Sugar Grove gives nod to $28 million '08-'09 budget

The Sugar Grove village board passed a balanced budget for fiscal year 2008-09 Tuesday in the amount of $28,540,000. The current fiscal year ends April 30 and the 2008-09 fiscal year runs from May 1 to April 30, 2009.

General fund expenditures for the fiscal year 2008-09 budget are $5,082,846, as compared to $5,083,913 for fiscal year 2007-08, leaving a general fund surplus of $1,067.

According to Village Finance Director Justin VanVooren, initial preparations for the budget in January (which he calls the "first blush") revealed a $550,000 deficit in the general fund, due largely to much fewer housing starts than were anticipated for the current fiscal year. The village has been affected by general economic downturns, especially in the housing market.

The village anticipated issuing 229 building permits in 2007-08. By the end of March, only 63 permits had been issued. Each permit represents a net revenue of $2,400 for the general fund.

VanVooren told trustees the budget was balanced due to the cooperation of department heads and other staff.

"We took a hard look at core services and we are not reducing them," VanVooren said. "We are doing the basics to take care of the residents.

"But we also took a hard look at expenses in the past years," VanVooren added. "For example, if $2,000 was budgeted but only $1,500 spent for a program, then the budget was reduced."

Examples of budget cuts for the coming fiscal year are delaying hiring a village mechanic, eliminating a village identification and beautification program, and not brining in a consultant to determine what changes in development proposals would mean to the village's comprehensive plan.

VanVooren also informed the board that the latest actual numbers revealed a $270,000 deficit to the general fund of the fiscal year 2007-08 budget, due mainly to an extraordinary number of days which required snow removal, which proved costly in fuel, salt and overtime for staff.

In addition, although property tax revenue increased overall, revenue from 2007-08 was about $9,000 lower than anticipated.

To make up for the deficit, liquor licenses that are to be paid in April, 2009 have been increased by $50 each, and police fines have been increased by $5 to $25 each.