 Plotner
was first appointed to the city treasurer position by
then-Mayor John Guzzardo in 1994. This came on the heels of the then
city treasurer resigning to relocate to Arizona.
On May 3, Plotner handed his letter of resignation to Mayor Keith
Snyder, stating that he would vacate his position on May 31.
In his final report to the city, Plotner voiced some of the same
warnings that he has voiced over the last several months: Money is
short; don't count on the state to make their payments on time; and
be very cautious in spending.
The following is a written statement Plotner distributed to the
press:
The General Fund in
the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year Budget for the City of Lincoln on paper is
balanced. However, projected revenues are precarious at best.
Income Tax is
estimated as increasing $190,000 over this past year's receipts. You
will recall that the State of Illinois failed to send the City
income tax receipts as expected. The projection is based upon an
Illinois Municipal League estimate that $77 per capita will be
received in 2010-2011. With a population count of 15,369 that would
amount to $1,183,000. We received $992,988 this past fiscal year.
What are the odds of the State of Illinois paying its vouchers on
time this year?
The Replacement Tax
projects a slight increase over the past year because of signs of
economic recovery. The projected increase is only $5,300 over last
year's receipts. If projections are correct the General Fund will
receive approximately $147,000 in 2010-2011. If not, it will receive
less than expectations. In a tight budget it is important that the
City receives the projected amount of replacement taxes.
The General Fund
expects to receive $114,000 in (TARP) funds from IDOT as
reimbursement of construction already completed and paid for by the
City for the SYSCO project. We also expected to receive this money
during 2009-2010. Any bets on receiving this money?
The City is
counting on the issuance of General Obligation Bonds in December,
2010, which hopefully will pay for a number of capital expenses
items placed originally in various Department budgets. It amounts to
almost $191,000 and includes such things as computers, radios,
pagers, etc. Also included are the new roof loan repayment, fire
truck loan repayment, street sweeper, squad cars and new personnel
equipment for the police and fire department. Hopefully, these
expenditures are compatible with the guidelines for G.O. Bond
expenditures. If not, cutbacks will be necessary.
The Non-Home Rule
Fund is expected to pick up infrastructure rebates for development
agreements approved in past years by the City Council. It is
suggested that the City Council take a very hard look at future
proposed development agreements. At best, Funds should not be
borrowed to pay the costs of such developments.
In reviewing the
April 30, 2010 Composite Account Cash Report it should be noted that
three accounts have negative balances at the close of the Fiscal
Year: General Fund ($127,192); Forestry ($7,755); Liability
Insurance ($34,016).
In addition, the
General Fund failed to repay a $300,000 interfund loan it borrowed
from the Contingency and Depreciation Fund. Such loans are to be
paid back in the Fiscal Year in which the borrowing took place. I'm
not sure what the auditors will have to say about that.
We are using the
Composite Fund principle to avoid having a number of separate
checking accounts as in past years. That concept is fine; however,
are interfund loans made when negative balances occur in some of the
entities of the Composite Fund or are the cash balances merely
reduced in those accounts with positive balances to cover those
accounts with negative balances?
In addition, the
Non-Home Rule Tax Fund is a part of the Composite Account. The NHR
Fund has restricted uses. Is this fund "tapped" to take care of the
deficits of other funds and if so, is an interfund loan made to
complete this transfer?
In closing, I
appeal to all City Council members and Department Heads to use their
utmost restraint in approving expenditures which would be nice to
have now, but could be put off until later when finances improve for
the City. By all means Department Heads and Council should not
purchase capital expenses items until the G.O. Bonds are issued,
such expenditures are approved by bond attorneys, and the cash is in
hand. Only in case of absolute emergencies or predetermined
expenditures (such as loan payments) should such spending occur.
Cash flow will be a problem, particularly in the General Fund, and
every effort must be made to avoid the early payment of bills. Most
bills should not be approved until the second voting meeting of the
Council each month. This will allow time for many of the expected
revenues to be received by that time of the month.
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When Plotner offered his resignation earlier this month, he said
that on May 17 he would have a prepared statement regarding his
decision to retire from his city post.
To that end, he read the following written statement:
I would like to thank the people in
Lincoln for giving me the opportunity to serve them as City
Treasurer for approximately 16 years. When former Mayor John
Guzzardo came to me asking if I would fill in as City Treasurer to
replace the former City Treasurer, who was leaving to move to
Arizona, little did I know that my tenure would last so long when
accepting John's invitation in 1994.
During the past 14
months there have been increasing demands upon the City Treasurer to
complete tasks and make financial recommendations and/or decisions
which were not a part of the responsibilities of the position in the
previous years. This has greatly increased my time commitments to
the position compared to other years not to mention the anxiety it
has created to attempt to achieve those new expectations.
Lately, I find
myself somewhat exhausted from the rigors of serving as your City
Treasurer. Perhaps it's the "old man" in me coming out and warning
me that enough is enough. In addition, I find that I am not sleeping
as well at night often thinking about what could or should be done
to find a solution for the financial difficulties facing the city in
the future as well as in the preparation of the FY 2010-2011 Budget
for the City of Lincoln.
For some time now
my wife and my three sons have been telling me it's time to totally
retire and start spending more time fishing, playing golf, and
traveling. I have now reached the conclusion that they were right
with their advice and I plan to take advantage of the extra time to
follow up on those activities.
I will be available
for the month of May and will make my usual frequent trips to City
Hall to offer my advice and/or assistance as the City experiences
the first month of the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year which promises to be a
difficult fiscal year. I also plan to offer Alderman Anderson any
assistance she desires as Finance Chairman and to Mayor Snyder as he
looks for my replacement. I will miss the fellowship enjoyed with
Council members and wish them well as they make decisions in the
future which will affect the well being of the City of Lincoln.
I plan to start my
second retirement by taking a 10 day fishing trip to Canada with my
three sons, a couple of grandsons, and a good friend of mine for
many years and his grandson. Upon return I plan to frequent the golf
course, do more fishing in the local area, and do some traveling
with my wife.
Thank you for the
opportunity to serve you and the City of Lincoln as your City
Treasurer.
Sincerely,
Les Plotner
When he left the podium, he was honored by the council,
department heads and members of the audience with a standing
ovation.
[By NILA SMITH]
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