Mayor: Lisle should survive rough financial waters

Like many municipalities trying to balance a budget despite falling property and sales tax revenues, Lisle will face numerous financial challenges in the coming year.

But Mayor Joseph Broda told the chamber of commerce Thursday, during his State of the Village address, that Lisle's low debt and dedicated staff will steer the ship back in the right direction despite losing as much as $440,000 in sales tax revenue between the first six months of last fiscal year and the first six months of this fiscal year.

To combat the crisis, he said, the city has frozen wages, left some positions unfilled and reduced the scope of some projects.

"The next six months is going to be challenging for us. It's going to be difficult and if we get past the next six months I'm worried about the next year," Broda said. "We're really going to have to do some soul-searching as we prepare to maintain our budget and, more importantly, maintain the quality of services and quality of life we're all used to in this community."

Broda highlighted several major initiatives the village has successfully undertaken, including the downtown streetscape project, creation of a French Market and a business retention and attraction program.

The village made strides to develop plans for the Ogden Avenue corridor that include ornamental lighting, street signs, and enhancements around Yackley Boulevard and the bridge overlooking Route 53.

"Some day I can envision pulling off Main Street and having all the same kind of signs and ornamental lighting as you go east to west because Ogden Avenue is a main corridor that people see," Broda said. "And we want it to look nice and appealing to those who come through our community. If it does, then they might just stop and spend some money to help our tax base."