Elmhurst aldermen used the Nov. 10 Committee of the Whole meeting to review circle‑back items staff had prepared in advance, including consultant funding sources, city postage allocations and parking lots rented by or used by the city.

Consultant funding: Alderman Hill asked whether consultant costs are funded by TIFs, the General Fund or capital accounts. Staff confirmed that administration, planning and zoning, the museum and fire‑related costs are charged to the General Fund while other consultants are funded from TIFs or a mix. “For 2026, on 1 consultant, we have 56% budgeted out of the General Fund and the remainder from the TIFs. And then on the other consultant, we have 74 percent from the General Fund and the remainder on the TIFs,” an alderman summarized from the staff response.

Postage: Alderman Brennan requested a citywide analysis of postage spending. Elmhurst’s Finance Director explained the city uses a single postage meter at City Hall and allocates its cost among departments; some mailings, such as utility bills and special bulk mailings, are handled by outside vendors and tracked separately. “So this is the postage machine at City Hall. And so there is just 1 machine that is used for all of the mail for the city,” the Finance Director said. Staff said incidental daily mailings are not tracked to a department cost the same way specific vendor‑handled mail is.

Rented parking lots: Alderman Virgil asked about revenue from rented lots and why the city pays to rent some private lots near the city center. Staff said some lots were rented historically because needed surface parking was not otherwise available and that the lots are well used; staff noted the city does receive rent from the library for 180 Park spaces and that a commuter lot at 119 East Schiller is city‑owned and operates as pay‑to‑park. “It was necessary at the time for parking, for surface parking… I don't know that the property owner was interested in selling it to us. And so we've rented that since then,” City Manager/Staff said in response.

Follow up: several items will receive more detail or an onsite visit (museum building maintenance and Crestview Park stormwater questions were flagged for offline follow up). Staff agreed to provide additional information where line‑item tracking is not currently available, such as detailed department‑level postage breakdowns for incidental mailings.

No formal votes were taken on these circle‑back items during the Nov. 10 meeting; they were treated as informational updates and requests for further staff detail ahead of the Nov. 17 budget meeting.