Quincy Reporter

The City of Quincy is making adjustments on the fly to its budget as it attempts to predict its revenue in the wake of the COVID-19 economic shutdown. 

One month after predicting a $2.3 million loss of revenue, the city is bracing for an additional $1 million loss, KHQA reported. There is an air of uncertainty with the state’s delay in reimbursing taxes, which means the city will not be able to begin to determine the coronavirus impact until the fall. 

“We won’t know any of the actual impacts of this data until September or October,” Comptroller Sheri Ray said. 

The city gains its revenue from sales and home rule, Ray told KHQA. The revenue stream dried up along with the state’s stay-at-home order. Last month, the city was looking at a revenue drop of 7%, which has been adjusted to a 10% projected decrease as the economy has yet to gain full traction. 

The city has previously noted that in addition to budget reductions, there could be spending freezes, furloughs or possible cuts to city services. 

While the city was able to sustain its revenue in food sales, the apparel industry was hit hard as shops failed to garner an "essential" designation from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. While there has been signs of life with curbside sales, it has failed to measure up to typical sales.

“Consumers are probably not likely to use that, and do we think it is a 90 percent loss,” Ray told KHQA. 

One alderman, Mike Farha, went as far as to voice support for an end to the stay at home order, noting the city had been at a standstill for eight weeks. 

“People are mature enough to make their own decisions about if they want to go out or not,” he said.