Evanston City Council Meeting 10-12-2026

The October 12, 2026 Evanston City Council meeting included a presentation on the proposed FY2027 budget and capital improvement program (CIP), totaling about $99.9 million. Staff described funding constraints, lower planned bond use amid higher interest rates, and increased emphasis on core infrastructure and major transportation projects. The proposed budget includes additional traffic-calming funding, a 25% residential water-rate increase, solid-waste fee changes, and a proposed property-tax levy increase; the budget was still under review, with further council discussions planned before adoption. Council members debated staffing reductions, service impacts, efficiencies, and revenue options. No budget vote is recorded in the transcript.

Procurement items read for action included a Sourcewell HVAC contract with Thermos Systems LLC, a Munters Corporation purchase for West Filtration Plant equipment (the transcript gives an unclear amount), a $64,574.10 agreement with Suburban Tree Consortium for trees and planting, a change order reducing the Twigs Park playground contract, and a single-source Box Enterprise cloud subscription (amount unclear in the transcript). Other listed items included GIS data access and fire-apparatus inspections and repairs. Staff reported that a community-solar RFP had been issued and responses were under review, with projected annual savings of $100,000–$200,000; a separate RFP related to healthy-building compliance and solar planning for city buildings was also in preparation. The city reported a $1.5 million annual sustainability fund and $1.3 million distributed through its Sustain Evanston grant program since 2023. The transcript does not capture the outcome of votes on the listed consent-agenda purchases; a zoning ordinance was adopted 7–0.