Even with the recession in full swing, Sycamore has had no problem sustaining a balanced city budget.

The new annual budget for the fiscal year 2009-2010 begins May 1 and will extend through April 30, 2010, with a projected General Fund balance beginning at 34 percent of the planned total.

Sycamore’s budget for fiscal year 2010 includes all city funds and totals just under $58.5 million.

Brian Gregory,Sycamore assistant city manager and treasurer, explained the budget is experiencing some cuts and cost shifting to other portions of the budget in an effort to relieve the stress on the General Fund. The salt expenditure, for example, is now being covered by the motor field tax fund.

“It helps us manage this budget in this time of recession,” Gregory said about the budget’s cost shifting. “It gives us some extra room.”

Gregory said building and development in Sycamore is on the decline, but the city is working to improve road conditions on older residential streets.

The Public Works Fund has been reduced by 23.5 percent since FY09 because of shifting costs. With the creation of the Street Maintenance Fund, the Public Works Fund will no longer make its $100,000 contribution toward street maintenance. Funding for the Street Maintenance Fund comes from recent increases and cost shifts such as the 2008 home rule tax increase which grew from 0.75 percent to 1.25 percent this year. Two-fifths of this increase will go directly to the Street Maintenance Fund.

“They’re taking money out of a separate fund so we’re looking at $900,000 to $1.2 million in street improvements this year,” said Fred Busse, director of the Public Works Department. “We’ve expanded the street repair program.”

In this fiscal year, Sycamore’s Water Impact Fee Fund and Sewer Impact Fee Fund will cover much of the financing for several large city improvements such as the engineering and construction of the city’s second water tower. The project will provide the city with a 1.5 million gallon elevated water storage tank at Engh Farm and will cost approximately $3 million.

The Sewer Impact Fee will be tapped for Phase I of the treatment plant upgrade and expansion in FY10. Phase I focuses on the installation of mechanical systems to remove water from the sludge created during the wastewater treatment process. This project will cost about $15.4 million upon completion.

Other improvements include an increase in electronic data processing services to update the city’s expanding computer system, an addition of two trained police officers along with squad car replacements and ambulance upgrades.