Proposed $311 million Schaumburg budget funds road work, mobile mental health unit
Schaumburg's village board on Monday will discuss a proposed $311 million budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year that begins May 1, which anticipates a slowing of the significant revenue boost seen over the past year.
Revenues of $312.4 million are anticipated to balance the budget, leaving a projected $15.75 million surplus in the general fund on April 30, Schaumburg Finance Director Lisa Petersen said.
Many of the projects in the new budget are inspired by feedback the village received from residents in the 2021 National Community Survey.
They include replacing 850 trees across the village, adding more cameras to the Real-Time Information Center for public safety, the launch of a mobile mental health unit to provide immediate and short-term care, and further recruitment of employees that support Schaumburg's diversity, equity and inclusion initiative.
The draft budget also is based on previous dialogue with the village board. In addition to new capital projects like bikeway paths, Mayor Tom Dailly said the village's aging infrastructure needs to be addressed incrementally.
“We need to begin looking at infrastructure and how we can improve it without killing any particular budget,” he added.
The budget calls for $57 million in capital improvements, of which almost $42 million is to be funded by the village.
Of that, $15 million is earmarked for utility infrastructure, with $5.2 million to come from grant funding.
Another $14 million is planned to fix village streets, supplemented by $7.1 million in grants. Road segments planned for resurfacing include: Bode Road from Barrington to Springinsguth roads; National Parkway from Higgins to Woodfield roads; and Springinsguth Road from Bode to Schaumburg roads.
Reconstruction projects include further work on Rodenburg Road from Irving Park Road to the village limits, and National Parkway from Golf Road to American Lane.
One of the main tasks in estimating revenues for next year was anticipating the continued effects of inflation, especially when pent-up demand won't be playing the same role as in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, Petersen said.
“We tried to make very realistic projections about what sales tax will do,” she added.
The budget avoids any increase to the village's property tax levy, which has either stayed flat or been lowered since it was introduced amid a recession in 2009.
To view the proposed budget, visit the village's website at schaumburg.com/budget.
The village board will meet as a committee of the whole at 7 p.m. Monday at village hall, 101 Schaumburg Court. Final approval of the budget is scheduled for the April 25 village board meeting.