Philosophically, the Village General Fund pays for the Village day to day operations and the Capital Fund pays for capital projects like roads, the Village well and water infrastructure, the covered bridge, and more. Long Grove does not levy a municipal property tax, so overall revenues and expenses for both of these key funds are tightly scrutinized.

Because of the current economic situation, the Village anticipates significant revenue reductions and approved an overall General Fund revenue budget of $2,980,259, which is 14% lower than otherwise would have been forecasted, and expenditures of $2,934,421, for a General Fund surplus of $45,839. In previous years (but not this year), much or all the General Fund surplus has been transferred to the Capital Fund to help fund capital projects. In 2019, the Village also transferred some of its unobligated General Fund reserves to help fund capital projects including the covered bridge and road, and infrastructure improvements for Robert Parker Coffin Road. The current General Fund reserve balance represents 70% of budgeted general fund expenses. This is higher than most other towns and villages, but given the lack of municipal property taxes, the Village is working to build that back to 100%, or 12 months of General Fund needs.

The Capital Fund budget is restricted to capital improvements and is primarily funded by the Village of Long Grove non-home rule 1% sales tax. Those forecasted revenues total $782,255 and the Village has $289,865 of Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) revenues on hand. The Village is conservatively assuming no additional MFT revenues, given the severe drop in driving and fuel purchases. Expenditures of $161,991 plus spending the full MFT amount on hand will result in a surplus balance of $620,264, which is being treated as a contingency cushion. This year the Village plans to repave the western half (west of Nottingham Drive) of Cuba Road. At the Village's request, the paving contractor agreed to hold its bid price ($500,000 for the eastern half of Cuba Road) until August 2020, so the Village Board can reconsider whether to award this additional road paving.

The Village Board considered contingency plans contemplating General Fund revenue reductions ranging from the approved -14% all the way to -40% versus the draft Public Hearing version of the budget that was prepared prior to the crisis. The Village Board will continue to closely monitor Village finances monthly to assess the actual current economic impact on its financial condition, and will make further adjustments as needed to maintain balanced budgets. Please click here to view a presentation on the Village finances; to view the General and Capital Fund Budgets click here, and to view the approved Other Funds Budgets click here.