Staff member outlines Skokie's annual budget timeline and public posting

A staff member explained how Skokie's annual budget is prepared and approved, saying the process generally starts in September or October and concludes with board approval in the spring.

The staff member said, "It is a pretty long, pretty involved process," and that it typically starts "around September, October." Departments receive a due date—"typically around December"—from the manager's office, which the staff member described as responsible for creating the budget document and "starts the ball rolling." Departments then have a couple of months to assemble requests for the next year, including large items such as infrastructure improvements.

The staff member noted that recurring items such as "the salaries and benefits of our employees" are straightforward to include, while "new initiatives" need more time to develop because departments must determine "what really is the most important for the community." Around December, departments turn their submissions over to the manager's office for review. "As soon as we have something that can be shared both with the board and the public, a proposed budget essentially, we put that on our websites," the staff member said, directing listeners to skokie.org for more details.

According to the staff member, the board typically reviews the proposed budget in March or April and holds "3 or 4 budget hearings" before approving it. The explanation emphasized the multi-step nature of the process—department requests, manager's office review, public posting, and board hearings—rather than any single decision point.

For more information or documents related to the proposed budget, the staff member said materials are posted on skokie.org.