Bensenville Financial Newsletter 2012

FINANCIAL NEWSLETTER 2012

P A S T, P R E S E N T & F U T U R E

A Message from your V Village illage President As I write this greeting in early 2013, I do so with an enor enormous mous sense of pride and gratitude. I am excited that all of us can truly embrace b and d believe b l in our motto which h h calls lls for fo Shaping our Future. Some may say we have completed an amazing tur turnaround naround hat we w have just begun a tur turnaround. in the last four years, but I prefer to believe that naround. As I look over the list of achievements of recent shortt and long ter term, years and thee list of projects for the shor m, I believe that the Bensenville of the future will far surpass ass any a of the best periods of our impressive past.

To o have reached ache this point would have not been possible without the collective efforts efforts of all of you. From the unyielding commitment of our Board of TTrustees rustees and innovative V Village illage staff, to the countless ess residents and business owners who stepped for forward ward to contribute their thoughts, ideas, and d time, tim our recent success comes from your effor efforts. ts. But it is imperative that we don’ don’tt stop here, Wee e, nor no that we allow ourselves to lose sight of what contributed to this success. ccess. W opportunity have a great grea deal of work and oppor tunity ahead of us in the coming days as we strive to stability,, but we will do so with the knowledge that growth comes from build onn our ou growing stability uninformed thoughtful tful evaluation, planning, and execution, not from quick and uninfor med decisions.

You ave my commitment that ever everyy decision made under my watch will be made with a ou have fair and complete mplet evaluation of how that individual decision impacts many others that may follow follow,, and that nothing will be done that at is not completely transparent to all of you.

When you look at the enormity mity of running ann entity Village of Bensenville, you will find a myriad of en as large and complex as the Village decisions to bee made and projects to be carried out. Some are small and clear clear,, others quite large and complex. What matters most is treating each with clarity and sound judgment, and maintaining balance and perspective. No decision is insignificant, b but ut neglectful allotting resources appropriately goes a long way to balancing not only the workload, but our budget. After a period of neglect ful behavior,, I am pleased to say that for the four fourth fiscal behavior th consecutive year Bensenville will again operate under a balanced budget. Because of our recent success, we now have an outlook.. This change greatly enhances our A+ bond rating with a positive outlook ability to borrow and invest, and projects to save us $1.7 million over the next community.. ten years. That is all money that can be put to meaningful use in our community Our Village Village staff has been streamlined so that we can function more effectively on behalf of our residents. Our leadership team has focused their effor efforts ts on areas that will position Bensenville as a leader rather than a follower follower.. In the past year year,, it was Bensenville that finally brought together regional, state and federal officials to develop the plan that led to funding for the long-discussed Elgin-O’Hare W Wester estern Access. By settling or dismissing literally hundreds of Western illage’s Governance contentious lawsuits, we have reduced the V Governance and Legal Village’s Budgets by $4 million. These savings allow us to be positioned at the forefront of the incredible economic oppor tunities that await us as O’Hare airpor opportunities airportt expands and the new Elgin-O’Hare W Wester estern Access brings consumers and Western business travelers to our doorstep.

W g years. W Wee have much more to accomplish in the coming Wee have focused on our key fundamentals to prepare for transfor mative projects that will come as transformative the economy improves. mproves. W Wee are always looking for ways to improve customer ser vice and municipal unicipal operations. W participate in this service Wee have aske asked you to participate continuous improvement effor vey and Neighborhood effortt in our community sur survey Conversations.. Y our feedback has led to direct im ser vice delivery deliver y Your improvements in service and allows us to be true to our motto – W o Help Wee Are Here TTo Help..

I invite you to read through this newsletter and discover many of the great things happening in Bensenville.

FRANK SOTO | VILLAGE PRESIDENT

“I believe that the Bensenville of the future will far surpass any of the best periods of our impressive past.”

TTHE TURNAROUND What share of my property tax bill goes to the Village?

As we look back on the rich history of our commummu-

A typical homeowner with a $200,000 home within the

se opment settled in the area in 1835, through the development

Village contributes approximately $504, or roughly

of schools, churches and community organizations ations in

10%, of their annual tax bill to the Village. The rest goes

the 1880s, Bensenville’s history was one of hard ard wor rk, work,

to several other agencies including school districts and

gr ir growth, and community pride. Our residents and thei their

DuPage County.

liv ed with the livelihood have almost always been intertwined

nit tion in nity, we find roots well beyond our incorporation 18 1884. From the first dozen German families that

mo ntury, movement of people and goods. At the turn of the ce century, County of Dupage Forest Preserve Dupage Airport Authority Addison Township VILLAGE OF BENSENVILLE

ne mployed by the nearly every working resident in town was employed ra ssed railroads. By the 1930’s, an average of 80 trains passed thr nder half through town every day. A decade or so later, just under of our workforce was employed in the burgeoning aircraft rcraft

Park District

ind nce of industry. The steady commercial growth and abundance

Fire District

jo jobs led to a thriving middle class and as we entered the

Library

las ed last quarter of the 20th century, our community enjoyed

School Districts

the fruits of our labor as new schools and a library were bu es built, the arts flourished, and parks and leisure facilities gr grew. However, as Bensenville grew and prospered, it did not alw nium arrived the t always adapt. Times changed and as the new millennium ve n, jobs very things that made our history so great – location, transportatio transportation, –a d been literallyy at its all suddenly came to work against us. Just as it had

What other revenue does the Village receive?

inc ely at inception almost two hundred years ago, Bensenville was figurative figuratively the crossroads in the most recent decade.

This year the Village budgeted to collect a total of $37,032,578 in total operating revenue. The single biggest category of revenue is charges for services which accounts for nearly 40% of all revenue. This segment represents line items for which the Village charges residents and businesses directly for services as opposed to amounts that are collected through taxes. This helps to keep property taxes to a minimum and shifts costs to the actual users in fair proportions. In addition to charges for services, the Village also relies on property taxes, sales taxes, intergovernmental revenue, licenses and permits, fines, and miscellaneous revenue to fund operating expenditures. The graph below shows the various sources of revenue expected to be collected this year.

Estimated Operating Revenues

Property Taxes

$6,390,043

17.26%

Sales Taxes

$7,523,100

20.31%

Other Taxes

$3,334,500

9.00%

Intergovernmental

$3,500,000

9.45%

Licenses & Permits

$861,500

2.33%

Fines

$798,500

2.16%

Charges for Services

$14,323,875

38.68%

Miscellaneous

$301,060

.81%

Total

$37,032,578

100%

O g a bit Our community motto Honoring Our Past, Shaping Our Future rang ho at hollow as jobs evaporated, our boundaries were violated, and that str strong working class made a rapid exodus from Bensenville. We were ca caught unprepared and were collectively unresponsive to the new re ne realities.

The spiral continued through 2008 when Forbes magazine wr he wrote Bensenville leads our list of America's dying small towns. The

choices ch were to let the town slowly disappear, or, find a way to move in the only direction available – up. The question question was how? Today, just four years later,

th the he questions are really how far and how fa ast? fast?

E ENSURING FINANCIAL DILIGENCE A After years of questionable financial practices, Bensenville is now enjoying the re results of operating under a balanced budget for four consecutive years. Our eelected officials and professional staff take seriously our responsibilities as stewards ards to protect the financial position of our community. We want to report to you from m titime to time on our progress.

• Our improved bond rating will save us over $1.7 million over the next decade in interest charges

• Eliminating the multitude of lawsuits to which we were a party has as et saved us $4 million annually in our Governance and Legal budget • The Edge Ice Arena operations have been restructured, resulting in more than $450,000 in annual profits that go toward paying off the facility’s debt. Four years ago the Edge dge operated at nearly a $270,000 annual loss. This is more than an a $725,000 turnaround.

• By taking our insurance out to bid like all of our contracts, the Village will save over $79,000 annually • Electric aggregation will provide an annual average of $310 in savings to Bensenville homeowners

As part of our focus on transparency, you can now find all budget and audit information on line at www.bensenville.il.us. We will also make a ava available on the website all contracts that we enter into via our new Citizen Tran Transparency Center, created in partnership with the Illinois Policy Institute.

All lo local residents and business owners have a right to understand how we operate operat and we are committed to transparency in all transactions. Bensenville received receive a 98% rating from the Institute, which makes us the fifth highest ranked of more than 300 communities rated. Bensenville is a leader in municipal government t in the area of transparency

EARNING A PLACE OF HONOR Our staff O t ff iis working ki on a plan l tto rededicate d di t Redmond Park in honor of our military Veterans in Bensenville. These plans include renaming the baseball field Memorial Field and the softball field Liberty Field. In addition, from June 20-23 Redmond Park will host The Wall That Heals, the traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

More than 72 volunteers are needed to make this possible, so if you are interested in sharing your time for a good cause, call 630 594 1190.

BUSINESS OUTLOOK

2012 was an extraordinary year for economic growth in Bensenville, and 2013 looks to be even more exciting. In the past year, 154 new business came to our community. The more tax revenue these businesses provide, the better we can manage property tax levels for homeowners. Our sales tax revenues are up over 23% since 2009, and 2012 was the highest sales tax year ever, including pre-recession years. But don’t read that message incorrectly. Our goal in attracting new businesses is not to just derive tax revenue from them. Sales tax revenue is one way to objectively verify our growth over previous years. Local businesses provide jobs for Bensenville residents, they add great dining and shopping options, and they help make us a better community in all respects. Because of our proximity to O’Hare and Chicago, and because we feel we have a lot to offer in terms of location and labor, we see no reason why Bensenville can not compete for industry on a global basis.

Our recent growth has come in part from efforts to build relationships with the business community. The Village has eliminated confrontational and burdensome permit processes and established a Business Advisory Council to allow us to work together on solving key issues affecting all of us. By reducing costs and time needed to secure permits, and by eliminating unnecessary fees, we’ve encouraged businesses to invest in innovation and growth. The occupancy rate in our industrial park, once the lowest in the region, is now at an all time high.

We are pleased to announce that plans for a new McDonald’s restaurant were recently approved by the Village Board. In addition, not only are all of our previously vacant car dealerships now full, but Roesch Ford has begun an extensive remodel of their dealership on Grand Avenue. PNC Bank has constructed a new branch in town and many other retail, dining, and manufacturing firms are headed our way. As more businesses open, they bring employees and new consumers to Bensenville, compounding the benefit to our community.

K

VILLAGE OF BENSENVILLE WINS NS A AW AWARD WARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT FINANCE CHICAGO, IL - June 10, 2012 - The Gover Government nment Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) announced the winners of its 2012 2A Awards wards for Excellence in Gover Government nment Finance. The GFOA ’s most prestigious awards recognize contributions GFOA’s utions to the practice gover of government finance that exemplify outstanding financial management.

What are charges for services?

Some Village services are funded through a direct charge for that service rather than through another revenue source such as a tax. One service the Village provides in this manner is clean water. The Village does not utilize any tax revenue to fund the water utility; rather it relies on direct charges through billing directly for this service. The following chart shows where the $14,323,875 in charges in services comes from.

Water and Sewer

$9,604,675

The awards stress practical, documented work that offers leadership to the profession and promotes improved public finance. The V Village illage of

Edge/Redmond Park

$2,489,000

Inspection Fees

$76,600

Bensenville is just the third Illinois municipality to everr win International award. this International

Movie Theatre Complex

$113,000

Programs/Other

$427,100

The Village Village won in the categor category y of eGovernment and Technology.

T echnology y. Below is a synopsis of the Village’s Village’s winning submittal:

Recycling and Refuse

$1,567,000

Commuter Parking

$35,000

Dial-A-Bus

$11,500

Total

$14,323,875

Bensenville is a municipal leader through implementing ementing an electronic Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that makes interactions with the Village Village much more efficient effficient ficient nt and transparent for our homeowners and businesses. This system iss the future of customer service in local government; it provides information not only to the Village Village but also to its partners. Unlike other organizations, Bensen Bensen-ville shares tools and resources with business partners to better serve the entire community. community mmunityy.. Once the village implemented the system throughout all departments to track performance and business processes, providing real-time information via the Internet, it expanded the project to include private-sector and intergovernmental partners, improving roving transparency, transparencyy,, collaboration, collaboration n, communication, and performance. Bensenville cut through the bureaucracy that often keeps information in silos, giving its private business siness partners access to the same information nformation that village staff staf has, resulting in better service and one-stop ne-stop service for the citizens.

A STEWARD OF OUR RESOURCES

Where is the revenue used?

RECENT FINAN FINANCIAL SUCCESSES

In 2012 the Village Operating Expenditures (including debt service payments) were budgeted at $34,194,502.

This money was used to fund all the various services the Village provides including Police Protection, Clean Water, Sanitary Sewer Disposal, Recycling and Refuse, Storm Sewers, Maintenance of Village Streets and Sidewalks, Snow Plowing, Economic Development, Code Enforcement, the Edge Ice Arenas, Village Owned Parks, Recreation Programs and Special Events including Music in the Park. Additionally, the Village uses operating revenues to pay down existing debt service. The Chart below shows Village operating Expenditures by functional category.

U UÊÊ ÊÓ䣣Ê> Ê`i«>ÀÌ i ÌÃÊ ÊÓ䣣Ê> Ê`i«> Ê

SALARIES

$8,521,550

nder budget. bu W came in under We

BENEFITS

$3,329,345

ting the same are projecting

TEAM DEVELOPMENT

$260,745

performance ce for 2012. performance

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

$2,138,289

UÊ ,iv > Vi`ÊÃiÛiÀ> Ê ,iv > Vi`ÊÃiÛiÀ Ê UÊ

CONTRACTUAL SERVICES

$8,063,084

g Bond outstanding

COMMODITIES

$912,963

low issuances to a lower

OTHER EXPENSES

$1,113,550

savin $1.7 million. interest ratee saving

PROGRAMS

$2,226,883

UÊ VÀi>Ãi`Ê i iÀ> Ê Õ `ÊÀiÃiÀÛiÃÊvÀ Ê>ÊfÈÊ Ê`iv V ÌÊÌ Ê> VÀi>Ãi`Ê i iÀ Ê UÊ Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê b tur $4 million fund balance, resulting in a $10 million turnaround.

U 7iÊ` `Ê ÌÊ«>ÃÃÊ Ê Ê UÊÊ 7iÊ` `Ê ÌÊ«>ÃÃÊ ÊÌ iÊÜ>ÌiÀÊÀ>ÌiÊ VÀi>ÃiÊvÀ ÊÌ iÊ ÌÞÊ v Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê nd DuPage Water Water Commission.

Chicago and UÊ ÀÃÌÊiÛiÀÊ ÃÌ }Õ Ã i`Ê Õ`}iÌÊ*ÀiÃi Ì>Ì Ê Ü>À`ÊvÀ ÊÌ i ÀÃÌÊiÛiÀÊ ÃÌ }Õ Ã i`Ê Õ`}iÌÊ*ÀiÃi Ì>Ì Ê Ü>À`ÊvÀ ÊÌ i UÊ Government Finance Officers Association Government U V iÛi`Ê ³Ê `Ê,>Ì }ÊÜ Ì Ê>ÊPositivee outlook ou UÊÊ V iÛi`Ê ³Ê `Ê,>Ì }ÊÜ Ì Ê>ÊPositive from Poor’s.

Standard and Poor’s.

DEBT SERVICE

$7,628,093

TOTAL

$34,194,502

If you compare Operating Revenues to Operating Expenditures you will see that we have budgeted almost $3 million more in revenue than in expenditures. This budget reflects our continued trend over the last four years of not operating at a deficit. Additionally, the Village does not rely on any one-time revenue sources or accounting gimmicks to cover routine operating expenditures.

PRST STD POSTAGE US POST TAGE AGE PAID PAID PERMIT NO. 72 BENSENVILLE, IL STREET 12 SOUTH CENTER STREET BENSENVILLE | ILLINOIS 60106

POSTAL CUSTOMER POSTAL BENSENVILLE | ILLINOIS 60106

STAYING ST TAYING CONNECTED CONNE

A NEW IMAGE FOR BENSENVILLE

It has never been easier to keep up to date with what’ what’ss happening in OUR community community.. On your phone, PC, laptop or tablet, the V Village illage of Bensenville website offers easy integration, so you’ll stay connected at home, in the office, or when away.. you are away

As a symbol of Bensenville’ Bensenville’ss turnaround turnaround and the oppor opportunity tunity we are poised to take advanadvantage of, we present our new logo and taglines.

Follow us on Facebook and T Twitter witter by clicking on the the icons icons in in the thelower lowerleft lefthand hand cor corner ner of the the website website (our (our Bensenville Bensenville Mobile App is coming coming this this Spring).

Spring).

Receive e-mail and and cell cell phone phone notificanotifica notifications, by clicking clicking on on the the NOTIFY NOTIFYME ME button in the the upper upper left left hand handcor cor corner ner of the the website, then choose choose the the NEWS NEWS FLASH: FLASH: BENSENVILLE NEWS envelope envelope icon icon for for alerts e-mail aler ts or the the phone phone icon icon for forphone phone alerts. one, the the other otheror or aler ts. You You can choose choose one, both. In 2012 2012 we we also also began beganuse useofofour our Global Connect reverse 9-1-1 system to call residents and businesses with automated messages in English and Spanish in emergency situations.

www.bensenville.il.us www.bensenville.il.us

A moder modern n logo and fresh taglines will help revitalize Bensenville’ Bensenville’ss image and elevate our profile as aa great great place place to tolive liveand anddo do business. Bensenville is is uniquely uniquely positioned positioned to to Opportunity, be the Gateway to Opportunity Opportunity y,, due to our community resources, proximity proximity to to major major transportation transformation transpor tation hubs, and our transfor mation past four four years. years. Our Oursecondar secondary over the past secondar y Off! tagline, Where Opportunity Takes Takes Of ff! f! tells the commercial sector that Bensenville is open for business and is the place to invest in their future. W Wee are excited to unveil the new logo and taglines and will be marketing our new image throughout 2013 and beyond.

NOW THA THAT ATT YOU’VE YO HEARD FROM US… Wee need to hear from you. Input from W residents and businesses are critical to our mission. W Wee welcome your input through our Neighborhood ConversaConversations program and periodic neighborneighborhood surveys. sur veys. In fact, many of our latest initiatives have come from what we heard directly through these programs.

Our staff has undergone extensive training in customer ser service vice and we are increasing our efforts efforts to be responsive to your needs. In fact, we were recently awarded recognition for the implementa implementa-tion of our new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, which tracks our interactions with customers to ensure transparency and responsiveness.

If there’ there’ss anything you need from us, we welcome your phone call to V Village illage Hall at 630 766 8200.