Utility tax, hiring freeze in Buffalo Grove's 2010 budget

Buffalo Grove trustees have adopted a 2010 budget that includes a new utility tax and fewer jobs, along with a 3.3 percent boost in the village portion of the property tax levy.

The budget anticipates more than $64.4 million in revenue to fund expenses projected at more than $62.3 million.

It represents a 7.2 percent rise in revenue and a 2.5 percent increase in expenditures. Nearly half of the budget, 46.9 percent, consists of salary, benefit and pension obligations, with pensions taking up 14 percent of the budget.

Full-time staffing levels are expected to be reduced by the equivalent of nearly six full-time positions during what amounts to a virtual hiring freeze.

Revenue from state income and sales taxes is predicted to dip. The 2009 budget expected $4.7 million in state income taxes. The estimated actual total is $4 million. State sales tax revenue, projected at $5.2 million for this year, will likely only reach $4.6 million.

In response, the village will try to recover lost revenue by instituting a utility tax on electricity and natural gas, which should yield nearly $2 million combined.

The utility will go into effect Jan. 1 and add around $4 per month to the average gas bill and around $3.75 to the average electric bill, based on data provided by area utility companies. The village will also collect a para mutual tax from the new off-track betting facility. That is expected to yield $60,000 in 2010.

Village President Elliott Hartstein said it is critical that Village Manager William Brimm sit down with each department head and put together a list of things the village can do without.

"We are going through difficult times," said Hartstein. "I think we need to be vigilant."

Brimm said he would do that.

Trustee Jeffrey Braiman said the village has operated under conservative fiscal policies for 30 years.

"Even though revenue is down, we're not in as bad shape as other villages," he said.