Publications & Sites 
Report shows Western Springs finances in top shape
Related Stories
Updated: October 1, 2012 4:25PM
WESTERN SPRINGS — The village received a positive independent audit of its 2011 budget and is bringing in more revenue than anticipated for 2012.
Brian Lefevre of independent auditing firm Sikich, Gardner & Company, gave a summary of the findings on Western Spring’s 2011 comprehensive financial report. The report will be available on the village website soon.
In fiscal year 2011, the village’s general fund increased by slightly over $328,000, bringing the village to an end total of about $2.75 million, Lefevre said.
“The Village Board has adopted a general fund balance policy with a targeted 30 percent reserve, and this $2.75 mil represents 35 percent, so the village is pretty much right at its goal,” he said.
Lefevre also said Western Springs is well within the accepted rates for how much the village is contributing to its pensions for policemen, firemen and municipality staff.
Among the other highlights, Western Springs received an award for excellence in financial reporting for 2010.
The award is given by the Government Finance Officers Association, Lefevre said. This is the 17th consecutive year the village has received this award.
Lefevre pointed out the village is one of only 2 percent of communities its size (25,000 or less) that even bother to assemble a comprehensive financial report.
“We’ve done pretty well in addressing what the economic concerns are and finding a way to live within our means,” said Village President William Rodeghier. “Most importantly, we had to dip into our reserves last year to meet financial obligations, but we were able to re-coop those and the report shows that. It’s a credit to the staff and the finance committee.”
Trustee James Horvath presented a summary of the financial reports for June and July of 2012, showing a surplus of more than $1.2 million in the general fund.
“That’s in large part due to the second installment of property taxes that had to be paid by Aug. 1,” said Horvath. “This is a big change from in the past. In the past, property taxes were being paid in November and last year as late as December.”
“The cash flow is very helpful because those are funds that we don’t have to borrow to continue operations for the balance of the year.”
Sales tax receipts are 3 percent higher than in 2011, and 4 percent higher than 2010. Photo enforcement and utility taxes revenue also continue to exceed projections.
Horvath said expenditures for the halfway point through the year (July) are right on target at about 50 percent of the funds being still available, and revenue for the year to date is about 5 percent higher than anticipated.
