Springfield, IL  (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Round 1 of Springfield City Budget hearings got underway Tuesday night with several departments giving presentations.

Director of Office of Management and Budget Director Ramona Metzger lead off with an overview of the budget as a whole for FY25 and projections for FY26. She reported that FY25 ended with a higher balance than originally projected. The old projection was an ending fund balance of $44 million, but the current estimate is $59 million. The FY26 projection also looks to be a bit higher, but remain within $47 million. Metzger also reported that Springfield is back in line budget wise with pre-COVID levels.

City Treasurer Colleen Redpath Feger highlighted some accomplishments of her office. One of those was to add a QR code to the envelopes for payment of city parking tickets to make it easier for citizens to pay those tickets. She also mentioned that the City’s relationship with local banks made it possible for the City to keep financial fees very low at $420 year-to-date. One of the initiatives Feger discussed for FY26 is to reduce courier fees by working with local banks to create a process for in-house deposits, which she says will also reduce the risk of fraud.

Scott Dahl, Director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau also gave a presentation. He says the SCVB will be busy in FY26 with several items on its agenda, including preparations for the Route 66 Mother Road Festival, especially for America’s 250th birthday, and the opening of Scheel’s Sports Park. Alderman Shawn Gregory had expressed some concern regarding the building itself, but Dahl allayed his fears by telling Gregory that everyone is buzzing about the new sports park and it’s generating a great deal of excitement.

The second night of budget hearings is set for Thursday evening.