Bloomingdale cancels Family Festival

Summer in Bloomingdale will be a little quieter this year, since village leaders said Tuesday they must cancel the annual Family Festival due to budget constraints.

The four-day fest traditionally happens at the end of June and features carnival rides, live music, children's entertainment, food, a beer garden and fireworks. Village Administrator Dan Wennerholm said the annual fest costs approximately $250,000 to stage, but generates varying revenues that averaged about $150,000 in recent years. Village funds make up for the disparity.

"As hard as it was to choose this, but it was a choice that needed to be made; Revenues are down and we need to cut costs," Wennerholm said.

Village President Bob Iden added that officials will reconsider next year whether they can afford to resume the fest.

Family Fest is the largest village-sponsored event in Bloomingdale.

Wennerholm said Bloomingdale leaders will decide soon on whether to cancel its annual Septemberfest, held the weekend after Labor Day, too.

"We're exploring if perhaps we can still do the event at a reduced cost," he said.

To help keep its budget down, the village launched another cost-cutting measure late last year with voluntary buyouts. Ten employees qualified and volunteered for the offer and their posts will end by June 1.

Wennerholm said this will save the village approximately $500,000, since most of the posts will not be filled or will be filled by part-time employees. Bloomingdale's staff has a total of 147 full-time equivalent positions, comprised of both part-time and full-time workers.

Wennerholm said figures are not available for the total budget shortfall Bloomingdale faces, but will be calculated during finance meetings that end in May.