Wauconda library $4.9 million budget includes funding for renovations
The Wauconda Area Library board has approved a nearly $4.9 million budget for the 2019 fiscal year.
A roughly $1.6 million exterior renovation project that began last week is responsible for nearly one-third of that spending projection.
Crews will construct a new main stairway and new ramps at the front of the building, widen the driveway there, install new exterior lights and make other improvements.
"The construction project is the main focus this year," Library Director Tom Kern said.
The new fiscal year began July 1. The library board approved the budget Monday.
Spending is up about $1.6 million, or 48 percent, from the 2018 budget. Kern attributed the increase to the renovation.
Revenue from property taxes, grants and fees is expected to total nearly $4.8 million, up about 41 percent from 2018's estimated sum of $3.4 million. Once again, Kern attributed that increase to the construction project, which primarily is being funded with a loan and a grant.
Most of the construction project should be done by mid-November, Kern said. However, landscaping that's part of the project will be completed next spring or summer, and parking lot surface repairs might wait until June 2019.