Oak Brook cuts $1.3 million from budget

The wealthy community of Oak Brook has joined the list of municipalities laying off employees due to the economic downturn.

Trustees Monday approved nearly $1.3 million in cutbacks to offset declines in sales tax revenue. The cuts reduce the village's payroll by the equivalent of 14.75 full-time positions spread across all departments. Some of the positions already were vacant.

The aim was to "minimize the impact the cuts would have on village operations and services to residents," Village Manager David Niemeyer said.

The measures include:

• Combining the engineering and public works departments and eliminating the position of village engineer for a savings of $161,185 in salary and benefits.

• Requiring employees in clerical positions to work 40 hours a week instead of 35 or 37.5 hours - in effect a pay cut. This will save roughly $25,000 in the straight-time overtime clerical employees received when they worked between 35 or 37.5 hours and 40 hours a week.

• Outsourcing the IT department for a savings of about $60,000 a year.

• Eliminating the positions of deputy village clerk, records management clerk and receptionist at village hall to save about $206,000. Three part-time employees and a minute-taker will be added for a total cost of $49,485.

• Cutting two full-time dispatchers and two full-time records positions in the police department. In addition, one full-time and one part-time dispatcher position will remain vacant.

• Doing fire inspections on shift rather than special details, saving roughly $60,000 a year.

The package of cutbacks includes $300,000 from the nearly $1.4 million budget of the Oak Brook Public Library, but village trustees are waiting to hear from the consultant hired to study the library's staffing, organization and workflow before making a decision. That report is expected in mid-August.

Village officials say they are considering turning the library over to a for-profit company that can run it more inexpensively, but only as a last resort. The Friends of the Oak Brook Public Library oppose privatization.

Earlier this month, village trustees voted to hire Calihan Catering of Chicago to run the clubhouse banquet facility of the Oak Brook Bath & Tennis Club, used for weddings, parties and civic events. The clubhouse has been losing money, but Niemeyer projects the outsourcing will result in a net gain of $50,000 a year.