Aurora facing ‘significant hole' in 2026 budget, mayor says

Chicago Tribune

2 days ago

Based on early budget analysis, Aurora is facing a 'significant hole' between revenue and expenses in 2026, according to Mayor John Laesch.
That's what he told residents that gathered Saturday at the first of four Community Listening and Action Town Halls, which was held at Metea Valley High School for those in the 1st and 10th wards. Before opening up the floor to questions and feedback, Laesch gave a presentation on the current state of the city's finances that highlighted challenges as well as the actions being taken to balance next year's budget.
While Laesch's presentation did not give a specific number on the budget gap, he did note a few places where costs are going up.
The city is set to spend an extra $7 million next year in paying off its debt, Laesch said, which has now reached $327 million. The total amount the city will need to pay each year going forward is $27 million, which includes principal repayment and interest, he said.
The Aurora City Council has approved over $100 million in additional debt this year and late last year through the sale of bonds to finance construction projects from new fire stations to renovations at RiverEdge Park. Though some of the debt was taken out under Laesch's administration, all of the projects to be funded through the bonds were approved by the Aurora City Council under former Mayor Richard Irvin.
The city's 2026 budget is expected to see another $3 million or $4 million increase due to pay raises, Laesch said, partially because of some union contracts negotiated before he took office in May.
Laesch has been dealing with budget issues literally since his first day as mayor, he said during the presentation. It was then that he learned about the unbudgeted $500,000 promised to VNA Health Care for opening its newest clinic, which the Aurora City Council approved last month despite concerns from some aldermen.
Then, on his second day in office, he said he learned that the Information Technology Department is $6.3 million over budget this year, primarily because of what he said was 'absolutely necessary' upgrades made to police and fire communications equipment, plus the 'excellent' new 311 initiative.
And the hits just keep coming, Laesch said. He recently learned that OnLight Aurora, the city's not-for-profit fiber optic system that provides internet to city buildings, libraries and others, is roughly $1 million in debt, which the city has about 60 days to do something about, he said.
Plus, the statewide 1% grocery tax that helps fund local governments is set to expire at the end of this year. Aurora currently gets around $4.5 million each year from the tax, and City Council is considering locally continuing the tax after it ends statewide.
Laesch noted that, if the tax were to expire without a replacement, it would create another multi-million- dollar hole in the 2026 budget. The city could increase the local sales tax by 0.25% instead of extending the grocery tax, and while that would bring in an extra $6.5 million, Aurora already has a high sales tax compared to nearby communities, he said.
The Aurora City Council recently voted to double the city's tax rate on hotel rooms, the first increase that tax has seen in nearly 40 years, to bring the rate more in-line with nearby communities. City officials previously said that, after the opening of the new Hollywood Casino-Aurora resort in the first half of next year, that increased tax is expected to bring in an additional $1.1 million each year.
Because of the gap between revenues and expenses currently expected in the 2026 budget, 'we had to start making some tough decisions,' Laesch said at Saturday's community meeting. On basically a daily basis, city officials are going through the budget book line-by-line to find ways to be more efficient, he said.
Small things to cut are being found, such as city cellphones that are going unused, while other cuts are more significant.
For example, Laesch said that his administration immediately canceled the proposed City of Lights Center project that would have cost around $250 million. The project didn't make sense to him or others, he said, and the price was just too high.
Aurora is also looking to potentially cut back its annual funding of the Aurora Civic Center Authority, which owns and operates the Paramount Theatre, Copley Theatre, Paramount School of the Arts and North Island Center plus manages the city-owned RiverEdge Park and Stolp Island Theatre. Laesch said the city currently gives the Authority roughly $7 million each year, and while the Paramount is vital to downtown, that amount is 'way too much.'
In addition to the City of Lights Center being canceled, other planned projects have also been delayed or scaled back, according to Laesch's presentation.
One delayed project is the reworking of Broadway's streetscape. However, Laesch said the state will still be working to resurface the road.
Another delayed project is the redesign of Millennium Plaza in downtown, which Laesch said would have cost the city upwards of $4 million.
There are now tighter internal controls on spending through 'P-Cards,' which have already led to 28% less spending using payment cards across all city departments and 54% less spending using the cards from specifically the mayor's office, according to Laesch. He said the city is also looking to refinance some of its debt through the Illinois Finance Authority.
Plus, Laesch will not be using tax increment financing districts, or TIFs, and will not be giving 'corporate bailouts,' he said. During his campaign, he frequently spoke against the use of TIF districts and other economic development incentives that give tax-generated dollars to developers, and he promised to stop or at least heavily cut back on using TIFs if elected.
Laesch will be using his first years in office primarily to 'just get a hold of our financial picture' and 'stabilize things financially' before looking to some of the 'bigger goals and initiatives that I was very enthusiastic about as a candidate.'
Those priorities, which he also highlighted throughout his campaign and in his inauguration speech, include the construction of more single-family homes rather than apartment buildings, workforce development particularly around sustainability-focused jobs, attracting high-paying jobs and supporting small businesses.
In the coming years, Laesch is hoping to 'very aggressively' go after businesses that want to pay living wages and want to contribute or adjust to energy efficiency; but first, the city needs to work to retain the businesses which have already chosen to invest in Aurora, he said.
City officials are also looking into encouraging co-ops to 'have a more sustainable model to provide goods and services,' rather than 'Wall Street funded-businesses,' according to Laesch.
The Community Listening and Action Town Halls will continue each Saturday through Aug. 16, with Laesch and other city officials in attendance at each.
The next session will be held on Aug. 2 at the city's Public Works building, 2185 Liberty St., and is for residents of the 2nd Ward, 3rd Ward and 7th Ward.
Residents of the 8th Ward and 9th Ward will get their town hall on Aug. 9 at the Eola Community Center at 555 S. Eola Road.
The last stop on the tour will be at the Prisco Community Center, 150 W. Illinois Ave., for residents of the 4th Ward, 5th Ward and 6th Ward.
Residents can reserve their seat ahead of time at www.aurora.il.us/CommunityListening.