While Des Plaines received a clean bill of health overall in an annual audit, officials were warned to keep a close eye on the water and sewer fund and several tax increment financing districts.
Christine Torres, a partner at Crowe Horwath, LLP, a public accounting and consulting firm, said at a recent city council meeting that no issues were found with the financial statements nor was there any indication the city violated any requirements by the federal government.
“You can see you do have a general fund that is in a healthy position,” she said, adding that the gaming tax fund and capital projects funds “both look good.”
But she urged officials to continue to monitor the tax increment financing funds because of the liability they present to the general fund, and said her firm has noticed “a downward trend in both net position and losses over the past several years” in the water and sewer fund.
Aldermen were particularly interested in the water and sewer fund, and some questioned what could actually be done given the infrastructure needs.
Torres said many municipalities with aging water systems that require costly repairs face the same situation. Still, she said the city should strive to meet its expenses with incoming revenue.
“I’ve seen losses since 2011 and that’s continuing,” Torres said.
Eighth Ward Alderman Michael Charewicz had a suggestion.
“We are not charging enough for our water,” he said. “It is costing us more to supply water to our residents than we are receiving back.”
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Last year, the city agreed to purchase water from the Northwest Water Commission in an effort to reduce its reliance on water from the city of Chicago, which has raised the price dramatically over the past few years. Officials have said that once that water is flowing, Des Plaines could save between $7,000 and $10,000 on water costs per day, but first, improvements are being made to the pumping station and a pipeline is under construction at a cost of about $6 million..
Charewicz said he hoped the eventual savings will be used to pay down a deficit in the water and sewer fund. City Manager Michael Bartholomew has said the savings initially would be used to pay off the cost of the pipeline and improvements, and then the debt ,before residents would see any savings on their water bills.
Ald. James Brookman, 5th, said he believed it was “unrealistic” to expect that revenues in the water and sewer fund could ever meet the cost of infrastructure needs. He suggested paying for such projects out of the capital improvements fund.
Bartholomew confirmed the city had already done that on several occasions.
Gaines is a freelance reporter.
Twitter: @TribLocal