Board Approves 2011-12 Village Budget

The Frankfort Village Board continued its trend of "conservative fiscal management" Monday, unanimously approving a balanced budget for 2011-12.

"We as a village are always conservative of our spending habits, and this year is no different," said Trustee Cindy Heath, who is part of the Village's Financial Affairs Committee, which shepherds the budget process. "What we are charged to do as a village is keep the budget as tight as possible."

The overall budget is broken into two parts: corporate and utility. For the next fiscal year, which begins May 1, the corporate budget, which covers Frankfort's day-to-day operating expenses, is set at $11.6 million and is about $1 million less than last's year's. The corporate budget also is expected to have a $2,960 surplus.

The utility operating budget, which covers the sewer and water utilities that are managed by the village and serves residents in the village and the unincorporated areas, is set at $7.2 million in revenue, with $6.97 allotted in spending. 

Both budgets are expected to have a surplus, which will be put into a bank account and set aside to fund future big-ticket items, such as additional wells and water towers, Heath said. The 2010-11 budget had a surplus of $529,000 in corporate operating and $1.1 million in utility operating.

"That's why our village doesn't have to go into debt to fund those large, significant capital items that are needed because ... we save it until we need it," she added.

Spending for those large-scale capital items also are reflected in the 2011-12 budget in the corporate capital and utility capital funds, which are set at $5.9 million and $5.2 million, respectively. This funding covers projects such as the , and . However, the budget numbers don't reflect outside grants, payments and other funding that go into help finance some of these projects.

Even though the budget is about $1 million less than last year's, Heath said it doesn't sacrifice any village services that residents have come to expect.

"We continue to have reduced staff, which we enforced a few years ago, and we've taken advantage of other items to keep our budget lower," she said.

Heath added that the reduction also doesn't mean Frankfort is facing financial dire straits.

"The Village of Frankfort is really healthy, probably healthier than surrounding communities. Certainly healthier than the state and federal governments," she said.