Preliminary estimates of revenues and expenses for the Buffalo Grove fiscal year 2022 village budget show trustees have some decisions to make in the upcoming budget process, including whether to increase the tax levy by 3% and deciding which capital improvement projects the village should undertake.
“This is the preliminary discussion of the tax levy,” Trustee Andrew Stein said at the Aug. 2 Village Board Committee of the Whole meeting, pointing out that last year at the same time there was talk of an increase in the village’s portion of the property tax.
The village didn’t increase it in the end, he said.
“I know that you have pencils with erasers, and you’re real good at going over everything, so I’m expecting to see a little less than 3% going forward,” Stein told village staff.
Trustee Greg Pike wants to see the village avoid increasing the tax levy. Higher than expected sales revenue and development and permit fees, and new businesses and homes in the community should help keep the levy lower to benefit residents, he said.
“It’s time we give our residents” any tax relief we can provide at this time, he said.
The village’s fiscal year runs Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.
While Buffalo Grove is seeing a rebound in some revenues like sales tax and development fee revenues since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, “we’re not quite sure those will hold up,” Village Manager Dane Bragg said. Additionally, the preliminary numbers usually change a little by the time the board starts discussing the budget, he said.
“We will continue to refine those numbers. Obviously, we try to tighten them up as much as we can,” Bragg said.
Trustees must also decide whether to keep its home rule sales tax, and electricity and gas use taxes. The taxes generate about $5.2 million in revenues annually, officials report, and must be reevaluated every year.
On the expense side, staff is recommending 2.5% salary increases for non-union employees and continuing a merit pay program. Buffalo Grove has 118 employees not represented by a union who would be eligible for that wage increase in 2022, said Arthur Malinowski, human resources director.
Police and fire unions will be negotiating contracts in late-2021 and early-2022, he said.
Buffalo Grove has a long list of capital improvement projects, which total approximately $46 million, that trustees must whittle down to include in the FY22 budget. Trustees got a look at the list at the Aug. 2 meeting. It’ll be used as a planning tool for next year and the future, said Darren Monico, village engineer.
“There are important decisions that will need to be made in the future,” especially about upgrading and improving facilities, Monico said. “The narrative continues to be repair and remodel rather than replace facilities.”
But the village has hit a point where the temporary fixes made five years ago on various buildings need to be addressed, he said.
An example is the Public Service Center. The building was constructed in 1976, then remodeled in 1988 and 1992, according to village documents. A building addition has been put off since 2007, but the Public Works Department has outgrown the facility and yard space, officials said.
A new building, including purchasing land for it, would cost about $14 million, officials said.
There are many more capital improvement projects the village needs to look at and plan for, Monico said.
Trustee Joanne Johnson pointed out the list is a planning tool.
“It doesn’t mean we’ll go ahead and do all of the projects,” she said. “It’s one of the first steps we have in going forward next year.”
The village board is expected to start discussing the FY22 budget further in the fall.
Gloria Casas is a freelancer.
