Patterson called to resign as budget vote gets pushed back again

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CHAMPAIGN — Round 2 of the City of Champaign Township’s effort to pass a preliminary budget for the fiscal year that’s already underway ended in the same fashion as Round 1 — with frustrated board members and the issue being tabled for another week.

A week after being ordered by the township board to provide a more detailed budget presentation than the one he shared on Aug. 12, township Supervisor Kyle Patterson struggled repeatedly to answer members’ questions about a host of expenses — from funding for the township’s low-barrier Strides shelter to insurance premiums, and everything in between.

This led township board members to wonder aloud if he was up for the job — including one who asked for him to step down.

“You are not doing what’s been asked of (you) by your colleagues, by this community, by the constituents, by the voters who elected you into this position, and I believe you need to resign from your position so that we can move forward and we can figure out how to do what needs to be done to help the people of this community,” said board member Vanna Pianfetti. I do not believe that you can do the job that you were elected to do.”

Board members Kathy Shannon and Michael Foellmer both said at Tuesday night’s meeting that Patterson’s recent performance is out of step with what they’ve seen from him in the past.

“I have watched Mr. Patterson be extremely successful and serve the citizens of our community, the county in so many incredible ways,” Foellmer said. “I think that, for me, it’s extremely difficult to see someone that I consider a good colleague and a friend present us with something that is so difficult for us to digest and to make good decisions about. … Frankly, I could have asked questions about every single line-item.”

“You need to talk to us ahead of the meeting, figure out the answers to our questions, and then present them to the public so that everyone here understands what you’re trying to say,” Shannon said. “And the fact that you don’t do that makes me wonder if you can’t do that. And if you can’t do that, it is OK to step aside and concentrate on your health and your family.”

According to Mayor Deb Feinen, next week’s township board meeting will be held Tuesday after the city council’s study session.

City attorney Thomas Yu said that, assuming the board approves the preliminary budget next week, he should have enough time to get a public notice in The News-Gazette by Aug. 30 ahead of a Sept. 30 vote on the final budget — the last possible day to meet the statutory deadline.

“So we have one more chance to get this right?” Shannon asked.

“That’s correct,” Yu said.

Among other things, Shannon expressed frustration that Patterson sent board members a revised version of the Strides budget at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, 90 minutes before the township board meeting was scheduled to start. 

The update was due to the township not receiving $1 million in U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds that Patterson had expected to get through a grant from the Housing Authority of Champaign County.

“When did you learn that the grant did not come through?” board member Bob Pollett asked Patterson.

Patterson said he found out a day earlier, at approximately 11 a.m. by his recollection.

He wrote in a memo that there are two potential solutions to balancing the Strides budget in light of this:

— Eliminate one shift’s worth of staffing, resulting in two shifts for overnight services and the elimination of daytime staffing and services (including the day center and day beds for “medically fragile” guests and those who work night shifts). The cuts would also impact case management services.

— Fund Strides for eight months, ending in late March 2026.

Patterson recommended the latter option, stating that it is the “least disruptive” path and will allow current services to continue uninterrupted “until, ideally, alternative funding can be secured.”

When asked about the status of approximately $1.2 million listed as “other” intergovernmental revenue in the revised shelter budget, Patterson said that all of this funding has been approved.

When asked what funds were included in this total, he replied that it includes funding from the cities of Urbana and Champaign, including American Rescue Plan Act dollars and funds for the shelter’s flooring project.

Board members previously voted in June to approve an approximately $86,000 contract for the work; Patterson said at the time that the project is being funded by the city of Champaign’s neighborhood services department.

Feinen turned to Champaign Finance Director Kay Nees for more information on the status of Champaign’s ARPA grant to Strides.

“There’s about $980,000 left on the grant that the city provided to the township during COVID,” Nees replied.

She added that the $1.2 million in the budget also includes $180,000 from the Urbana HOME Consortium’s Housing and Homeless Innovations grant program.

Feinen also wondered what was included in another $363,500 listed as intergovernmental revenue from the state.

“We get a number of grants from the state,” Patterson replied. “We get grants from (the Department of Human Services). We had a grant that came in from the (Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity). If you’re just asking about the state side, we also get one through Urbana.”

He added that this funding has already been awarded.

When asked by Feinen about this, Nees said the $363,500 includes a grant of about $238,500 from DHS and another DHS grant of $125,000 for rapid rehousing.

When asked why property tax dollars were not listed as one of Strides’ revenue sources, Patterson said he did not believe tax dollars could be allocated to the shelter without a referendum.

Nees, on the other hand, said that while the township’s general assistance levy cannot be used for shelter expenses, the township’s general levy is more broad and its revenue could potentially be allocated toward the shelter.

“However, currently there’s not enough property tax revenue left, after paying the general township expenses, to be allocated into Strides,” she said. “And historically, Strides has been funded from grant money solely.”

Feinen later said that it is not the responsibility of city staff to answer financial questions that township staff should know the answers to.

“I want to cancel our city contract with the township, because I don’t want city staff to be in the position of having to, my words, cover for or respond to or have to act on behalf of the township when the township doesn’t respond to emails, doesn’t respond to calls, doesn’t do the work that is required,” she said. “I don’t want to do that to city staff anymore.”

She also noted that the budgeting process affects more than just Strides guests; it also impacts the assessor’s office and residents who receive other assistance from the township.

Still, the state of the shelter remained a major topic of discussion, with elected officials saying they still support its mission but cannot ignore their concerns.

“It would be one thing if this budget were the way it is and Strides was working great and there was just a huge groundswell of support from all corners of the community for it,” said board member Matt Gladney. “But unfortunately, this budget is the way it is, and it sounds like Strides isn’t working as well as it should.”

Feinen said that while Strides provides much-needed emergency sheltering, the township also has a duty to pay for “training and management of our staff, to have adequate services available for the residents who are there, to not shut our doors in the middle of the day and have people standing on the sidewalk with nowhere else to go when it’s 95 degrees out.”

“We have to resolve the budget issue, but we also have to resolve the larger question about services,” she said. “And I know some of that’s simply funding. We’ve asked the taxpayers to increase funding to Strides. That has failed twice. Although, as I listened to our budget discussions, it doesn’t necessarily surprise me.”

LaTasha Foreman, who spoke during the time for public comment, said that attending Tuesday’s board meeting was eye-opening and explains the “negligence” she’s seen in the system.

Foreman, who is currently homeless, said her time at Strides was “horrible.”

“People are not getting what they come there for,” she said.