Village looking for ways to fund future improvements

As the construction season winds down, Carpentersville officials are evaluating ways to finance future street and sidewalk improvements once current funding is spent.

While the $10 million bond the village issued last June is expected to last until the start of next season, village officials say they'll need another loan to continue the capital improvement program.

"Some of the projects we are designing for next year -- in order to fund the construction -- would require some other resource like another bond issuance," Village Engineer Scott Marquardt said. "But the current $10 million bond issuance will get us through this year."

The amount of money the village has spent since the program began last summer was not available Friday.

Finance Director Lisa Happ said given the scope of the capital improvement program, issuing another bond is the best choice.

"These are projects that need more than what our public works department can do," Happ said. "If we don't take out another bond, we will be limping along making repairs, and we will be back to where we were."

Last June, the village floated the multimillion-dollar bond to pay for street and sidewalk repairs and reconstruction, as well as sewer and water main replacement.

So far, the village has planned, designed and completed about two dozen projects, Marquardt said.

If the village does take on more debt, Marquardt said the village would need to increase revenue. That could include minimal hikes in the fuel tax, property taxes and water and sewer rates.

"None of these have been agreed to," Marquardt said. "They are just some thoughts on how small, incremental changes to things like the fuel tax, property taxes and water and sewer increases can add up."

Audit and finance commission chairman Paul Humpfer said he would support another bond issuance providing the village has a plan repay the debt.

"We have already made some real good progress, and it is a matter of continuing that progress," Humpfer said. "But I need to know if commissioners are comfortable paying down another debt."

The current repayment schedule for the 2006 bond shows the village paying about $760,000 per year for the next 20 years.