Hoffman Estates budgets for bike path patrols
A bike path patrol program for preventive maintenance and public safety was the last addition to Hoffman Estates' 2015 budget, which was approved by the village board Monday night.
The budget also features some significant and long-deferred capital projects - made possible by the improving economy - without adding a penny to the previous year's property tax levy amount, Village Manager Jim Norris said.
The village board recommended inclusion of the $14,935 bike path patrol program when its members gathered at last week's finance committee meeting.
The program, similar to one in neighboring Schaumburg, would send out two-person teams to keep an eye on the condition and traffic of the bike paths during the warm-weather months. The teams would consist of part-timers, probably college students home for the summer.
While the teams are not necessarily patrolling for or enforcing violations, they can also compliment and reinforce good behavior such as helmet use among kids, Norris said.
"Probably one of the positive aspects is you have someone who's riding a biking looking for maintenance issues," he said.
While the program generally would run when college students were available, a suggestion was made to look for maintenance issues earlier after the snow melts. Norris said that possibility would be examined.
Other important parts of the 2015 budget include a robust $5.2 million in road improvement projects and $1.5 million for a new storm sewer around the intersection of Jones Road and Highland Blvd.
Hoffman Estates already has received a $900,000 grant for the latter project from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, and the village will work with Schaumburg on road improvements around Salem and Bode roads with the help of a federal grant, Norris said.
Hoffman Estates is budgeting costs of $121.7 million for 2015 - an 8.8 percent increase over last year - and revenues of $118.4 million, or 11.2 percent more than in 2014.
But the property tax levy is staying at its 2014 level of $17.9 million for at least another year, Norris said.