NOVEMBER 12, 2015 VOL. 60 ISSUE 6
Locals compete in pristine weather at state meet
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Featured Sports
SUNSHINE AT STATE
NEWS d63 tax Levy
East Maine District 63 proposes $38 million tax levy
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NEWS PtC extension
Metra avoids shutdown with deadline extension
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SENIORS area vets honored Niles library hosts 9th annual Veterans History Breakfast
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viLLage neWs > morton grove
Morton grove proposes status-quo budget for 2016 Board will continue looking at budget during Nov. 18 hearing By Igor Studenkov bugle staff
nweditor@buglenewspapers.com @NilesIlNews
Village of Morton Grove department heads aren’t recommending any significant increases for the 2016 village budget. On Nov. 5, the village’s board of trustees hosted a budget workshop. Heads of various village departments presented their plans for 2016 and laid out how much money they would request for the upcoming year.
The board will continue looking at the budget at hearing scheduled for Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. The village is also expected to hold a meeting Nov. 30 on the status of Morton Grove tax increment financing districts. For the most part, the department heads proposed budgets that were either reduced or at similar levels as 2015. Community and Economic Development Director Nancy Radzevich said her department’s budget would be reduced by 7 percent. Director of Information
Technology Boyle Wong said that the budget would be reduced overall, largely due to consolidations and contracting outside professionals rather than hiring more staff members. Morton Grove Fire Department Chief Tom Friel, who also currently serves as the village’s acting finance director, said the finance department budget would be essentially flat. He added that he deliberately avoided suggesting any changes. “Assuming that we have a new [permanent] finance director by the end of December, we didn’t
want to bring someone in and tie their hands,” said Friel. He also said that the department hired outside consultants to look at Morton Grove’s current financial practices and suggest improvements. For the fire department, Friel said he was proposing one major change – replacing a full-time fire inspector with two parttime employees who would take on the same duties, as well as handle additional similar tasks throughout the village. By having two part-time employees, Friel said the department was ensuring that at least one inspector was available in any given time. The fire chief also reported
that the department of family and senior services is looking to get $50,000 for a part-time employee. “We are not specifically planning on adding more individuals – this is just a contingency,” he said. Friel reported that the village recently hired a part-time social worker. Earlier this year, the position was reduced from fulltime to part-time. “A large part of the [social worker]’s job will be response and crisis intervention, which is why she’s under auspices of the Morton Grove Police Department,” he said. “She is also going to have
see buDget | page 3