Schaumburg OKs convention center budget

The Schaumburg village board Tuesday adopted a more positive budget for the village's convention center and Renaissance Hotel, and Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson is happy to see it.

“Things are moving along in the right direction,” Larson said.

The 2011 budget estimates an 18 percent increase in operating revenues over 2010, which Larson credits to improved attendance this year at conventions and an upswing in hotel business.

The operating revenues of $36.2 million are up against $31.3 million in operating expenses, a 10 percent increase over 2010.

With all the other income and expenses factored in, the building still figures to lose $564,999 in 2011, but that's an improvement over the $3.1 million expected this year.

Schaumburg officials said there's still work needed until the center performs as well as it did before 2007.

The board, as it's done in the past, also voted Tuesday to reject the convention center's business plan. That's not an indictment of hotel management. The action gives village officials time to alter the plan.

The village's budget goes from May 1, but the convention center's fiscal year mirrors the calendar year and starts Jan. 1. Differing fiscal deadlines make rejecting the business plan not unusual.

Village Manager Ken Fritz said altering the business plan could give village officials time to reduce costs. The plan is not released to the public.

As Schaumburg voters gear up for the April election, the village-owned convention center has become an issue. Mayoral candidate Brian Costin supports selling the convention center to a private company.

Costin addressed the board Tuesday, but he did not talk about the convention center. Instead he voiced his displeasure with a $76,568 reimbursement the village will pay Lou Malnati's Pizzeria on Roselle Road.

The money comes from tax increment financing district funds for renovations on the restaurant, which stands in the Olde Schaumburg Centre Historic District. In a TIF district, taxes paid to local governments are frozen while increased tax revenue is funneled into redevelopment.

“If Lou Malnati's wants to expand their business, parking lots and building construction costs should be paid by Lou Malnati's, not Schaumburg taxpayers,” Costin said.

Even though Costin didn't talk about the convention center, Larson still chose to defend the village's ownership of the facility after the meeting.

“The point I want to stress is that not one penny from general fund revenues goes toward the convention center,” he said.

Trustee George Dunham agreed with Larson.

“The whole thing is coming back, and again the people who complain about the convention center and so forth, it doesn't fit their rant,” he said. “There's no general fund money going to the convention center.”