Documents › Board of Trustees Work Session, 2026-01-14

budget 3 pages

Section 1: Resident Satisfaction 1. How satisfied are you with village services, infrastructure and amenities? A. Very Satisfied B. Satisfied C. Neutral D. Dissatisfied E. Very Dissatisfied 2. How would you rate the value for your village tax dollar? A. Very good B. Good C. Neither good nor poor D. Poor E. Very poor Section 2: Spending Priorities 1. Which of the following service areas is your single highest priority for additional funding? A. Public Safety (Police, Fire, Emergency Response) B. Infrastructure (Roads, Sidewalks, Drainage) C. Recreation & Parks D. Arts/Culture 2. Which of the following municipal services do you believe should have its current funding reduced or held flat to create resources for higher-priority areas? A. Public Safety (Police, Fire, Emergency Response) B. Infrastructure (Roads, Parks, Sidewalks, Drainage) C. Recreation D. Arts/Culture E. No reductions should be made in any area. Section 2: Revenue Options 1. If additional funding is needed to increase or maintain funding for a priority service, which option would you most prefer? A. Increase property taxes for all property owners. B. Increase existing user fees (such as recreation program costs and parking fees) C. Introduce new types of user fees D. Use municipal financial reserves (savings), which could limit the village’s ability to respond to future emergencies or require borrowing to fund capital projects (and greater debt service in the future). Section 3: Overall Priorities 1. Which would you say should be the highest priority for the 2026-27 budget? A. Keep any tax increase as low as possible. B. Keep any fee increases as low as possible. C. Reducing debt and increasing reserves (savings). D. Improving village services (even if taxes must increase UNDER the tax levy limit of 2%). E. Improving village infrastructure (even if taxes must increase UNDER the tax levy limit of 2%). F. Improving village services and/or infrastructure (even if taxes must increase ABOVE the tax levy limit of 2%). Section 4: Strategic Planning 1. How should the village manage its financial strategy for long-term capital projects? A. Maintain a low tax rate by only funding essential, immediate needs and deferring maintenance even if that diminishes public assets and amenities . B. Prioritize fiscal stability by building large financial reserves and fully funding future expenses, which may require upfront tax increases. C. Borrow money (issue bonds) for major projects like infrastructure, spreading the cost (including interest payments) over decades.