Buffalo Grove to borrow $6.3 million for roadwork

Buffalo Grove is preparing to issue $6.3 million in general obligation bonds to fund street and infrastructure improvements.

Village Engineer Darren Monico said about half the upgrades will take place in the Lake County portion of the village, with the work aimed at keeping up with a 20-year road improvement cycle.

"The goal is to be able to resurface before we have to do reconstruction on streets," Village Manager Dane Bragg said, though adding that some of the work will include reconstruction.

Bragg said the length of the bond issue could be 14 or 15 years. It is too early to know how the debt will affect tax bills, he said.

"We don't have this year's (equalized assessed value) yet," Bragg said.

"We need to see what the EAV is before we will know for sure."

The village board is expected to vote on the bond ordinance April 18.

On that date the village will also update its financial policies, Finance Director Scott Anderson said, including those related to debt.

He said the update will reaffirm the village's position "that we only issue (debt) when appropriate, that we don't ever issue debt for recurring expenses, that we always keep an eye on the market (for) the timing for interest rate advantages and that the length of the debt never goes beyond the useful life of a capital asset."