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Du Quoin is one of several cities in Illinois expecting to see a huge dip in revenue because of the economic shutdown following the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Du Quoin Call, Mayor Guy Alongi said that the city's losses will be between $500,000 and $750,000 this year, and as much as $1 million over the next two years.
The city is strategizing how entities could continue operation with 15%, 20%, and 25% cutbacks. The departments that could be impacted the most are administration/finance, police and fire, streets, sanitation, and the sewer and water department.
“We’re going to meet this thing head on, and not bury our heads in the sand,” Alongi said.
The mayor said the city is doing whatever it can to avoid boosting taxes, but the city could still make cuts, which would potentially impact its 35 full-time workers.
“At this point, I can say everything is on the table,” he told the Call. “We have to make sure we can continue services without interruption.”
The city has already made cuts totaling $84,000 from the administration budget by no longer working with two grass cutters, laying off a part-time worker, and parting ways with a lobbyist.
Alongi said that next month will bring more information and insight into how the city will be impacted and how it can move forward.
“The economy is not going to open up like water flowing through a hose," he said. "You can’t take this attitude this will go away. Sales tax will come back a little at a time. It may never entirely come back.”
Alongi added the city is doing what it can to not deplete the reserves it’s maintained within the last five years.
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