Elburn decides to wait on economic development hire

Elburn will not hire an economic development coordinator during the current fiscal year, after village board members were unable to reach a consensus on the proposal.

Village trustees John Bolger, Matt Wilson and Chris Hansen voted against making the hire, while trustees Addam Gonzales and Megan Mussano voted yes and Luis Santoyo voted “present.”

The village board allocated money in the budget several years ago for an economic development position, but no one applied for the job.

Another option the village explored was to make Elburn’s position part time and share the role with the village of Sugar Grove, but that never materialized.

Although the funding was not in this year’s budget, elected officials discussed the pros and cons of moving forward with hiring a coordinator now instead of waiting until the next fiscal year.

Mussano called it an investment the village shouldn’t pass up, as it could pay off in the form of new businesses moving to Elburn.

But Wilson, Bolger and Hansen indicated they believe it would not be fiscally responsible to spend money set aside in the village’s reserves, in case another unforeseen expense came up. If the decision was made to go forward with the hire and revise the general administrative budget accordingly, it would leave a surplus of only $40,000.

“It’s a matter of needs versus wants,” Hansen said. “It’s a good job and a good person, but I don’t think we should pull money out of somewhere else.”

Village President Jeff Walter said that while he understands the trustees’ reasoning, he’s disappointed with the decision.

“I thought we were ready to go, and I know this is something the board wanted, but I understand the financial concerns and we’ve got to wait until the new budget year,” he said.