How does the levy limit impact your community's services? We have managed to not have to much impact on our services. But everything else gets cut. Equipment replacement pushed out 5 to 7 years more, which results in higher equipment maintenance costs. Road Repaving or Reconstruction gets pushed out way beyond years of where it should be. We no longer have a full time police officer. When our one full time officer retired. Our budget could not handle what it cost to replace him. We now utilize the County Sheriff's Department more for police matters.
How does the levy limit impact your community's budgeting practices and finances, eg, your amount of borrowing? 2019 $351,983 $413 0.1% 2018 $351,570 $1,087 0.3% 2017 $350,483 $2,467 0.7% 2016 $348,016 $21,363 6.5% SHOP REFINANCE PAYOFF 4 YRS EARLIER/DEBT SERVICE 2015 $326,653 $625 0.2% 2014 $326,028 $25,455 8.5% COMMUNITY CENTER LOAN/DEBT SERVICE 2013 $300,573 $1,479 0.5% 2012 $299,094 $23,904 8.7% STREET PROJECT LOAN(N JACKSON E WILSON)/DEBT SERVICE As you can see from chart facts and figures above the only time we have gone up more than .5% in our levy was for new debt service. This is due to the fact that our net new construction has been almost nothing for several years.
How does the levy limit impact your community's staffing levels and employee compensation? We really need to add at least a half time position in our clerks office we have one full time person to do everything for our Village, the Fire Department, the EMS Service and our Public Utilities. God forbid anything happen to me. We use to have a part time lawn cutter for the summer, which has been eliminated for the past 6 years now. We have managed to do some wage increases over the past 7 years but there were 2 years where no raises were given. We no longer have a full time police officer. When our one full time officer retired. Our budget could not handle what it cost to replace him. We now utilize the County Sheriff's Department more for police matters.
Anything else you'd like to say regarding the impact of levy limits on your community? To be able to raise our levy most years less than $2,500 or less annually, with the every increasing operational costs out of our control, not to mention what mother nature hands down in snow or ice is just not feasible. The levy needs to be at least a set minimum percentage of at least 2% the way it use to be or net new construction if greater than minimum, unless there is new debt service.