Buffalo Grove sales tax revenues are at pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, village officials reported to trustees, but officials are keeping their fingers crossed that a virus resurgence – by way of the delta variant – won’t affect that economic rebound.
“The good news is…it’s much better than we saw last year,” Finance Director Chris Black said during the Aug. 2 Village Board meeting.
Black gave trustees a look at the six-month financial budget performance report, which he said compares results from the current year to the past one. This year, there’s been a strong rebound in revenue sources, including sales taxes, Black said. Overall, revenues increased 13.2%, or $5.2 million, compared to last year, he said.
Sales taxes, from base and home rule taxes combined, are 37.1% higher than last year, Black said.
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“Receipts have rebounded quite well with the availability of the COVID vaccine and full reopening” of retailers and other businesses, he said.
Other revenue sources, like building permits fees, are also doing well, he said. Building permit fees, which benefited from a strong housing market, increased by 58%, and food and beverage tax receipts increased by 16%, he said.
Black estimates Buffalo Grove will end the year with about $750,000 in food and beverage tax revenues, which would be at pre-pandemic levels, he said.
“That’s if we all keep our fingers crossed, and this assumes there’s going to be no limitation on restaurants’ operations,” he said.
The reopening of golf courses also helped the village’s revenues. Buffalo Grove Golf Club and Arboretum Golf Club both generated higher revenues, he said. Buffalo Grove Golf Club saw a 91% increase this year compared to the same period last year. A factor was the course’s closure in April 2020 and a limited number of players allowed in May 2020, according to Black.
The finance director explained that Arboretum Golf Club saw a 33.5% increase in revenues this year and expects to end the year between 10% and 20% above budget.
“Overall, the results have been better than expected,” Black said. “There’s certainly a reason to be concerned of any surge in COVID cases and what that might do to revenue sources. We’ll continue to monitor and report to the board on revenues and expenses throughout the remainder of the year.”
Gloria Casas is a freelancer.