$7.5M in budget cuts proposed as Rockford deficit worsens

The Rockford City Council gathered today to sift through proposed budget cuts totaling $7.5 million as the city’s economic and financial condition grew grimmer.

Finance Director Andres Sammul told aldermen his projection of a 2009 city shortfall worsened by $200,000 that week when he received the city’s latest sales tax payment. With jobless rates on the rise and sales tax revenues on the decline, Sammul said he now predicts the 2009 general fund deficit will be $5 million — up from $4.8 million — unless drastic cuts are made.

Mayor Larry Morrissey’s administration and city department leaders submitted a list of potential cuts totaling more than enough to balance the ailing general fund. Submitting more than was needed to solve the deficit was necessary, Morrissey said, because there is no telling how long the economic downturn will continue, and the deepest cuts depend on agreements with the city police and firefighters unions. read more...