Hinsdale Begins Process of Developing New Village Budget

The battles over the federal budget between President Obama and the Republicans in the House of Representatives are garnering a lot of media attention these days, but plenty of other government bodies are dealing with similar financial headaches in the wake of the recent recession, including the Village of Hinsdale.

Village President Tom Cauley announced during Tuesday’s Village Board meeting that the process is underway for developing a budget for the next fiscal year, which begins May 1, and a draft budget should be posted on the village website by Friday.  Cauley has been meeting with Trustee Doug Geoga, Village Manager David Cook, and village financial officials to develop a preliminary budget for the board to consider.

“I think we have plenty of time to discuss and pass the budget before the May 1 deadline.” Cauley said.

The budget process begins when department heads submit their funding requests to the village manager, which is supposed to be done by Dec. 31 each year. The village manager uses these requests as a starting point to develop a draft budget, which is normally presented to trustees at the first meeting in February. This year, of course, the board’s first February meeting was cancelled due to the blizzard.

Cauley said the board would discuss the budget at its March 15 meeting and vote on it April 5.

“The budget process is getting tougher,” Cauley noted.

He said there’s “a perception in many parts of the village,” that since the recession is over the village should be in great shape financially.

“That perception is wrong,” Cauley said. “The budget problems the village has are not going away. … We can never return to the spending process we followed before 2008.”

For the 2008 fiscal year, the general fund balance fell to its lowest point of the decade, $2.9 million. For the year ending April 30, 2010, the general fund balance had recovered to $3.7 million, still well below the decade high of $5.4 million in 2002.

The village budget for the current fiscal year totals $33.4 million. The village was faced with declining revenue due to the recession, while needing to invest significant funding in repairing or replacing aging infrastructure. As a result, the village cut 11 staff positions, instituted a wage freeze for all non-union employees, and eliminated programs including the Senior Taxi.

Cauley observed that the village is looking at “nearly $100 million” in infrastructure spending over the next 15 years. Even with a one percent sales tax devoted entirely to infrastructure needs, the village likely will have to find additional revenue to address streets and sanitation problems.

The village faces other costly expenditures, Cauley noted.

“Someday, we’re going to have to replace the swimming pool,” he said.

He said work also is going to have to be done at Katherine Legge Memorial Park and a 12-year-old ambulance will need to be replaced at a cost of at least $300,000.

“We, as a board, need to fight complacency,” Cauley said, and continue to focus on containing costs.