Elk Grove Officials Approve Balanced Budget for 2018-19
On April 24, The Elk Grove Mayor and Board of Trustees approved and adopted a balanced budget for the 2018-19 Fiscal Year. The new fiscal year begins May 1, 2018 and runs until April 30, 2019.
Elk Grove Village is in a strong financial position due to the growing economy and robust economic development activity taking place within the community. Last December, the Village annexed the 85 acre Busse Farm to serve as the new "Elk Grove Technology Park." The Technology Park is anticipated to begin construction sometime this spring. Moreover, Elk Grove had seven aging industrial buildings demolished and reconstructed into new state-of-the-art facilities this year, providing nearly 1.7 million square feet of modern industrial development in the community. Finally, several new corporate headquarters relocated into Elk Grove Village, including Mitsubishi, Creative Works, and Arrow Road Construction which is currently under development. All of this economic activity is proving beneficial for the Village.
Overall, the total proposed budget for the May 1 fiscal year is decreasing 33% from the current budget, from $219,291,611 down to $147,005,811. This decrease is due to a number of construction projects associated with the EGV 2025 Plan being funded from the current budget. During the current fiscal year, the Village saw many large public improvement projects be substantially completed or begin construction. Those large projects included many miles of water main and storm sewer replacement as well as the relining of miles of sanitary sewers, and resurfacing of streets. In addition, a total renovation of the Biesterfield Public Works garage was completed on-time and under budget in December 2017 and the Village is well under way with the construction of several new projects including a new fire station on Meacham Road, another new fire station on Fargo, and its main Public Works facility on Devon Avenue.
Additionally, included in the approved budget were considerations for the allocation of funds in the General Fund. The General Fund is utilized to establish goals and priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. Overall, the proposed General Fund budget is down 2.3% from over $66 million this year decreasing to under $65 million next fiscal year again due to the activity of public improvement projects. Among large items budgeted for purchase after May 1 are a new fire truck, a new ambulance, 4 new police squads, and several new snow plows. The Village is also planning to resurface another approximately 6 miles of streets this summer and reconstruct University Lane from Plum Grove Road to Vermont Drive as well.
As part of a green initiative, the Village will also hold an electronics recycling/ paper shredding event and then a paint/oil recycling event over 2 Saturdays in June near the start of the fiscal year. To further green the community, the Village will plant over 650 parkway trees as it continues to recover from the damage done by the emerald ash borer. Finally, as previously reported, the Village eliminated its residential vehicle stickers for the upcoming fiscal year.