Politics & Government

Buffalo Grove Officials Discuss Program Cuts, Fee Hikes

A staff proposal includes raising some fees and ending the village's holiday light display and cutting the police department's K-9 program to help save money.

The Buffalo Grove Police Department's K-9 program and the Village of Buffalo Grove’s holiday light display are among expenses proposed for the chopping block as village officials look for ways to cut costs and maintain a strong fund balance in the coming years. 

Village staff members suggested a series of program reductions and proposed new fees during a presentation to trustees Monday night that could boost the village’s bottom line by about $1.5 million each year. No formal action was taken.

Suggestions included reining in costs this year by reorganizing staff and through attrition. Under the staff’s plan, full-time staff would drop to 215 employees by 2014, down from 224 this year and 240 in 2010.

The village could save $840,000 that way, said Assistant Village Manager Jennifer Maltas. Specifically, she said, the police department could reduce its sergeant staff from nine to seven by not filling a current open position or a second one upon a retirement this year. A retiring battalion chief at the fire department would not be replaced, and the deputy fire marshal position would be eliminated, under the staff’s proposal.

Village President Jeff Braiman noted that while attrition is an effective way to cut costs, staff expenses will continue to rise as wages increase.

“It’s getting to the point where it’s very difficult to run the government and we have to look for ways to contain [the cost],” Braiman said.

Buffalo Grove could save another $185,000 by eliminating programs including the police K-9 and the holiday light display. While the village doesn’t incur electricity costs for the lights, which are on municipal property, set-up, maintenance and removal requires about 500 hours of staff time and the village must pay for the actual lights, officials said.

The department’s K-9, Saxon, is trained to detect drugs and track people. The dog was used for such purposes in the village 31 times in 2012, which included locker checks at Buffalo Grove High School, and was deployed to other communities upon request. The K-9 and its handler spend most of their time on public relations-related activities, officials said.

Village staff also suggested updating Buffalo Grove fees and fines, eliminating obsolete ones and boosting the costs associated with others. Proposed fees include a $50 permit fee for commercial solicitors, who currently are not charged by the village.

The staff also suggested raising fines for those who miss payment deadlines for parking violations or who are cited for grass and weed violations and cracking down on unlicensed pets. A recent review of county records revealed there are more than 1,500 unlicensed animals in Buffalo Grove.

All told, changes to the village’s fee structure could generate $470,000 more for the village each year, officials said.

The suggestions drew a range of responses from trustees, who will have the final say on such changes.

“I don’t think I can support cutting the K-9 program or the niceties of having the village campus lit up at night,” Trustee Andy Stein said. He suggested that the village consider soliciting sponsors for the light program to allow it to continue.

Trustee Mike Terson indicated he was less attached to such programs.

“Everything you presented for cutting, I didn’t have a major issue with,” he told the staff, noting that the proposed cuts would not impact programs or events such as Buffalo Grove Days or the Citizens Police Academy.

Projections show that the village’s annual revenue will exceed expenses until 2018, when a $127,000 deficit is expected. The cost savings measures are based on the village’s desire to maintain a strong fund balance to allow it to cover unforeseen capital expenses and unfunded legislative mandates and help it ride out economic dips.

The projections show annual draws on the fund balance, which will steadily decline each year as the village transfers funds to maintain its buildings and vehicles and subsidize its golf courses.

Buffalo Grove’s current fund balance is about 31 percent, Village Manager Dane Bragg said. The village’s goal is to have a 35 percent fund balance by 2016.

The projections presented to village officials were conservative ones, Bragg said, and they “assumed no significant retail growth.” 

“We still have plenty of work. We’re not out of the woods yet,” Bragg said. But, he added,  “We’re running out of rugs to look under.” 

“I think the message we take from this is, we still have challenges … staff is on top of it,” Trustee Jeff Berman said. “The great thing about this exercise is this lays it out in increments. You want to keep the dog? This is what it’s going to cost you. We just now have to make the tough decisions.”

Find the village staff's complete report here
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