The village of Lake Zurich received more tax revenue in the 2021 fiscal year than expected, prompting the Village Board at a recent meeting to have to make a change to the budget.
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Trustees approved a budget modification at the Aug. 15 board meeting to reflect the increase in tax revenue. The additional income is not related to higher taxes, but rather higher-than-expected revenue from sales and income taxes, officials explained.
Trustee Jonathan Sprawka said at the meeting the combined revenue increase will add just over $1 million to the village’s general fund.. The money will be used to pay for such things as expanding municipal building security, paying for fuel, technology upgrades, funding a full-time information technology coordinator position, public safety supplies, a facade improvement program and a village consultant. Some of the money will also be set aside for future capital projects, according to officials.
Village Budget Director Amy Sparkowski said even with the state’s portion of grocery sales taxes suspended by the governor amid inflation concerns, the village is seeing more retail growth.
She said the grocery sales tax suspension hasn’t affected the local budget.
Trustees asked few questions, though Trustee Marc Spacone wanted assurances that the IT position could be funded going forward.
“I want to make sure we’re planning on making this a long-term position we can budget for in the future,” he said.
Sparkowski said it is.
“We will include this in our 2023 budget with the idea that we can sustain that,” Sparkowski said. “I believe this is absolutely needed.”
At the end of the brief discussion, trustees voted to approve the budget change..
Also at the meeting, trustees approved spending up to $567,000 for parking lot upgrades at Village Hall, Buffalo Creek Park and the Quentin Road Lift Station. The upgrades were already budgeted and the village awarded the work to Chicagoland Paving.
Also getting a Village Board green light was an ambitious 20-year community investment plan that could see Lake Zurich commit nearly $300 million to infrastructure and capital improvement projects. The plan doesn’t call for the village to spend the money outright, but it does allow for setting aside money in the coming decades for specific improvement projects around town.
Sprawka said that waiting until infrastructure breaks can often be more costly and troublesome than planning ahead for the expenses.
“Replacing these items as they age can be a financial drain on the financial resources of the village, especially when they compete for limited resources against more immediate service needs,” he said. “Emergency repairs and replacement costs are significantly more expensive than planned purchases, proving a fiscally prudent necessity to maintain financial stability.”
Jesse Wright is a freelancer.