Mayor Dwyer’s Column

 GreenwoodLake Mayor

 

By Jesse Dwyer

 

Village Of GreenwoodLakeBudget Outlook

“Uncontrolled Expenditures” Affecting this Year’s Budget

•          State Retirement Increased: +$21,616 from 2013 Actual Expenses
•          Police Retirement:  +$69,801 from 2013 Actual Expenses
•          Worker’s Compensation: +$20,488 from 2013 Actual Expenses
•          Unemployment: +$12,762 from 2013 Actual Expenses
•          Medical Insurance: +$43,961 (from 2013) — +$78,889 (from 2012 Expenses)
•          Contractual Increase in DPW Expense: +$5,000

 

Reductions made by Village Board and Staff

“Controlled Expenditures”

•          Did not utilize a P/T Grounds member in winter
•          Shut aeration during winter
•          Reduced engineering fees in half by contracting with a new engineering firm
•          Reduced legal fees and cost of attorneys by hiring new Village Attorney and Labor Attorney
•          Reduced cost of water plant operations by accepting bids for operators (RFP). Hired new Plant Operating Company (Affects Water Budget Only)
•          Reduced Mayor’s contractual amount nearly in half
•          Negotiated refuse contract saving the village $12,000 from the proposed rate increase from IWS
•          Proposing a reduction in Fund Balance Allocation
•          We eliminated the position of building department secretary
•          Reduced full time village police from 9 full time to 6 full time. We are now able to utilize part time officers to fill and cover shifts through successful negotiations with our PBA, which saves the village thousands in benefits such as retirement and health benefits.

o        2012 Police Salaries: $701,374

o        2013 Police salaries: $812,116 (Previous Village Board)

o        2014 Police Salaries (New Board): $761,000 (Reduction of $51,116 from year before)

o        2015 Police Salaries: (Proposed): $760,000 (Reduction of 1k year over year with new board)

 

I cannot thank enough the new Village Board, our Village Staff and the GWL Police Department for working with me this past year. Most importantly, I would like to thank Village Clerk Pat Olsen and Deputy Clerk Beth Farrell for their countless hours spent on this budget and the contractors associated with the budget. A team effort went into this process and I am grateful to have such competent and diligent employees in Village Hall.

 

A public hearing will be held on the budget this Thursday, March 27^th at 7p.m in Village Hall. We have since had two budget workshops and we are still working on reducing the budget even further to a more affordable budget while retaining the same valuable services that our residents rely on. 

                 

•    Open Gym for Grades 9-12 every Friday at the MS. Free for Village and Town Residents
•    Open Gym for grades 6-8 Every Thursday at the ES. Free for Village and Town Residents
•    Village Budget Public Hearing Thursday, March 27^th at Village Hall
•    Village Board Workshop Monday, April 21^st at 6:30p.m. at Village Hall
•    Village Board Meeting Monday, April 21^st at 7:30p.m. Village Hall