Lombard budgets for emergency alert, social services
Lombard’s village president has known for at least a couple months his town’s budget would be balanced, with no cuts, layoffs, program eliminations or use of surplus funds.
But the financial documents likely to gain village board approval Thursday night also contains some additions. An emergency alert system and a rookie police officer, as well as contracts with a social services agency and a lobbying firm are among new expenditures included for the fiscal year beginning June 1.
A team of village employees is evaluating emergency notification system vendors and hopes to hire one by mid-May, Carl Goldsmith, public works director, said.
All systems under consideration would allow Lombard residents and business owners to enter as much or as little contact information as they like and receive emergency messages from the village by email, text message, cellphone or land line, Goldsmith said. Implementing the chosen system will cost $20,000 under the fire department’s emergency preparedness program, Tim Sexton, finance director, said.
“We can reach out to residents and call their home phones or cellphones or whatever phone numbers they give us to provide emergency information,” during situations such as last July’s storms and flooding, Sexton said.
When Village President Bill Mueller expressed his confidence in Lombard’s finances during his February State of the Village address, he also announced the village’s intent to hire three police officers.
The first new hire — officer Scott Jean — was sworn in April 7 and is attending the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy at College of DuPage.
Lombard will use $28,000 budgeted to hire a social service agency to provide counseling for residents struggling with substance abuse, domestic violence and other family problems.
A contract with Marquardt and Company for lobbying services in Springfield is not a brand new expenditure for Lombard, Sexton said.
The village has retained the company’s services off and on in the past, including in January and February under an $8,000 contract to ensure that $500,000 in state funding originally allocated for road resurfacing could instead be used for construction of a salt dome. Village Manager David Hulseberg said the company now will focus on issues including pension reform and workers’ compensation.
The budget comes in at $76.8 million, $9 million less than last year. Sexton said the decrease mainly comes from a reduction in capital projects rather than less spending on village services.
The capital improvement plan includes $6.5 million for a Great Western Trail pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks at Grace Street and St. Charles Road and $3 million for street maintenance.
The budget passed unanimously on first reading April 7. If trustees approve the budget Thursday night, it goes into effect June 1 and lasts until May 31, 2012.