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New Lincolnshire budget includes cash for flood relief

With flooding from rainstorms becoming more frequent and more significant, Lincolnshire's newly adopted $29.7 million budget for the 2020 fiscal year includes buckets of cash for stormwater projects.

A drainage study is a key element of the village's plans to tackle flood relief during the next fiscal year, which begins Jan. 1. Officials included $50,000 in the new budget for that investigation, which an engineering consultant launched earlier this year and has a total cost of $150,000.

The budget also includes $260,000 for unspecified stormwater improvement projects that will stem from that study.

Additionally, officials budgeted $175,000 for sewer outflow improvements along Lincolnshire Drive, a roadway near the Des Plaines River that has experienced significant flooding.

Flooding has been a worsening problem in Lincolnshire. According to data going back to the 1940s, four of the village's 10 worst river-related floods have occurred in the last three years, Village Manager Brad Burke said.

Many of those floods can be attributed to rainstorms that dumped tremendous amounts of water on the region in relatively short periods, drenching multiple rivers and watersheds, Burke said.

This past September, guests and workers at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort had to flee the property for the second time in as many years after the nearby river overflowed its banks. Lincolnshire Drive and other residential streets near the river flooded then, too.

"We (have to) address the changing weather patterns that we're seeing," Burke said. "It's just extraordinary."

The village board approved the budget Monday night without objection.

Projected spending is up about $2.3 million from the 2019 fiscal year's $27.4 million total, an increase of about 9%.

Revenue from property taxes, fees and other sources is expected to total about $25.8 million during the year. That's down nearly $1 million, or roughly 3.4%, from the 2019 fiscal year.

The estimated $3.9 million gap between projected spending and revenue will be bridged by savings, Burke said. Burke attributed the gap to capital projects planned for 2020.

For example, road resurfacing efforts on Brampton Lane and in the Farrington Drive area will cost about $1.4 million, he said.

Additionally, the latest phase of a water main extension project will cost about $2.3 million.

"These projects were all contemplated to be funded via use of reserves," Burke said.

The village's day-to-day operating budgets are balanced, Burke said.

Other earmarks in the spending plan include:

• $80,000 for security improvements at village hall.

• $75,000 to purchase a new brine maker for snow-relief efforts.

• $125,000 for tennis court resurfacing at Whytegate Park.

• $100,000 for lighting upgrades at North Park.

The budget can be viewed online at lincolnshireil.gov/sitemedia/documents/departments-services/finance/2020%20Draft%20Budget.pdf.

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  Part of Lincolnshire Drive, which is near the Des Plaines River, was under several feet of water after a 2017 flood. It flooded again this past September. Lincolnshire officials are including funding for flood-reduction projects in the village's 2020 budget. Russell Lissau/rlissau@dailyherald.com, 2017
Public works employees work on a pump in a flooded area at the intersection of Lincolnshire and Wiltshire Drives in Lincolnshire after heavy rains hit the area. Daily Herald File Photo, September 2019
The road leading into the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort in Lincolnshire, was flooded in September. No one was allowed in and guests were evacuated from the hotel. Daily Herald File Photo, September 2019
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