West Dundee considers taking on improvement projects

West Dundee leaders think the time is right for the village to take on more debt to finance a handful of capital improvement projects that have been on the back burner for the past few years.

Village Finance Director David Danielson at Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting said the village could take advantage of favorable interest rates to tackle some of the capital improvements that have been put on hold.

Those projects could include replacing sidewalks in the village's downtown, planting trees, repainting the water tower and widening the village's portion of Huntley Road near Spring Hill Mall.

While trustees did agree that the village should pursue a bond issuance to fund the projects, board members directed staff to prioritize the laundry list of necessary capital improvements before determining the bond amount.

"I don't have a problem with things that need to be done that have been put off like maintenance and purchases," Trustee Andrew Yuscka said. "Costs continue to rise and we can't keep putting everything off."

Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said the village has typically financed the village's capital improvement programs through cash finances taken from home rule sales tax revenues. But declining revenues have truncated the gap between funding that is available for capital projects and funds that are needed to repay outstanding bond obligations, which amount to about $18 million.

None of the existing debt is paid through property taxes, Cavallaro added.

Although the village has access to about $1.8 million in the capital projects fund, Cavallaro recommended the village retain that balance until the general fund, which has dropped to about $800,000, reaches the $2 million range.