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Light Rain Village of I.P. adopts $3.5 million budget for 2010-11
Mayor attributes increases to lost revenue, additional expenses
The Village of Island Park has adopted its 2010-11 budget. The village's mayor and board of trustees voted to unanimously approve the $3.5 million plan, which is nearly $50,000 larger than the budget for the current fiscal year.
Island Park Mayor Jim Ruzicka said that next year’s budget went up due to a combination of lost revenue and additional expenses. He said the village will be receiving less state aid this year, and must contribute more money to the State Retirement System, which is a cost dictated to the village by the state. The village is also hiring three new employees — one full-time and two part-time workers — for the Department of Public Works.
“The challenge was trying to keep the tax percentage low,” Ruzicka said, “but at the same time we have a responsibility to maintain the village.” The new budget includes a 5.84 percent tax increase, meaning that the average homeowner in Island Park will pay approximately $50 more in taxes next year, according to the mayor.
On the revenue side, Ruzicka said the village lost approximately $20,000 from mortgage taxes, and he anticipates an additional loss of about $1,000 in sales taxes this coming fiscal year. The village will be receiving approximately $134,000 in funding from the state's Aid and Initiatives for Municipalities program, which is about 5 percent less than it received last year.
The largest increases in the budget were in general government, public safety and health, employee benefits, and debt service expenditures. General government costs include payroll and village board expenses and funding to maintain operations at Village Hall and the Fire Department. Funding has also been set aside to redo Village Hall's vinyl siding.
Public safety and health costs mostly include Fire Department expenses, like insurance for the department, increased payments to worker's compensation, and building maintenance. This section of the budget also includes funding for safety inspections, traffic and animal control.
