Elgin wants to make changes to its contract with the Downtown Neighborhood Association, including the introduction of what DNA officials call “unfunded mandates” and the appointment of new executive board members.
DNA Board President Brian Pinon said he contacted the city manager’s office before the contact expired in June. Typically the agreement is approved by the Elgin City Council after the nonprofit makes a presentation highlighting the achievements of the previous year and outlines the coming year’s goals, he said.
This year, however, the contract was not placed on the agenda, and he learned this month that Elgin officials want changes made. He started negotiating with City Manager Rick Kozal but was later told the council would be handling the details.
The three-year contract submitted this year is the same as the previous agreement, Pinion said. A 3% increase year over year increase in funding is included.
City spokesman Jeff Knox said he could not comment on the contract, but more information will be available as part of the council’s Wednesday, Aug. 27, meeting.
DNA, established in the late 1990s, promotes the economic vitality and community of the city’s downtown. It has two full-time and one part-time staff members but is driven by a group of volunteers.
Among the changes requested by the city, Pinon said, was a reduction in the contract term from three years to two, the addition of board members from the Elgin Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, an audit of the organization’s spending and the hiring of a consultant to look for ways for DNA can become less dependent on city funding
About 60% of DNA’s budget — $180,000 — comes from the city and the rest from sponsors. The city pays its share with money from the center city Tax Increment Funding district.
“In theory, this sounds great, but it’s just messing with an organization that is already successful,” Pinon said, stressing that the group has been “working to reduce our dependence on the city.”
Among DNA’s biggest undertakings is the Downtown Elgin Market, a self-sustaining outdoor summer market on Riverside Drive that’s open every Friday June through October. Attendance was more than 22,000 in 2024, according to an annual report.
DNA this year also landed a $100,000 grant from The Hartford and Main Street America to start a business incubator program, one of just three grants awarded nationally. The plan calls for the use of a downtown storefront to be used by small businesses or vendors to make the transition into a brick-and-mortar location, and it will also be self-sustaining, Pinon said.
DNA has received national recognition for spearheading zoning changes to allow light manufacturing in the downtown district to help draw more businesses and was recognized for its work by Illinois Main Street America.
While the city has backed down from its request for a consultant, an audit will cost about $15,000 — money the city is not providing but the organization is willing to foot, Pinon said.
“I’m all for financial transparency. We agreed to do the audit even though it’s an unfunded mandate,” he said. “I do believe there is a more sustainable way to fund DNA,” but it needs to be researched, he said.
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“(The) fundamental issue is this: because we accept municipal funding, some leaders at city hall believe we should be representing them instead of our stakeholders,” he said. “And when the past board tried to walk that line, the DNA was neither respected nor effective.
Things changed when DNA decided to start “unabashedly representing our entrepreneurs, our property owners and the residents who live downtown,” Pinon said.
“That independence, pushing back when necessary, and holding city hall accountable is exactly what has made us successful,” he said. “I am not expecting city hall to rubber stamp (the contract), but they should evaluate us on the terms of the contract. We not only met the terms of the contract, we exceeded it.”
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.