Alternatives to increasing DeKalb residents’ taxes or cutting city services will be considered tonight in a special joint meeting of the DeKalb City Council and the Finance Advisory Board.

City Manager Mark Stevens said the purpose of the meeting is to discuss strategies for balancing the budget and to identify the city’s primary goals and priorities for the next fiscal year. He said the city must explore alternatives to raising taxes or reducing services because the council is opposed to those measures.

Stevens said the city’s three basic options are to use short-term financing techniques to get through the next year, to have a major reduction in services or to have a tax increase.

e said among the short-term strategies are the use of operating reserve funds for capital expenses and use of one-time revenue sources, like the Airport Land Reimbursement Grant, to apply to operating or capital costs.

Stevens said the council has expressed unwillingness to use either of the long-term strategies of reducing services or raising taxes. He said because the council is set on avoiding a drop in the level of services, and has also been opposed to a tax increase, the short-term strategies appear more likely.

Stevens said the short-term approaches would enable the city to maintain levels of service without a tax increase, but would require action that is somewhat inconsistent with fundamental fiscal policy.

Stevens said he is not an advocate of short-term planning, but said it can be considered because the city expects, or at least hopes, that tax increment financing and economic development will strengthen its tax base.

According to Stevens, the budget preparation process will be particularly difficult this year because the city must not only establish its priorities, but must decide whether it wants to pursue short-term or long-term financing strategies to keep the budget balanced.

The special joint meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight, preceding the regular council meeting.

Also at issue before the council tonight will be the city’s options in dealing with DeKalb Airport’s fixed base operator, Norman Lively, who has been indicted on fraud charges.

Stevens said the council hasn’t met since the indictment, and said the city will meet with legal counsel today and advise the council of its options in executive session following the regular meeting tonight. Stevens said he believes that under the contract with Lively, the council will be legally able to do whatever it desires under the circumstances.