Chambana Sun

City of Champaign officials presented the City Council with a budget for the upcoming year under the theme "Fiscal Responsibility Today to Protect Our City's Future."

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city is expecting a significant decrease to the city revenue in the upcoming fiscal year.

The budget recommends a $2.9 million reduction in general funds as compared to the past year’s budget, and is balanced to provide the most essential city services. Most notably, $1.28 million is being removed from the Capital Improvement Fund and there's a new reduction in available funding for capital projects in the 10-Year Capital Improvement Plan.

"The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Champaign residents, businesses, and the city has been substantial," City Manager Dorothy Ann David told Patch. "While the total fiscal impact of this public health crisis remains unknown, the city administration is proactively making recommendations to the City Council regarding possible reductions to next year's budget to account for declining revenue projections."

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, the Champaign City Council is still expecting further expenditure reductions to the budget. The council is not extremely worried as the city has been very financially stable in the past.

"The proposed budget for FY 2020/21 includes $2.9 million of budget reductions for the City Council to consider, including reductions in the Capital Improvement Fund, Vehicle Replacement Fund, not filling vacant staff positions, along with other reduction," Finance Director Kay Nees told Patch. "The administration continues to closely monitor changes to city revenue projections and will make further recommendations to the council as appropriate."

The city administration is working closely with other departments of the city government to provide the best solutions to budget balancing predicaments. The city is not considering public opinion as of yet, but is developing ways to incorporate input into its decisions as the year progresses.