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Manager Francis outlines $28 million public safety referendum; village board directs $2,500 business-district study
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Summary
Manager Francis told the Riverside village board that a referendum to fund a new public safety facility could involve up to $28 million in debt; trustees directed staff to commission a $2,500 evaluation of a business-district overlay to assess revenue that could help repay that debt. Referendum timing was discussed for April 2027 and staff outlined plans for community engagement and legal guidance on trustee communications.
Manager Francis told the Riverside village board that staff and outside advisors have modeled scenarios for a public safety facility referendum that could involve a maximum bond issuance of $28,000,000 over 20 years, with modeling based on roughly 4% interest and the village's current approximately double-A debt rating.
"We did a max of an issuance amount of 28,000,000 over 20 years," Francis said, adding that favorable market conditions could affect the actual amount issued. Francis explained debt limits are tied to the village's equalized assessed value (EAV) and noted the example EAV figure used in the presentation (34,900,000) is likely to grow with new development, which would affect future capacity to issue debt.
Francis presented a household-cost example for a $28 million issuance: for a typical Riverside home valued at $500,000 the modeled impact would be about $720.32 per year, or roughly $60.03 per month, though he warned that those figures are subject to change with shifts in EAV and interest rates. He urged trustees not to exhaust the village's statutory debt limit and to keep a buffer for future needs, noting the village is currently well below its capacity (stated as under 10%).
Trustees and staff discussed timing and outreach. The board confirmed staff will begin the referendum process later this year with an anticipated vote in the April 2027 consolidated election, not the presidential cycle. On public engagement, Francis said Williams Architects will run two rounds of outreach including an open house (tentatively July 2026) and follow-up engagement to refine the design based on resident feedback.
Francis described planned educational materials and outreach while reiterating a key legal constraint: village staff may provide information but cannot use village resources to advocate a position on the referendum. "We've always had the discussion that we can educate, we cannot advocate, as staff," Francis said, and he said Attorney Pickrell will provide written guidance to the board about what trustees may say in their roles versus as private citizens.
The board also discussed using short videos, public-safety tours led by Director/Chief Buckley and presentations to other taxing bodies (school districts, library, township) to inform voters. On financing options, Francis said staff had discussed a potential 1% business-district tax overlay for the facility site and that Ryan LLC (which acquired Kane McKenna) recommended first performing a $2,500 revenue-evaluation to determine whether creating the business district would make financial sense; if it would, the full plan and process would cost about $20,000.
The chair asked for direction on the $2,500 evaluation and trustees agreed. A trustee said, "Please proceed," and staff confirmed the evaluation falls within the manager's spending authority but sought board direction before contracting the work. The board's decision at the meeting was to proceed with the $2,500 evaluation by consensus; no formal roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.
Next steps include staff beginning the referendum process later in the year, scheduling community-engagement events and receiving Attorney Pickrell's guidance on permissible trustee communications. The board closed the item by thanking staff and past boards for their work in advancing the project.
