Flossmoor’s Finance and Facilities Plan took center stage in the latest installment of a series of discussions regarding the preliminary Fiscal Year 2022 budget. And much of next year’s plan focuses on projects related to a $10 million bond issue approved by voters in November and sold through a bidding process in March.
Village Manager Bridget Wachtel led the discussion on the plan, which focuses on large capital projects over the next three years. The use of general obligation bond proceeds will play a key role in the FY22 portion of the plan.
Phase 1 of the Berry Lane Drainage Improvements is expected in the next fiscal year to the tune of roughly $2 million. For that first phase, Flossmoor was awarded a $1 million Army Corps of Engineers grant, with another $500,000 anticipated in the fall. The village is obligated to supply $500,000 for the project, to be paid with bond proceeds. Phases 2 and 3 of the project are expected to unfold over FY22-24 at a cost of $4.74 million.
Phases 1 and 2 of the village’s street and sidewalk initiatives are also on the way in FY22 and are expected to cost $2.83 million. Phase 2 is to be continued into the following fiscal year, with $2.47 million more in costs anticipated for FY23, per Wachtel’s presentation. All of the work is to be funded with bond proceeds.
Over the past three fiscal years, the village has allocated general funds to street resurfacing, but Wachtel recommended they not do so in FY22 while bond work is underway. She said part of the reason the village sought bond funds for road work is that using the general fund was deemed “unsustainable” going forward. She instead suggested holding back Motor Fuel Tax funds to ensure Flossmoor has money for its street program once the bond money is spent.
“We need to let the MFT fund balance grow,” Wachtel said. “It certainly could not support a street resurfacing program in 2022.”
Mayor Paul Braun originally encouraged going ahead with the general fund contribution to add to the FY22 work. But Public Works Director John Brunke cautioned against combining any MFT-funded work with the bond-funded resurfacing because those projects need to be conducted under different standards. He also said with what is in the reserves right now the village could not afford a proper project.
Wachtel said they can include the allocation in the budget to make sure the money would stay dedicated to road resurfacing but hold it over until the fund has accumulated a more significant sum of money.
The village’s capital plan also includes intermediate plans, which are beyond three years but with financing identified, and long-term projects that do not have a date or financing in place yet. The plan utilizes savings for Flossmoor’s “save then spend” philosophy, as well as identifies alternative financing options.
Wachtel also highlighted water supply development and Hagen Lane and Douglas Avenue Drainage work anticipated for FY22. Three projects contingent upon grant and/or loan funding for FY22 are central business district pedestrian safety and streetscape engineering, Brookwood bridge and Butterfield Road culvert engineering, and Phase 4 sanitary sewer rehab in Flossmoor Hills and Highlands subdivisions. Wachtel said the village is likely to get an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency low-interest loan for the sewer rehab.
Other projects on the docket for FY22-24 are a water supply changeover ($1.23 million), water meter replacement ($1.72 million), Dartmouth bike bridge replacement ($500,000), public works salt storage building reconstruction ($200,000), CBD pedestrian and streetscape construction, ($1.8 million) and a resurfacing of the south commuter lot ($125,000).