Lake County Gazette

The Village of Deerfield has adopted a $58 million budget for the 2016 calendar year.

Village Manager Kent Street introduced the budget in an introductory budget message to the budget, available as a PDF: www.deerfield.il.us/assets/1/village_government/15-95_Ord__Adopting_2016_Budget.pdf.

"Preparing the annual budget is a very thorough and time-consuming process, and one that the Village Board takes very seriously," Street said. "As fellow taxpayers, they, too, want to hold the line on taxes, but without sacrificing the number and quality of services rendered."

Street said total expenses are up 2 percent from the current year, mostly because of construction planned for Deerfield Road, but that overall operating expenses for the village are expected to be 2 percent lower.

The village will continue prioritizing infrastructure improvements in the year ahead. The current budget allocated $6.6 million of the previously approved $10 million bond for infrastructure work in the village in 2016. Major building projects include the Deerfield Road project, rebuilding North Avenue and ontinuing the Street Rehabilitaiton Program.

Overall, trustees described Deerfield as being strong enough financially not to need  significant cuts to jobs or programs, despite a lagging state and national economy. Trustees attributed the stability to previous budgeting decisions and careful attention to staffing levels and needs. The approach not only led to balanced department budgets, but even to some new sources of revenue. The 2016 budget is the first in the past five years to add revenue to the Water and Sewer Fund, which always has run at a loss. The village also expects to see a small increase in revenue from building permits, as construction in Deerfield remains steady.