The Elgin City Council signed off Wednesday on a new three-year contract with the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin, but added two new requirements it did not discuss beforehand with the nonprofit organization.
Per the amended agreement, DNA must add two new members to its board — one each from the Elgin Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce — and create a list of milestones it will achieve. Among them is a provision that DNA hire a consultant by year’s end to research a Special Service Area through which the organization could be funded.
The adjustments were made at the request of Councilman Steve Thoren, who said he thought the increased number of board members was part of the deal tentatively approved by the council on Aug. 27.
After the meeting, DNA President Brian Piñon said he was frustrated that the council changed the deal without first discussing it with his organization and that DNA members were not allowed to voice their opinions at the Wednesday meeting.
“We negotiated a contract in public and in good faith, and the mayor changed it without letting us respond,” Piñon said.
The council had been set to take a final vote on the contract at its Sept. 10 meeting when Thoren asked for a postponement. His request, he said Wednesday, was because he “misinterpreted” an amendment Councilman John Steffen made at the Aug. 27 meeting in which the additional board member requirement was removed.
“I thought the only change was three years (instead of the two-year contract the city initially wanted). To me, that’s what it sounded like,” Thoren said.
“I want everyone to know I love the DNA. I love what they do downtown. I want them to be successful. I believe in them. I think the current arrangement is the best means for the DNA to succeed,” he said.
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When questioned by Councilwoman Tish Powell, Thoren acknowledged he did not speak to anyone at DNA about the changes he wanted.
“Conversation was not made. I did not feel it needed to be made” given that the contract had not been signed by the city, Thoren said.
Powell and Corey Dixon asked Mayor Dave Kaptain to give DNA officials, who were present at the meeting, a chance to talk about the changes. Kaptain opted instead to call for a vote on the contract.
“I think this contract and the contract process have set a really terrible precedent that will come back and bite us in the back at this point,” Dixon said. “You can have tunnel vision if you want to but the ramifications of this will affect everybody here one way or another.”
Kaptain said the council was legally allowed to amend to the contract, and DNA could discuss the changes with City Attorney Christopher Beck. It’s standard procedure and part of how the city reviews contracts, he said.
Sixty percent of DNA’s budget comes from the city. The contract provides about $180,000 a year in funding, and includes a 3% increase in salaries per year for DNA employees.
DNA’s mission, per its website, is to “strengthen the economic vitality of the downtown by providing strategic business support services available to all downtown businesses and property owners, cultivating a network of entrepreneurs interested in considering a downtown location, and driving foot-traffic and visibility through positive community building events such as the Elgin Farmers Market and seasonal promotional campaigns.”
The impetus behind why the city wanted changes made to the contract this year has not been discussed publicly.
One contract addition DNA did agree to was to have an audit of DNA finances done by April 2026. However, the group was opposed to adding new board members from specific organizations in order to maintain its independence, Piñon said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.