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Monday, May 12, 2014
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Aldermen consider $79M budget DeKalb mayor concerned with proposed general fund for fiscal 2015 2015. Out of its general fund, the city is expected to spend $35.2 million, a 3.6 percent inDeKALB – DeKalb alder- crease over the current fiscal men will hold their first dis- year’s estimated expenditures. cussion about next year’s $79 General fund revenues are million budget during their projected to be $34.6 million committee of the whole meet- for fiscal 2015, a 1.2 percent ining today. crease compared to estimates The proposed budget for for the current fiscal year. the fiscal year starting July 1 Mayor John Rey said some calls for the city to spend $79.2 of his concerns with this million from July 1 to June 30, year’s budget stem from the
By KATIE DAHLSTROM
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
general fund and the city’s focus to have reserves equal 25 percent of expenditures. Based on projections, the general fund balance at the end of next fiscal year will be about $5.2 million, around 15 percent of expenditures and $600,000 less than what the fund balance is projected to be at the end of the current fiscal year. In her budget memo, City
Manager Anne Marie Gaura listed several strains on the city’s general fund, including its use to support other funds, pension costs and debt. The general fund also pays for city personnel, an area that will see several changes if alderman follow recommendations from Gaura to restructure departments, add several positions, cut others and examining the city’s use of con-
tractual services. Rey said aldermen have been anticipating the changes. “I think we need to be very judicious with organizational changes so they’re in the spirit of efficiency and effectiveness,” Rey said. According to her budget memo, Gaura would like to add a management analyst position to her office. The management analyst would
HARDWORKING HUSKIES
develop and administer an employee wellness program and lead the city’s efforts on an image building and promotion campaign, among other tasks. The management analyst would be funded by ending the city’s contract with a lobbyist. Gaura also suggested creating a community development department by moving some
See BUDGET, page A4
Gov’t failed to inspect high risk oil wells, report finds By HOPE YEN The Associated Press
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Jasmine Davis accepts her diploma during a Northern Illinois University graduation ceremony at the Convocation Center on Saturday.
NIU celebrates about 3,100 graduates By JESSI HAISH news@daily-chronicle.com DeKALB – Robots may have led Joshua Ott to Northern Illinois University, but the university is leading him to California. Ott received his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering Saturday from NIU. Ott has lived in DeKalb since he was 5 years old, and it was a trip to the university at a young
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top schools in the country. I thought it was pretty cool. How many graduation parties It kind of wowed me, and it led me to where I am todo you expect to attend this year? Vote and see more gradu- day.” After graduation, he’s ation photos at Daily-Chronicle. going to work for Lockheed com. Martin in California, workage that directed his school ing on satellites. Ott is among 3,100 or so choice and future career. students who graduated “I went to a robotics competition at NIU with this weekend. At the Colmy dad when I was 10,” Ott lege of Liberal Arts and said. “It was a walking ro- Sciences graduation Satbot competition with the urday morning, President
Doug Baker spoke at his first undergraduate spring commencement as president. He told student success stories, such as those of Lincoln Laureate Sarah Stuebing and Ashley Palin, who earned her bachelor’s degree Saturday at 19-years-old. “Our students are smart, hardworking and talented,” Baker said. “They are committed to service, to social justice,
to lifelong learning and to each other. Each student has a compelling story about the journey he or she took to get here today.” For Ott, it meant being interested in building things at a young age, but getting “sidetracked” with working on cars and collision repair. But once he decided to pursue mechanical engineering, NIU gave him
WASHINGTON – The government has failed to inspect thousands of oil and gas wells it considers potentially high risks for water contamination and other environmental damage, congressional investigators say. The report, obtained by The Associated Press before its public release, highlights substantial gaps in oversight by the agency that manages oil and gas development on federal and Indian lands. Investigators said weak control by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management resulted from policies based on outdated science and from incomplete monitoring data. The findings from the Government Accountability Office come amid an energy boom in the country and the increasing use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That process involves pumping huge volumes of water, sand and chemicals underground to split open rocks to allow oil and gas to flow. It has produced major economic benefits, but also raised fears that the chemicals could spread to water supplies. The audit also said the BLM did not coordinate effectively with state regulators in New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah. The bureau has become a symbol of federal overreach to industry groups opposed to government regulations related to oil and gas drilling. Environmental groups say the Obama administration needs to do more to guard against environmental damage. In the coming months, the administration is expected to issue rules on fracking and methane gas emissions. The report said the agency “cannot accurately and efficiently identify whether federal and Indian resources are properly protected or that federal and Indian resources are at risk of being extracted without agency approval.” In response to the report, Tommy
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