Mt. Prospect Winter Parade an economic casualty again

Mount Prospect is canceling its Winter Parade for the second year in a row, in order to save money.

The parade was supposed to take place Dec. 4 in downtown Mount Prospect. Skipping the event will save the village about $25,000, said Village Manager Mike Janonis.

"While this was a really nice event, it hasn't been going on that long so it made for the most logical causality," he said. "Because of budget concerns we needed to cut back."

The money spent on the parade would've paid for overtime for police and public works employees, Janonis said.

The Winter Parade used to feature live reindeer, a visit from Santa Claus and hot chocolate and cookies. Mount Prospect will still have holiday lights in downtown this year, although that will be "scaled back," Janonis said.

Cutting the parade won't be the last tough budget decision the village will have to make in the next few months.

Mount Prospect is facing a $3 million general fund deficit in 2011 and a shrinking fund balance. In 2008, the fund balance was $12.5 million. In 2011, that balance is expected to be only $5.8 million, according to Finance Director David Erb's projections.

The $3.1 million deficit is caused by smaller revenues in local sales taxes, real estate transfer taxes, utility taxes and investment income, Erb said.

Some aren't expected to recover anytime soon, he said. For example transfer tax receipts are off almost 70 percent from their high in 2005.

The board will discuss the 2011 budget in October and November with final approval expected in December.