Gurnee doesn't plan to add taxes or fees

Additional taxes and fees are not expected to be part of the mix as Gurnee village board members examine a new, tentative $49 million budget.

Village trustees have started debating specific sections of the spending plan that'll run from May 1 through April 30, 2009. The fire, police and public-works departments were among the departments that were scrutinized at a budget hearing Monday night.

Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik identified a possible future cost savings in the public-information portion of the budget. Kovarik questioned whether the village should discontinue mailing printed newsletters in favor of electronic versions sent via e-mail.

"That's a major expense," Koavrik said of Gurnee's Keeping Posted, which covered six pages in the March/April edition.

However, Trustee Jeanne Balmes said an e-mailed newsletter may not be the best way to go.

"Some of those (documents), you can't download," Balmes said.

Gurnee's proposed budget won't be like last year's, which resulted in a boost in liquor-license fees. In 2006, Gurnee enacted a food and alcoholic-beverage tax on purchases made at restaurants, instituted a charge for resident ambulance services and created business-license fees.

Officials said the village will continue exploring other means of revenue without reinstating a local property tax. Gurnee replaced the property tax in 2000 with a sales tariff that funnels money to the village.

Capital improvements are scheduled to get a $5.7 million chunk of the $49 million budget for the next fiscal year. The money has been set aside for equipment purchases, municipal-building enhancements, street resurfacing and water and sewer improvements.

Gurnee has set aside about $33.7 million to be spent from its general fund in the next financial year. Most of Gurnee's municipal services are covered by the general fund.