East Peoria's budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year shows an 18.65% increase in spending from the current year.
The city council on Tuesday unanimously (4-0, with one absence) approved $122.3 million in appropriations for the annual budget that begins May 1, up from $103.1 million in 2023-24. The council also approved a working cash budget of $93.7 million in revenue.
“One of the things I like to point out every year we have this appropriation and the next one, the working cash budget, is that the appropriation is usually viewed as what can be legally spent,” Accounts and Finance Commissioner Mark Hill said during Tuesday’s meeting. “It also establishes the legal spending limit, and the basis for our tax levy.”
Hill explained that the city collects approximately $5.9 million in property taxes, with the majority of that applied toward police and fire pensions, workers’ compensation and retirement accounts.
“Everything else we do in the city, every dollar we spend – on every employee, every truck, every garbage truck, every street we repair – comes from what we call alternate revenue sources,” Hill said.
“Some of that's gaming; the large portion is sales tax. So we'd like to keep that in mind as we continue to do development here in the Levee District and in other areas of the city, that lion’s share of our money is coming from those other sources and those pay for just about everything else.”
The approved spending includes $15 million in police fund dollars for operating equipment purchases, and $12.5 million toward street paving and resurfacing.
Mayor John Kahl previously said those costs are related in part to this year’s planned construction of a new police station, and improvements to Springfield Road.
Overall, the police protection fund increased by $14.7 million and the street and bridge fund increased by $6.4 million.
The council also heard a first reading of a resolution to approve the salaries, wages and benefits for certain non-union city employees with a 3% increase. The ordinance must be available to the public for one week before a final vote on approval.
