Road project key part of Lincolnshire budget

The realignment of a stretch of Old Half Day Road near Milwaukee Avenue is among the key projects in Lincolnshire's proposed 2008 budget, officials said.

Village leaders want to reshape the intersection and add a traffic light to improve traffic flow in the area, which is near a planned retail district.

Publicly discussed for the first time at a committee-of-the-whole meeting Monday night, the $26.5 million spending plan is more than $15 million leaner than the 2007 budget. Officials attributed the roughly 38 percent drop to a decrease in planned capital projects.

Most of the costly projects funded in the current budget, which typically were utility-related efforts and associated with the widening of Route 22, were completed this year and won't carry over into 2008, Village Manager Bob Irwin said.

A section of Old Half Day Road west of Milwaukee Avenue will be realigned. That intersection, which now is at an unusual angle, is near the planned Lincolnshire Marketplace district.

Under the plan, Old Half Day Road will be straightened and a traffic light will be installed, allowing better access to the proposed Marketplace shops, Irvin said. It will cost about $1.4 million, he said.

Village leaders also have included funding to develop a plan for roadside aesthetic improvements, such as new landscaping, for prominent corridors such as Milwaukee Avenue, Half Day Road and Aptakisic Road, Irwin said.

Money for traditional street improvements and infrastructure projects are included in the budget, too. In all, village officials expect to spend more than $4 million on capital projects.

Money for the town's parks, day-to-day operations and other efforts are included in the budget, too. For example, Police Chief Randy Melvin wants to hire two new communications workers.

The widening of Route 22, an increase in activity in the village's corporate center and growing population at the Sedgebrook assisted-living center are among the factors that have led to more calls to the police, Melvin said.

"You need a body in there to pick up the phone," he said. "You need a body in there to dispatch."

To cover the expected costs, village leaders anticipate collecting about $26.5 million in taxes, license fees, fines and other revenue during the next fiscal year.

The village board will discuss the proposed budget during another committee meeting at 6 p.m. today. A third public discussion is set for Nov. 12.

The board could vote on the spending plan Dec. 10.