Orland Park Board Members Pass FY 2022 Budget

Orland Park IL

22 December, 2021

12:32 PM

Description

By Jon DePaolis, Richard Free Press: ORLAND PARK, Ill. — The Village of Orland Park Board of Trustees has approved a budget for fiscal year 2022. The budget — given the greenlight by a 7-0 vote Monday, Dec. 20 — begins Jan. 1, 2022, and ends on Dec. 31, 2022. Projected revenues for 2022 are $181,245,224, while projected expenditures are $222,088,158. In the general fund — the Village's largest single fund — revenues are projected to be $58,702,435, while expenditures are projected to be $70,851,887. "When I arrived here and sat through my first budget meetings, I realized that frankly I had inherited a complete mess," Mayor Keith Pekau said. "Our reserves were projected to be completely depleted by the end of next year. What is scary is that the board had known this for five years prior to that and had not taken any action to fix it." He said that a former Village manager and some of the board members attempted to implement a restaurant tax and other fee increases to "close the gap." "I knew there was a better way, which I fought hard for," Pekau said. "Some other trustees fortunately agreed, and that was to tighten our belts." The mayor said the Village's roads also were in poor condition and parks were "underinvested in." "You sit here and ask, 'How could this happen?'" he said. "Frankly, because money was diverted away from roads and parks, and for the debt that was incurred for the Triangle." Pekau said the Village changed the way it funds its road repairs and park improvements in 2019 and beyond. "After the end of this budget year, we will have taken $46 million off of our books since the day I arrived, including the money we are spending this year," he said. According to Village documents, the fiscal year 2022 budget calls for: a minimum 25% available fund balance in the general fund; no new revenue sources; a capital investment of $68.8 million for roads, buildings and other projects; and safety and security upgrades at Village-owned facilities. "I am incredibly proud of our staff for all their hard work on operations throughout COVID and also for our board for their hard work to make this possible to put us back on track," Pekau said. "It puts us on the positive trajectory that the people of Orland Park deserve." Richard Free Press is a one-stop destination for the news that most affects you, the southwest suburban resident. Be an informed citizen of the town you live in and love.