The DeKalb City Council looked at historical trends and staffing patterns to make projections for the 2006 budget Monday.

The workshop predicted the city’s staffing requirements will increase over the next five years.

Twenty-two percent of the city’s 226 employees will be eligible to retire in the next five years, Assistant City Manager Linda Wiggins said.

This particularly affects the DeKalb Fire Department as 29 percent of the department is set to retire in the next five years, she said.

City employees eligible to retire have collectively served DeKalb for 1,081 years.

“They know where the back alleys are, where all the crooks hide out,” Wiggins said. “It’s going to be a long time before we can replace their knowledge.”

Sixteen new full-time positions will be filled in the next five years, but the cost to the budget would remain the same as the older employees are replaced by lower-paid new employees, she said.

The workshop reviewed staffing costs for the past few years.

Personnel costs, along with pensions and health insurance, account for 80 percent of the city’s expenditure.

This cost is expected to increase as health insurance is expected to rise by 15 percent and pensions by 10 percent this year, Wiggins said.

The workshop discussed sources of revenue to offset the city’s expenditure.

Wiggins said revenue will exceed expenditure by 1.5 percent this year.

“We have 50 sources of revenue but only four that count,” Wiggins said.

Historically, sales tax, property tax, utility tax and state income tax proceeds account for 80 percent of the city’s general fund, Wiggins said.

Seventh Ward Alderman James Barr said the city should not solely rely on these sources for its revenue.

The fiscal year 2006 budget anticipates an overall revenue growth of 6.5 percent.

Barr said he noticed a big jump of 23 percent in property taxes in 2006.

New commercial development on Sycamore Road, such as Lowe’s Home Improvement, will contribute to this increase, City Clerk Donna Johnson said.

To help fund general capital improvements, City Manager Mark Biernacki proposed using 2 percent of all home rule sales tax revenue in 2006, an estimated $75,000, and an additional 2 percent each succeeding year.

Third Ward Alderman Steve Kapitan said the council should discuss this issue further as it was the first time it had been presented on paper.