The Burr Ridge mayor and board of trustees got a detailed look Monday at next year’s budget. The budget is expected to pass in April, and the next — and last — public meeting wherein the board may request changes is later this month.
However, none of the board members had many questions and nobody seemed eager to suggest changes as the document was largely routine and showed the Village continuing on a path of solid financial footing.
The biggest expenses next year will be some $7 million in routine capital projects that will not require any additional taxes or loans while for a third year property owners will not see any rate hikes in their village property tax bill.
Burr Ridge Administrator Evan Walter pointed out that the village’s portion of the residential tax bill will continue to be about 1.5 %, though other taxing bodies could still increase their portion of the property tax bill.
“We can’t control what other taxing bodies will do,” he said.
In total, the village expects to bring in $25,547,553 for fiscal year 2025 and spend $27,760,876 due to the expensive capital investments the village has planned, some of which the village pushed from last year to the next fiscal year, resulting in savings then.
Still, Burr Ridge will have plenty of cash reserves on hand and no debt. Capital expenditures — necessary and routine maintenance — will cost the village about 24 % of its budget and will include projects like $3.7 million in water system repairs, $1.7 million in street upgrades, nearly $1 million in the Elm Street Culvert project, and another $750,000 in pathway improvements. Walter pointed out the $2.5 million Woodview water main project was pushed forward from last year and anyway, the water projects should last for decades.
“Modern water mains last about 75 years,” he said. “We’re going to get a lot of life out of these projects.”
Other costly upgrades include 83rd Street resurfacing expected to cost just over $1 million in addition to $678,300 in general village-wide road repairs, $735,000 in 79th Street pathway upgrades, and $745,000 in a south water tower painting project.
A more visible upgrade is the planned new performance stage for $150,000, which Walter said he expects residents will enjoy. He said the old stage simply reached the end of its lifespan and must be replaced.
Another thing residents might notice is a slight staffing restructuring at the Village Hall. Walter said the village’s community development department will return as a stand-alone department after years of being moved under various departments including administration and public works. Still, the change will not require any new hires or new expenses and Walter said it simply comes as a more sensible reorganization of responsibilities within the village.
“We discussed it at length and determined it would be best for it to return again as a stand-alone department,” he said.
Besides the comparatively costly expenses next fiscal year, the budget took a small hit with an announcement from Gov. J.B. Pritzker that he is urging the state to decrease the grocery tax by 1 %, meaning groceries will be cheaper but local revenues across the state will be down. The tax brought in some $200,000 to Burr Ridge and Walter said that news came in too late to find new funding to make up for the loss, but he expects to work out that loss in future budgets.
“When you have any loss of revenue at the drop of a hat you have to make the necessary changes,” Walter said.
At the meeting, Mayor Gary Grasso said he believed the grocery tax was regressive and he said he was not a fan of it, but he also said he hoped the state would make up the revenue to cities and towns in some way as it will be a major hit to larger cities like Chicago.
“We’ll weather that immediate hit but we will have to plan, as we always do, going forward,” he said.
In addition, some residents might notice a hike in building fees, but village leaders said these hikes are necessary and won’t bring in any additional revenue, rather they’re meant to correct for years of below-average building permit costs while servicing a growing number of projects.
Community Development Director Janine Farrell said the village hasn’t raised its permit fees since 2017 and in that time, they have seen a 45 % increase in building permit issuances for new buildings, repairs, and additions, which costs the Village additional time and staff to process.
“We’re not going to be making any money, we’re just not going to be losing any money. Is that the idea?,” Grasso asked.
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Farrell agreed and noted that even with the higher rates, the village is still at the lower end of building fees compared with surrounding communities.
The FY2025 budget will be approved on April 22, though at that meeting the budget cannot be changed, so any tweaks will have to come before then. The new budget will begin May 1. The proposed budget is available online at the village’s website.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.