lunch program and the district purchasing its own diesel fuel. About $3 million in federal stimulus funds also helped add to the district's bottom line.
As of Monday, the district is not anticipating any new stimulus money and Holm said it is too difficult to predict any state funding.
With declining revenues ahead, Holm also warned that the percentage of fund balance to revenue drops below the target of 25 percent at its lowest point in late April, in Fiscal Year 2012.
"In 2011 we may very well have to do some short-term borrowing, which we have not done in quite some time so it is another indicator of the challenges ahead," Holm said. "Again, we're going to do everything we can to not experience any short-term borrowing."
Moving forward, Holm said the district will be counting on two groups: the district's austerity group, consisting of high-level cabinet embers who meet to bounce ideas off each other, and the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee that has been reformed to find new ideas to be more efficient and save costs.
The committee will meet Oct. 15 to filter through all recommendations submitted to them through the district's Web site. Holm expects the committee to have at least one cost-saving recommendation by the end of November.
$9.25 million deficit looms for Dist. 204
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald 10/06/09
One year ago, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 finance guru Dave Holm presented the board with a $6.5 million deficit budget for FY 2010 and spent the next 10 months whittling it down to the balanced budget approved last month.
Holm's coming 10 months likely won't be as easy, with a nearly $9.25 million deficit looming for the next fiscal year.
"It's important to know that the numbers I'm about to show you truly are before we do our work, if we don't do any changes, what the bottom line would look like," Holm said before flashing the $9.25 million figure on the overhead screen. "We have every intention of addressing the deficit and it will look different when we're done. Is it a more difficult challenge this year than it was last year? Yes it is."
Last year the district took on several budget cuts coming from restructured service contracts, the addition of the federal lunch program and the district purchasing its own diesel fuel. About $3 million in federal stimulus funds also helped add to the district's bottom line.
As of Monday, the district is not anticipating any new stimulus money and Holm said it is too difficult to predict any state funding.
With declining revenues ahead, Holm also warned that the percentage of fund balance to revenue drops below the target of 25 percent at its lowest point in late April, in Fiscal Year 2012.
"In 2011 we may very well have to do some short-term borrowing, which we have not done in quite some time so it is another indicator of the challenges ahead," Holm said. "Again, we're going to do everything we can to not experience any short-term borrowing."
Moving forward, Holm said the district will be counting on two groups: the district's austerity group, consisting of high-level cabinet embers who meet to bounce ideas off each other, and the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee that has been reformed to find new ideas to be more efficient and save costs.
The committee will meet Oct. 15 to filter through all recommendations submitted to them through the district's Web site. Holm expects the committee to have at least one cost-saving recommendation by the end of November.