By Ted Schnell • BocaJump
The Elgin City Council reaffirmed its commitment to help boost volunteerism Wednesday night by authorizing the Elgin Community Network to spend $20,000 in city funding on the city’s NeighborWorks events.
Essentially, the events have involved scores of volunteers wielding paintbrushes and shovels to work in some of the city’s most at-risk neighborhoods to touch up paint, work on garden projects and make minor outdoor repairs to homes. The effort generally assists elderly, disabled and/or low-income homeowners, and one such event was help Saturday. Mayor David Kaptain and Councilwoman Anna Moeller were among the participants.
While officials say donations to the program have been generous, there are some repair needs that are more extensive. The additional funding could be used to purchase materials for such repairs, as well as to ensure there are two NeighborWorks event each year.
Councilman John Steffen questioned the cost – specifically wanting to know whether the item was a one-time-only expenditure.
His question brought an almost enthusiastic response from City Manager Sean Stegall, who said it is his hope that the funding will be preserved and even increased in the future to continue pursuing the city’s goal of enlisting more resident volunteers to work in the community.
Stegall’s response drew a good-natured dig from Councilman Bob Gilliam, who commented about Stegall’s use of the word “hope” in fiscally tight times.
But Stegall said the NeighborWorks program is a big part of the city's focus on encouraging volunteerism.
“We have to reduce the cost of city services, and one of the ways to do this is to increase volunteerism,” Stegall told the council, adding increased volunteerism will save the city money in the long run.
Councilwoman Moeller spoke up to affirm Stegall’s statements, saying what she saw last weekend convinced her the city is leveraging volunteer hours and helping to stabilize or increase property values. “There is a lot of value that comes back. Moving forward, these kinds of programs are going to become more important,” she said.
That prompted Councilwoman Tish Powell to ask if a cost-benefit analysis of the program has been put together to show that.
“Yes,” Kaptain jumped in, saying the analysis shows that for every $1 the city spends on a program like NeighborWorks, the city sees a return of $3. He said the analysis will be presented to the council in the future.
Kaptain also pointed out that the City Council actually had allocated the funding for this project during last year’s budget talks. It was brought up at this time to ask the Elgin Community Network to administer it for the NeighborWorks program.
The council votes 6-1 to approve adding the funding the Elgin Community Network’s purchase of service agreement. Kaptain abstained, saying he had a conflict of interest.
NeighborWorks events have run the past three years, hosted by Neighborhood Housing Services of the Fox Valley. More recently, the organization has joined forces with the city, Elgin Community Network, the Northeast Neighborhood Association, or NENA, and Neighbors of South East Elgin, also known NOSEE.
Last year, the effort sparked two such events -- one in spring, a second in the fall, as was done last year.
The city also has incorporated into the effort its Chain Link Fence Removal Grant Program.
