Budget not balanced in Prospect Hts.

The Prospect Heights City Council on Monday night approved a budget with a deficit.

The general fund budget shows $5.8 million in expenses and $5.5 million revenue, said Mayor Dolores “Dolly” Vole.

Vole, who was defeated by Nicholas “Nick” Helmer in the April 5 election, has said frequently that the city is in dreadful financial shape, and that previous administrations took steps that made the issues worse.

The budget must show true expenses and has been cut from $6.1 million last year, Vole said. She also said the new council — which will have two new aldermen among the five — can amend the budget at any time with a simple majority vote. It will be posted on the city’s website within 10 days, she said.

Other issues that came up at the meeting:

타 Bonds of $5.5 million for 15 acres of the so-called arena property the city bought in 2006 will be due in December. Barb Barrera, a financial consultant, said in about a month the council will get options on how to refinance that debt to gain time for marketing the property and for sales prices to possibly improve.

For years litigation prevented sale of the property near Palatine Road and Piper Lane, but that obstacle has been removed, Barrera said. However. Vole said that court decision is under appeal. She also said the latest offer received was $700,000 for one-third of the property.

타 Bernadette Soens, a resident of Rob Roy Country Club Village, a large Prospect Heights community, has presented an argument that water rates, which are scheduled to drop slightly, should be even lower.

That issue will be dealt with at a meeting April 25. Vole and City Administrator Anne Marrin said EPA regulations require some costs that might look superfluous. About 10 percent of the city’s homes receive city water.

Vole mentioned two other problems after the meeting:

타 Legislation is pending in Springfield to reduce the percentage of taxes such as income and motor fuel that will be returned to the city where they are raised.

타 ComEd has charged rent well below market rate for the city’s parking lot at the Metra station, but that will end in October, when the rent for the land will be $52,000 a year, up from $16,000.