Village of Jackson reviews 2026 draft budget and 10-year financial plan; board asks staff to target about 3% tax-bill impact

Village of Jackson Village Board members heard review of the 2024 audit and a detailed presentation of the 2026 draft budget and a 10-year financial-management plan during their Aug. 12 meeting.

The meeting opened with Patty, an auditor from Lucida, reporting an unmodified opinion on the village's 2024 financial statements and saying the audit procedures found "no indication of fraud." Patty reported increases and decreases across several funds: the general fund rose $82,009.73; TID 4 increased about $700,000 while other TIDs declined; the debt service fund increased $562,008.25; the capital projects fund increased $2,355,008.44 largely because of bond proceeds not spent in 2024; the Fire & EMS fund rose $191,009.29; and the park fund grew $123,126. Patty also told the board the village issued $5,695,000 in general obligation debt in 2024 and is at 36.87% of its statutory maximum debt limit.

Why it matters: the audit and the financial-management plan set the baseline for budget decisions that affect the village tax levy, staffing and capital projects. Administrator Heitke and Ehlers consultants presented the draft 2026 budget and a forecast showing longer-term pressure from operating cost growth (wages, benefits and new positions) even as the village benefits from unusually strong net new construction and one-time taxable value changes tied to a TID out.

Administrator Heitke said staff prepared the budget "conservatively," trimming a projected $46,410 in expenditure restraint incentive that the village is unlikely to qualify for next year and budgeting a cautious temporary-interest revenue. Heitke listed several operating changes baked into the draft: a posted full-time deputy treasurer position (offset partially to water and sewer), elimination of a part-time building-inspector LTE following a retirement and shifting that work to a shared inspector with the City of Hartford, and classification adjustments to some public-works wages.

Ehlers's Ariana walked the board through levy-limit mechanics and the long-range levy forecast. She noted two sizeable items that increase the village's allowable levy for 2026: preliminary net new construction of roughly 4.35% (estimated to provide about $188,000 in additional allowable levy) and a one-time TID foreclosure allowance of roughly $106,000. Even with those increases, Ariana said the draft budget raised the village's levy need (net of debt) relative to 2025 and produced a draft sample tax-rate increase that would move a sample residence's tax bill by about 4.9% under current assumptions.

Ariana and the village's financial advisor presented a range of mitigation options: use of additional allowable levy capacity tied to debt-service adjustments, trimming capital or operating items, delaying hiring or phasing in positions later in the year, and targeting higher non-levy revenues. The board repeatedly asked staff to return to a second workshop (scheduled Oct. 20) with revised figures and asked staff to pursue any realistic non-levy revenue steps.

Board direction and takeaways: after discussion the board coalesced around guidance for staff to aim for roughly a 3% year-over-year tax-bill increase as the working target for the Oct. 20 workshop. Trustees said they preferred limiting the tax-bill impact by phasing hires, delaying some capital or finding additional revenues, rather than a larger automatic levy increase. Several trustees noted that the village's strong recent net new construction and TID increment changes give flexibility this year but warned that a low net-new-construction year in the future would materially reduce the village's ability to fund ongoing operating costs.

Other operational highlights reported in the review: public-works staff added a $12,000 line item for contracted engineering while evaluating whether more contracted services are necessary; water utility projects include an automated year-round flushing station estimated with an added $70,000 for Sherman Road; sewer costs rose for polymer and increased sludge-hauling estimates by about $40,000 to a $150,000 total; ARPA funds were largely expended on capital last year and remaining interest earnings will support a zoning-code update; recreation revenues were projected to grow with added 4K classes and new programming while expenses reflect anticipated higher evening/weekend staffing.

What happens next: the board scheduled a follow-up workshop Oct. 20 for staff to return with revised numbers, additional state manufacturing and assessment information (which arrives later in the year), and refined levy-impact options. Staff and the board said they will continue to test potential changes to reach the roughly 3% tax-bill target while preserving essential services.

Ending: Administrator Heitke told the board the draft budget is not final and staff will continue to refine figures, including anticipated state aids and a county grant that could reduce levy pressure; formal adoption steps will follow the October work session and the public hearing calendar in advance of the 2026 levy deadline.