Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hinsdale board previews $24.8 million 2026 budget, highlights pension pressures and $7.4M capital program
Summary
Village leaders presented the draft 2026 operating budget and related five-year CIP and 20-year master infrastructure plan, citing a 1.5% revenue increase, a 6.5% rise in operating expenditures and growing police and fire pension contributions that will strain property-tax revenue.
HINSDALE, Ill. — The Village of Hinsdale Board of Trustees on Tuesday reviewed a draft 2026 budget that projects $24.8 million in operating revenues and includes a $7.4 million capital-improvement program funded without new debt.
“The 2026 budget maintains our policy of a minimum 25% general fund reserve,” Village President Greg Hart said during his opening remarks, emphasizing the board’s focus on long-term stability as staff presented detailed revenue and expense estimates.
Staff told trustees the draft budget assumes a conservative 1.5% increase in overall revenues driven by modest property-tax growth and steady sales and income-tax receipts. Operating expenditures are expected to rise about 6.5%, largely because of personnel-related adjustments, pension and benefit costs.
Property taxes remain the village’s largest revenue source at roughly 39% of general fund receipts, staff said. But only an estimated 7 cents of every property-tax dollar paid by residents is retained by the village; the transcript notes about 79% goes to local school districts.
A central pressure highlighted in the presentation is rising statutorily required police and fire pension contributions. The village projects combined pension contributions of roughly $3.855 million for 2026. Staff said about 60% of the projected benefit-cost increase is related to police and fire pension obligations calculated under statewide consolidated actuarial assumptions.
“Those statewide assumptions … don’t necessarily reflect the actual experience of the Village of Hinsdale,” the staff presentation said, noting the statutory framework now dictates certain actuarial parameters and funding schedules. Trustees questioned whether state legislative changes — for example lengthening amortization periods — could provide relief in future years.
On capital planning, staff described a pay-as-you-go approach that avoids new debt: the 2026 CIP contains about $7.4 million in projects, offset in part by approximately $660,000 in expected capital grants. The proposed transfers include $2.7 million to the CIP and $2 million to a new MIP fund that consolidates major infrastructure projects with a 20-year projection.
Water and sewer operations were presented as a self-sustaining enterprise fund. Staff included a 4% rate adjustment in the draft to reflect anticipated wholesale-price increases from the DuPage Water Commission and added $200,000 in 2026 for engineering on a lead-service-line replacement program that would phase into construction in 2027 at an estimated approximate annual cost of $660,000.
Next steps: the full draft budget will be available for public inspection Nov. 26 and the Board will hold a public hearing Dec. 9 before a second reading and anticipated adoption later that evening.
