New budget focuses on essential services
The Village begins 2004 with a budget down
some 16 percent from 2003, as reduced debt service and greater
focus on essential services translates to the fifth consecutive
year with no need to seek an increase in the municipal share of
the property tax levy.
The 2004 budget totals $92.4 million,
which includes all costs associated with Village operations
supported by local revenue sources, state funds and federal
dollars. Nearly a third of the total budget will go to public
safety, which includes vital services provided by the Police,
Fire and Health departments. Some $10.1 million is budgeted for
capital improvements this year, including resurfacing the
entire length of Oak Park Avenue and new streetlights for
Roosevelt Road.
Property taxes will remain the single
largest source of revenue for municipal services, but still
represent less than 15 percent of all locally generated income.
Utility taxes will generate approximately 10 percent of local
funds, followed closely by sales, state income and real estate
transfer taxes. Sales and utility tax revenues are projected to
remain relatively steady in 2004, as are revenues from building
permits and property transfer taxes which are expected to
reflect continued confidence in the community's real
estate values.
Increases in certain user fees are part of
the 2004 budget, including what the City of Chicago charges for
Lake Michigan water, and related fees collected by the Village
to maintain water and sewer lines and services. Residential
water and sewer rates will increase 23 cents per 1,000 gallons
of water used. While the rate for Lake Michigan water increases
annually, this increase in the
Village's share of the water and sewer bill is the first
since the mid-1990s.
Charges for solid waste collection will
rise by $4 per month for residential properties of five or
fewer units on March 1 when the Village's new two-tiered
rate system goes into effect. Residents who choose to recycle
more and toss less by reducing the size of their garbage cart
can limit their increase to $1.50 per month.
The new budget also includes funds from an
additional penny-per-gallon tax on gasoline sold in the
Village. Money from the tax will help support an enhanced alley
improvement program that has targeted 10
to 12 alleys for reconstruction in the year ahead.
Other highlights of the 2004 budget
include creation of a new citizen service assurance position to
monitor and improve customer service and satisfaction with
Village services, funds to revise the Village's
comprehensive plan, a local transit circulator and an enhanced
retail grant program.
For more information on the budget,
call the Finance Department at 358.5460 or email finance@oak-park.us. A copy of the
budget also can be reviewed in Village Hall, 123 Madison St.