A tentative budget for Dolton, expected to be approved by the Village Board next month, shows slightly higher spending, due in part to salary increases.
A public hearing for the budget, which covers the fiscal year that began May 1, will be held later this month, according to Mayor Jason House.
Total revenue for the budget year — fiscal 2026 which will end April 30 — is projected to be $26.8 million compared with $24.2 million in last year’s budget, according to the proposal.
Revenue from property taxes, sales taxes and other sources are expected to be $13.3 million in fiscal 2026 versus $12.5 million in fiscal 2025.
Fiscal 2026 revenue includes a $2 million bond sale, part of which is used to pay for garbage collection.
The board approved a budget in early June for fiscal 2025, that ended April 30 of this year, in what House called a “catch-up budget.”
During former Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s single term in office, the village was delinquent in filing annual financial reports, such as budgets and audits, with the state comptroller’s office.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza last year said her office notified Henyard and the village of the delinquency for two years, but said the mayor’s office “refused to communicate with us or address the problem.”
Until the delinquent reports and audits are filed, the comptroller is holding back payments to Dolton collected under its offset program. The program collects debts owed to local governments via deductions from state employee wages, tax refunds or lottery winnings.
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For Dolton, that is more than $100,000 a year, according to the comptroller.
The Village Board approved Monday a financial report for the 2022 fiscal year and audits are being done on subsequent budget years.
Red-light camera fines are a significant source of revenue for Dolton, with the new budget estimating $1.3 million in fine money, about the same as fiscal 2025. The proposed budget includes camera system servicing fees of $550,000.
In fiscal 2024, red-light tickets generated $1.7 million, and Dolton paid $667,000 in servicing fees.
Total spending in the village’s general fund, which is separate from the village’s water and sewer funds, is expected to be $25.1 million in the current budget compared with $24.4 million in fiscal 2025.
Police Department spending in fiscal 2026 is estimated at $7.4 million compared with actual spending in fiscal 2025 of $8.1 million.
Overtime spending for police is budgeted at $800,000, down from $1.3 million in budget year 2025 and $1.7 million in fiscal 2024.
Trustees had complained that Henyard’s use of village police for a personal security detail drove up overtime costs for the department.
The Police Department budget includes $500,000 in expenses for vehicles leased during Henyard’s term
Fire Department spending is budgeted at $4.3 million in fiscal 2026, up from $3.4 million in fiscal 2025.
That is due in part to a new contract with the union representing firefighters, approved by trustees last September. The firefighters had worked without a contract for four years and had gone five years without pay raises.
The 2026 budget includes $480,000 for retroactive pay increases to firefighters.
Payouts for court settlements by the village is budgeted at $254,000 for fiscal 2026 compared with actual spending of $273,000 in fiscal 2025.
For fiscal 2023, money spent to settle court cases was $103,000.
Payments for legal services in the current budget year are estimated at $900,000 compared with actual spending in the budget year that ended April 30 of $1.1 million.
Attorney Michael McGrath told trustees Monday the village has 38 pending cases pending against it in court, compared with 81 cases three years ago.
Some have been settled by payouts by Dolton to plaintiffs or in some cases having cases dismissed on summary judgement, the attorney said.
McGrath said that of the 38 pending cases, 24 “relate directly to the past administration” of Henyard or department heads and other personnel put in place during her four-year term.
He said no new lawsuits have been filed against Dolton since the change in administration.
Trustees also voted Monday to implement a 1% grocery tax that will replace the state tax due to expire Jan. 1.
Several south and southwest suburbs have adopted the replacement tax to make up for lost revenues once the state tax lapses. House said shoppers shouldn’t see any impact on their grocery bills as the village tax, which would be collected by the state department of revenue, would mimic the state tax.