Mundelein approves new $54.8 million budget
Improvements to one of Mundelein's busiest intersections and work on a channel designed to prevent flooding are among the big projects in Mundelein's new $54.8 million budget.
Trustees approved the spending plan for the 2015 fiscal year Monday. The fiscal year begins Thursday.
Projected spending is down about 4 percent from the current budgeted estimate of $57.2 million, Finance Director Doug Haywood said in an email to the Daily Herald. He attributed the drop to a decrease in costs associated with the construction of a new village hall, the bulk of which was completed last year.
As spending is falling, projected revenue is expected to rise.
The budget predicts about $40.9 million in taxes, fees and other income for the village, up about 3 percent from the current budgeted estimate of $39.6 million.
One of the big projects in the new budget calls for changes to the intersection of Route 60/83 and Route 176, which is in the northwest corner of the village.
Route 176 will be widened at the intersection to create left- and right-turn lanes for vehicles headed east and west.
Additionally, a traffic signal and turn lanes will be added to Route 60 just north of the intersection to improve accessibility to a shopping center there, Haywood said.
The $4 million project will be fully funded with a grant the village received in 2012. Work could begin this fall, Village Administrator John Lobaito said Monday.
Another big project in the budget focuses on the Seavey drainage ditch, which runs some 8,000 feet through the center of town.
The man-made channel is designed to prevent flooding but long has been cursed by nearby residents as ineffective.
The budget calls for about 2,000 feet of the channel - between Shaddle Avenue and ComEd property near Hanrahan Park - to be dredged.
A similar project was undertaken more than 10 years ago but was left unfinished, so sediment has been building in the channel.
Additionally, a pedestrian bridge over the channel will be replaced and plants will be added to enhance water quality, Haywood said.
The work is expected to cost about $3 million.
The budget also includes $2.6 million in various road improvements, said Trustee Ed Sullivan, who leads the board's finance committee.
Trustees approved the budget with a 4-1 vote after a brief discussion. Terri Voss was the lone objector.
Trustee Dawn Abernathy was absent for the vote.