Surplus Lets Northbrook Stall Water Rate Hike for 2 Years

Thanks to an almost $5 million cash surplus, the Northbrook Village Board was able to postpone the community's third water rate increase in four years as it approved the annual budget April 12, the Northbrook Star reports.

Trustees used $2.4 million of the village's $4.8 million surplus to offset the water hike for two years, the Star reports. Officials used $600,000 to take care of the increases in the sewer fee for two years, too.

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But that doesn't mean the surplus is being depleted. The village estimates that the fund will hit $5.8 million next year, according to the Star. And that's good news as the trustees anxiously try to figure out how to handle the state's potential financial meltdown.

"The state fiscal crisis continues to loom as a threat to Northbrook's financial picture," [Village Board Finance Committee Chairman Michael] Scolaro said. "Gov. [Bruce] Rauner's proposed 50 percent reduction in the local government distributive fund would cost us $1.7 million" in the first year, he said.

Overall, Northbrook's fiscal 2017 budget was $93.7 million, up from $82.5 million for the current fiscal year, which ends April 30.

More via the Northbrook Star