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Lake St. Louis aldermen review FY 2026-27 general fund budget, weigh department changes
Summary
At a May 18 joint work session, the Lake St. Louis Board of Aldermen reviewed the proposed FY 2026-27 General Fund budget, examined department line-item changes and personnel requests, and discussed health insurance and capital items; no formal votes were taken.
The City of Lake St. Louis Board of Aldermen met in a joint Administrative/Finance/Public Works work session on May 18, 2026, to review the proposed FY 2026-27 General Fund budget and related departmental line items. City Administrator George Ertle presented the packet and answered questions from the Board.
Packet exhibits included multiple General Fund balance snapshots. One exhibit lists expenditures of $17,763,764 and revenues of $17,887,964, leaving a $114,046 balance and noting a $750,000 transfer from the General Fund to Capital Streets; a later exhibit lists expenditures of $17,139,523 and revenues of $17,253,570 with the same $114,046 balance and transfer noted. Board members discussed both the overall totals and line-item details during the session.
Department highlights in the packet included administration increases (City Attorney budget from $95,000 to $100,000, SLAIT health pool contributions), proposed IT investments (fiber to Meadows Park, additional cameras, firewall upgrade, virtual server replacement and badge readers), and changes across public safety and parks. The police budget in the exhibits showed full-time salaries of $4,022,920, increased overtime and training allocations, a line for three additional license-plate-reader (LPR) cameras and vehicle upfitting and capital equipment adjustments. Parks budgeting reduced the fireworks line from $48,000 to $28,000 in the proposed figures and reallocated some concert funds to a special events line.
The packet also identified proposed budget additions including traffic volume/speeding software, an Emergency Management (EMA) position, an RTIC position, vehicle positioning and monument sign design work. Personnel requests listed a part-time O'Fallon RTIC analyst position ($19,602) and a full-time EMA position ($44,823); proposed compensation changes included a 3% cost-of-living adjustment and a 2.5% merit pool, with grade adjustments up to 2% for recommended positions.
Health insurance data showed the City participates in the St. Louis Area Insurance Trust (SLAIT) pool (25 agencies). The packet projects Lake St. Louis’ annual premium for 2026-27 at $1,788,000, a 4% increase from the prior year, and included historical loss ratios and prior surplus distributions referenced for context.
Aldermen raised several discretionary items for possible inclusion: Alderman Jacalyn Schauer asked that budgeted funds allow aldermen to host quarterly coffee-and-pastry meetings with constituents at commercial locations outside City Hall; the Board discussed establishing a small fund for employees to purchase items for residents in need; and members raised the topic of salary increases for aldermen. Those items were identified for further consideration rather than acted on at the work session.
The Board recessed at approximately 5:59 p.m. and reconvened at about 6:25 p.m.; the meeting adjourned at approximately 6:47 p.m. No formal motions or votes were recorded on the budget during this work session. Staff were asked to follow up on data and to include the packet exhibits in future materials for final budget deliberations.
