# Finance & Budget Committee Meeting  10-7-2026

At its October 7, 2026 meeting, the City of Evanston Finance and Budget Committee accepted and placed on file the FY2025 single audit, which staff described as receiving an unmodified opinion. Members discussed a $1.6 million Community Development Block Grant/Home Investment Partnerships receivable and asked staff to consult the auditor about planned ARPA fund changes. Staff also addressed an audit-management-letter finding involving a roughly $162,000 Public Works purchase from Compumetric Engineering for public litter stations: purchasing staff found the required due diligence and waiver had been followed, though the City Council memo did not explicitly describe the bidding issue. On RFP 26-43 for audit services for fiscal years 2026–2030, members debated retaining incumbent Sikich versus selecting lower-priced Crowe. Both motions—a 3–3 vote to substitute Crowe and a subsequent vote on Sikich—failed, so the item will go to City Council without a committee recommendation.

The committee opened discussion of the proposed FY2027 budget but took no budget action. The proposal includes about $100 million in planned capital work, including $2.3 million for potential facility design without an identified funding source, and roughly $11.4 million in state-funded pass-through projects; members urged staff to prioritize projects amid higher borrowing costs and review the city’s asset and capital needs. The budget also proposes rate and tax increases, including a 25% residential water-rate increase, and a $3.8 million Parks and Recreation property-tax increase. Staff reported about $6.4 million in ARPA funds remained to be spent, with a proposal expected at the second October Council meeting and work underway on a contract for lighting beneath CTA and Metra bridges. The committee planned to seek an additional budget meeting before November 4.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Construction & Infrastructure, Professional Services
**Topics:** Physical Infrastructure, Grants & Funding
**Published:** October 07, 2026

### Sources
- [Finance & Budget Committee Meeting  10-7-2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxZ7R8MI0ao) - City of Evanston, IL