Will County Gazette

The City of Joliet is having to carefully use a tight budget due to the COVID-19 shutdown that could leave the city broke by November as city tax dollars go toward police patrols, roof replacements and street repairs. 

Last month, the Joliet City Council had to debate whether or not to replace a fire station's roof that could be in danger of caving in, while also being aware of the city's strained budget, according to the Herald-News. 

In the past, the city has dealt with tight budgets. But even in the 2008 Great Recession, the city's budget was nowhere near as tight as this year's. Interim City Manager Steve Jones told the City Council that in 2008, there "was a relatively slow decline," but this year "is like a light switch. This is a situation where everything was shut off," the Herald-News reported. 

With the coronavirus pandemic, there are no casino tax revenues, which traditionally accounts for over $1.3 million a month, according to the Herald-News. There has also been a large sales tax reduction since many non-essential stores have closed. Car dealerships and hotels are also seeing much less business. 

"We're starting to get some preliminary numbers in terms of the impact, and we're going to have to make some hard decisions," Jones told the City Council.

Since Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued the statewide stay-at-home order, Joliet has used $7 million is cash reserves. At this rate, the city's $70 million could be gone by November 2020, Finance Director James Ghedotte told the City Council. 

"Quite frankly, we can't wait until all the money is gone to do something," Ghedotte told the Council.

The Council will be meeting for a special session, which they will review city finances and begin to take actions to help the city, according to the News-Herald. 

"A lot depends on what happens in May," Ghedotte told the Council about the current end-date for the stay-at-home order. "I don't think when we go back to business it's going to be business as usual."

But what the city needs are cutbacks, which no council member gave suggestions for, according to the Herald-News. 

Last week, Jones told the News-Herald that the city might have to look at capital projects for cutbacks. Replacing the fire department roof could fall in that category.