La Grange OKs 'Status Quo' Budget

LA GRANGE, IL — In early March, La Grange officials held a budget workshop, but that was before the coronavirus pandemic started hurting the economy. Much has changed since them, but not the village budget — at least for now.

This week, the Village Board approved the annual budget for this fiscal year, with the memo accompanying the document calling it "another status quo budget." In the memo, staffers assured the board they have identified preliminary short- and long-term plans to cut spending to offset any unknown financial impacts as a result of the pandemic.

Because capital improvements are a board priority, according to the village memo, the budget will not delay the neighborhood road projects to another year.

Village staffers predict the the economic impacts of the virus will hit La Grange. But the village's general fund has enough reserves to pay for seven months of day-to-day operations, the memo said.

"It is specifically for reasons such as this that the village has worked to build and maintain reserves so as not to have to rely on short-term borrowing or drastic operational reductions," the memo said. "The Village Board has the ability to adjust the budget during the year as more information regarding the impacts of the crisis are known."

During the board meeting, Trustee David McCarty said he was glad village officials worked to build the reserves over the years, despite his occasional pleadings that the village should spend some of that money.

"We are fortunate to have senior staff who have been through a lot of this before," McCarty said. "Almost everyone was around in 2008 when we did this. They know the drill."