DECATUR - Instead of borrowing the money from local banks, the Decatur City Council voted Monday to dip into existing funds in order to make sure the city bus system stays afloat after the end of the month.

City manager Ryan McCrady presented city staff's recommendation to the council, asking for authorization to secure loans from local banks for up to $1.5 million in funds the state of Illinois promised but has not paid. McCrady said no plan exists for the Decatur Public Transit System to operate at a deficit, which would be the situation by the end of November.

McCrady said efforts are being made through the city's lobbying firm and through other means to secure the funding from Springfield, which should have arrived in October.

"We are on a full-court press to get this money," McCrady said.

With the fiscal situation of the state, which is struggling to pay its obligations in many other areas, McCrady said a timeframe on receiving the money is uncertain.

"We're planning for the worst, here," McCrady said. "We do not know at this point when we might receive this funding."

City councilman Dan Caulkins spoke in opposition to city staff's plan to borrow money, saying it would take pressure off of state government to release the funds.

"I'm not in favor of doing this," Caulkins said. "If the people of this community don't have bus service, let them call the governor's office, let them call ¦ the people in Springfield and ask why we don't have bus service in Decatur."

After some discussion, the council voted to take money from existing funds to cover the bus system. The council did not specify from what funds the money will be transferred.

Operational expenses total about $400,000 a month, said mass transit director Paul McChancy.

McCrady said concerns of citizens can be passed through the city manager's office to legislators.

"If citizens want to e-mail the city of Decatur, we can certainly pass those on," McCrady said.

Councilman Mike McElroy assured citizens that bus service would not be interrupted.

"There will be bus service for those who depend on it," McElroy said. "We are not not going to have buses."

The council also approved a plan to alter some bus routes. The new plan would increase the number of buses per hour running along Illinois 48 to the new Decatur Township office as well as to the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel and the senior assisted-living facility at Business U.S. 51 and Lincoln Park Drive.

It also reduces service along the route surrounding North Oakland Avenue from Main Street to Grand Avenue from once every half-hour to once every hour.

In other business, the council approved a roughly $250,000 plan to establish a replica of Abraham Lincoln's log cabin home in Illinois as part of the "Looking for Lincoln" project.

Councilman Pat Laegeler said he did not support the plan in light of the economic climate, saying the money might better be held in reserve.

"As much as I like Lincoln, I think we've got too much staring us in the face," Laegeler said. "I don't think we can afford this."

Mayor Michael Carrigan argued that the project was the largest rationale for imposing the hotel tax on the city.

"This was a cornerstone of the pitch for this tax," Carrigan said. "This was part of the original intent."

The project plan calls for a log cabin made out of actual wood that is a faithful replica of Abraham Lincoln's home.

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