FOX LAKE — The Fox Lake City Council set its budget for 2010 at a special council meeting and public hearing on Wednesday.
The total general expenses for 2010 will be $1,537,734. The city will transfer $541,000 from the Tax Incremental Fund to the general fund, RDA fund and debt service fund.
The city will levy $555,677, which reflects a rate of $7.34 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The city council discussed giving city employees Christmas gifts. Alderman Percy Harper voiced his opposition to giving Christmas gifts.
“I don’t think we should do it,” Harper said. “We have people in town that are hurting and we know that taxes are going up.”
Alderman John Mund said he was going to respectfully disagree with Harper. He said that the city has low turnover with its employees, and “it’s not because we pay them so much.” He said the Christmas gift, which in the past has been a $50 gift certificate from the Chamber of Commerce, is a token to show employees that their work is appreciated.
“We try to treat them like family,” Mund said.
Mayor Gerald Mullin asked that the issue of Christmas gifts be put on the agenda for the December city council meeting.
New police chief Jim Rohr told the city council that the police department will experiment with 12-hour shifts in December. He said it would save the city two part-time shifts a week and give better coverage past 3 a.m.
“It should save us some overtime too,” Rohr said.