When compared to our nation s inflation rate our history of controlling spending is self-evident. Let s look back at the year 2000 and see where tax payers dollars were spent. Flooding during the year drained excessive dollars from the budget as we repaired roadways and ditches. However, as a function of these disasters we have applied for matching fund grants that will allow us to mitigate future flooding. These matching funds must be placed into the reserve of our next budget in order to accomplish the planned projects and protect our residents.
Garbage collection continues to present a major expense for the village.
A few years back we began selling garbage bags to offset the rising cost of collection and fairly distribute the expense as a function of usage. This was in lieu of a general tax rate increase. However, the cost of the bags reduced the impact of the revenue generated from the sale. Thus, as recently announced, we will replace the selling of bags with the selling of garbage bag tags. The tags, significantly less expensive than the bags, will give us additional revenue to help offset rising costs.