East Dundee halts residential facade improvement program
East Dundee has put its residential facade improvement program on hold after the state halted the thousands of dollars the village receives monthly in video gambling revenue.
Gov. Bruce Rauner's office announced last week that the state could not distribute video gambling money to local governments until a state budget is set. Those funds are typically dispersed among the state, municipalities and establishment owners.
"Since that is on hold, we have to put the residential facade improvement program on hold, too, until the funds are freed up again," said Village President Lael Miller, noting that the village can't afford to continue the program without the added source of revenue. "We have no choice."
From June 2014 to June 2015, the Village of East Dundee received $86,085 in video gaming revenue, according to the Illinois Gaming Board. This June only, the village took in $9,935.
Ten establishments in East Dundee currently offer video gaming machines.
To put those funds to good use, the village set up the home facade program to "beautify the neighborhoods and to help residents that may need some assistance," Miller said. "Basically, we did it to help improve the community." Ten residents had applied for the program, which allowed residents to receive up to $5,000 from the village in matching funds for home improvement projects. Eligible projects included landscaping, house painting and deck or porch repairs.
The village had very recently finalized the applications, Miller said, and some residents had planned to start work on their projects this week.
Similar to East Dundee, Carpentersville set aside video gambling funds for beautification and enhancement projects, Administrative Analyst Jeff Monteleone said.
Of the $95,227 the village received in gaming money from June 2014 to June 2015, only $6,075 has been allocated toward projects such as holiday decorating and improved landscaping, he said.
The village board was skeptical of the sustainability of a video gaming revenue stream when it began in 2012, he said. Trustees eventually set specific parameters for projects to be eligible to receive that funding.
With a substantial surplus left in that account, the village has some flexibility moving forward, he added.
"There are no projects that are being hung in the balance because of what's going on in Springfield," Monteleone said. "A big part of that is because of the way we've decided to manage this money."
West Dundee is losing out on approximately $2,000 a month, an amount that Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said does not significantly affect the village.