Here is another short update on this week’s board meeting. It was the fastest board meeting since I have been there with very little on the agenda.
We also had our first budget meeting. Not surprisingly, we were informed that if the Village stays on the current trajectory the Village will have a $2.5 to $3.2 million shortfall. Staff pushed on the need for revenue increases.
The positive news is that the Board agreed that we need to look at cutting costs. Costs would need to come from personnel, because last year we squeezed the non-personnel side as far as it could go. None of the board wants to see services cut (over and above those services we identified last year that did not make fiscal sense to continue).
We are offering two early retirement programs (one this year and next year). My goal is to use these reductions to find operating and technology efficiencies in order to not replace these positions. Additionally, we need to find opportunities to outsource and manage contracts instead of people. This is the only way to avoid the pension and healthcare costs that are spiraling out of control. These early retirement programs allow us to do this without a reduction in force. This is where we can find real savings.
While I am willing to have a discussion about revenues, I want to see our costs reduced first and foremost before we go down that path.
The Board unanimously agreed to instruct staff to identify $2 Million in cost cuts and $2 Million in potential revenue. I thought this was a reasonable compromise as then the Board can prioritize the changes. The Board also agreed that we should identify to staff where to make these cost cuts.
These are critical decisions, and it was a pleasant surprise to me that all of the board members were aligned. I’m sure there will be differences going forward, but it was a good start. I want to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues on the board for this discussion.
We had some very positive transit and economic development news. Illinois received an INFRA grant for the CREATE project that was supported as part of the Federal Infrastructure funding bill. This will allow for the engineering of all four phases and construction of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the project. It is this project that will lead to the ability to have express trains on the Metra Southwest Service line. A lot of individuals and groups cooperated to push for this funding including the Southwest Conference of Mayors, the Governor’s administration, Metra and our Congressional delegation. I want to thank all of them for ramping up the pressure – it is great news for Orland Park and the region!
Additionally, BMW graciously hosted another IDOT meeting on the 159th Street project. Thank you to Representative McDermed for working with Jennifer in my office to help facilitate the meeting again this year. The news was positive. Last year, shortly after I took office, we were told that all 4 lanes were scheduled to be open December of 2018 (plus any authorized time extensions). But then for some time, it looked as if it would be pushed back to 2019. Local leaders including Mayor Yukich of Homer Glen, Commissioner Morrison and Representative McDermed let IDOT know last year that we wanted it open by the end of this year without excuses. To IDOT’s credit they have accelerated the project and now the date is back to December of 2018 with the time extensions included! While nothing is a guarantee, it seems like one year later, we are back on track. The landscaping will not be done until 2019, but our concern is the opening of the four lanes. At this meeting Mayor Yukich, Commissioner Morrison, Representative McDermed and Will County Commissioner Balich joined our Village of Orland Park staff to keep the pressure on. Thank you to all and hopefully this will stay on track!
Lastly, I want to remind everyone that the Mayor’s golf outing, renamed the Veterans Golf Classic, will be held on September 11th at Silver Lakes. All of the proceeds will be donated to veteran’s groups! The link to register is www.OrlandPark.org/golf.
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment