The Homewood Village Board held a public hearing on April 14 where staff presented the proposed budget for 2026-27. 

The draft for the budget was presented to the board at the March 24 meeting. A required legal notice was then published in the Daily Southtown on March 30, Amy Zukowski, Homewood director of finance, said. 

The budget focuses on maintaining services and rising costs, and planning for long-term infrastructure needs. The village is in a stable financial position, Zukowski said. 

The presentation at the hearing summarized a few of the main budget categories. 

The general fund has a projected increase from over $27 million in prior years to $30.3 million in 2027. The expenditures also have an increase to $30.2 million, Zukowski said. 

At the time the budget draft was presented, the projected surplus for the general fund was $175,935, but since then staff has updated that number to $118,077, she said. 

According to Zukowski, the reasons for the decrease are due to salaries and benefits, and contractual and dispatch services. 

Salaries and benefits have increased by $36,000 as a result of union negotiations. Contractual services also increased by $20,000, followed by a $40,000 increase in dispatch services, known as Southland Communication Center, she said. 

These increased costs were offset by an increase of $39,500 in revenue, bringing the total net decrease to $57,000, Zukowski said. 

Sales tax remains the village’s largest source of revenue, accounting for approximately 31% of the general fund, she said. 

Sales tax is projected at $7 million and casino gaming tax is at $2 million. Property tax, however, will decrease by $339,000, bringing the revenue to $2.1 million. That’s because an increasing share of property tax revenue goes to pension obligations. The newly implemented non-home rule sales tax that went into effect in January is projected to bring in $3.5 million, Zukowski said. 

The largest portion of the general fund goes to public safety and public works, she said. 

The water and sewer fund capital balance and budget is projected at $3.6 million. Since the water rate study, the village has increased water rates for 2026-27 to fund the lead service line replacement project, which will start this year, Zukowski said. 

The general capital fund available is $7.5 million. The general capital budget is projected at $7.3 million. A major project that will be using this fund is $2.5 million for removing the geothermal heating, ventilating and air conditioning system at the public safety building. Other major projects are vehicle and equipment replacements for $1 million, and Ridge Road storm sewer for $1.2 million, she said. 

According to Homewood Public Works Director Joshua Burman, the Ridge Road storm sewer is a priority on the list due to problematic flooding that occurs when it storms. The project will greatly alleviate the issue but not completely resolve it. 

“We’re always going to have issues like this in backyards because they were designed at the end of the day as retention, they hold water and then they go down,” Burman said. 

As for the tax increment financing fund, it is projected to increase from about $1.62 million last year to about $3.37 million for 2026-27. This is mainly due to crosswalk and lighting improvements in the downtown area, Zukowski said. 

The last step in the budget process is board approval at the April 28 meeting, Zukowski said.