Antioch approves 2026–27 budget with parks master-plan amendment

The Antioch Village Board on Friday approved the fiscal 2026–27 budget, a plan the mayor said will raise the average homeowner’s tax bill by roughly $28 a year while funding $14 million in capital improvements and $7.6 million for water and sewer projects.

Mayor Gartner said the budget carries a 2.3% overall increase "or about $28 a year for the average home," and preserves the village’s general operating fund while funding the completion of the new public works facility in fiscal 2027.

Andrew, a village staff member who presented the packet, said staff reduced the draft budget by about $1.6 million from the version considered a week earlier by deferring or cutting capital items and recording improved price estimates. "We reduced the budget by $1.6 million," Andrew said, citing lower park-estimate bids and deferred parking-lot work tied to an ongoing TIF feasibility study.

The capital plan approved with the budget includes an estimated $1.395 million for parks capital (about $1.1 million targeted for Centennial Park, and $600,000 coming from an OELAD grant), about $11.22 million scheduled to finish the new public works facility in 2027, and a slate of water and sewer projects including a rebudgeted $850,000 Raymond water-tower painting, SCADA improvements, and a Mystic Cove lift-station upgrade. Vehicle and equipment replacements — including three dump trucks and replacements for aging public-works equipment — total roughly $794,000, and police equipment purchases include $175,000 for replacement tasers.

Trustees debated restoring a $125,000 playground appropriation for Osmond Park after staff removed that item from the capital plan. Trustee Martinez said he wanted the money restored because "I have a good 50 kids that play in my neighborhood that would gladly utilize that park on a daily basis." Board members discussed alternatives including placing the money into a labeled "parks master plan" line item and asking the parks board to recommend where to spend it.

A trustee moved to amend the motion to add $125,000 back into the budget as a parks master-plan line item; the roll call passed the amendment 4–0. After that, the board approved the full budget as amended. Clerk roll-call comments in the record indicate four trustees voted in favor of the amendment; the mayor declared both the amendment and the final budget carried.

Staff also told the board that the village recently corrected an inconsistency in utility billing by absorbing credit-card processing fees and that staff will bring an ordinance amendment to formalize billing and fee practices.

The board confirmed its next regular meeting in mid-May and adjourned at 6:58 p.m.