Tinley Park Passes 2023 Budget, Trustee Galante Abstains From Vote
TINLEY PARK, IL — The Tinley Park Board of Trustees voted to adopt the 2023 fiscal year budget at its April 19 board meeting. Village Manager Pat Carr said that while the budget doesn't contain any surprises, he feels the new expenditures will help the village get back on track following the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'm excited. I really am," Carr told Patch on Tuesday. "We're putting the key pieces back together and bringing [the village] back around to where it was pre-COVID."
Carr said the village significantly cut back on part-time staff and operations at the start of the pandemic. According to him, all departments were required in January 2020 to submit and execute a plan on how they would operate with 20 percent less resources.
The budget calls for around $67.9 million in spending from the village's General Fund, along with $70.1 million in revenue. For all village funds and departments, including the Tinley Park Public Library, the village is expected to spend around $192.9 million while taking in an estimated $138.9 million, leaving the village with $224.9 million going into the 2024 fiscal year.
Most notably, the budget makes room for multiple summer events and festivals. Carr said this will bring back some of the overtime and part-time positions that were previously cut. It will also encourage police, business owners, music venues and more to work together to support the village, he said.
"[The village] is a business and a business needs to grow with everything else, and we need to support that the most efficient way possible," said Carr. "Really, we need people to go out. We need people to start getting back into the restaurants. We have to emphasize people shop Tinley. That full event schedule helps."
The budget passed by a 4-0 vote, with one trustee absent and Trustee Diane Galante abstaining. According to Galante, many of her questions on the budget went unanswered.
"I don't feel comfortable voting on something … that I still have questions on," Galante said at the April 19 meeting.
Departments were told not to include any major capital improvements or "wish-list" items in their budgets while the village works to build up personnel. The additional dispatchers, business analysts, marketing professionals and technology hires proved to be one of the most expensive items for the village. However, the new staff is an essential team to get tourists and residents back out into Tinley Park for summer events, Carr said.
"Everyone at Village Hall is always communicating with each other because we want to do it right for the residents and show that Tinley Park is alive and back in the game."
Residents can see a full copy of the budget here.
Tinley Park Passes 2023 Budget, Trustee Galante Abstains From Vote originally appeared on the Tinley Park Patch
