Gurnee offiicials get budget priorities lesson

Gurnee's elected officials spent Monday night gaining insight about nearly $14 million in projected spending in the next year in capital improvements that would include road upgrades and equipment purchases.

Mayor Kristina Kovarik said the goal of the informal committee session was to have village staff members provide a greater understanding about why certain capital improvements are pursued in a tight municipal budget.

“Staff has a very comprehensive plan for our village,” Kovarik said.

Running from May 1 through April 30, 2013, the next budget calls for $59 million in spending that includes an $8 million reimbursement to Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group for preparation work so a new Macy's department store can be built at Gurnee Mills. The $8 million comes from a loan received through a bond sale.

Gurnee's proposed budget has $13.8 million set aside for capital improvements over the next year. Highlights of the proposed spending include Cemetery Road reconstruction, new software that'll allow building permits to be obtained online, four squad cars and exhaust upgrades at both fire stations.

“Capital improvements are often referred to as the bricks and mortar or infrastructure that all municipalities need to provide current residents and businesses,” Gurnee's budget document states.

Gurnee plans to spend $75,000 to start videotaping the inside of 140 miles of sanitary sewer lines to learn what repairs may be necessary. Community Development Director David Ziegler said the videotaping would begin in the village's oldest sewer lines.

“We'll hopefully find the biggest offenders at the start,” Ziegler said.

Trustee Steve Park floated the possibility that Gurnee would remove a set amount from its reserves annually for capital projects. However, Kovarik said she's “leery” about pulling money from reserves in part because the village depends so much on discretionary consumer spending.

“Nobody has money for anything,” Kovarik said. “People are hurting.”

On the revenue side, Gurnee's budget team projects sales tax receipts at $16.1 million for the new fiscal year, which would be up by $400,000, or 2.5 percent, from the 2011-12 forecast. Gurnee is heavily dependent on local and state sales tax revenue because the village dropped its property tax in 2000.

Village research shows Gurnee is one of five Illinois communities not levying a property tax.