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Kankakee ESU previews draft 2027 budget with $400,000 riverfront line and sharp fuel-cost jumps
Summary
Kankakee City’s Environmental Services Utility presented a June 11 draft fiscal 2027 budget that increases capital spending and adds a $400,000 riverfront line; staff warned of steep fuel-cost increases and plan to finalize the ESU budget and seek council approval in July.
Kankakee City’s Environmental Services Utility (ESU) presented a working draft of its fiscal 2027 budget at the June 15 board meeting, flagging a new $400,000 capital line for the riverfront and significant increases in fuel costs that staff say will affect operating numbers.
The assistant controller told the board the updated, unaudited fiscal 2026 figures include an approximately $246,000 revenue increase and that staff added new accounts to track insurance proceeds and repair costs arising from recent weather-related damages. "The unodudited fiscal 26 numbers on this report updated report reflect an increase in revenues of approximately $246,000," the assistant controller said.
Why it matters: the draft re-prioritizes capital projects and anticipates higher operating costs driven largely by energy and fuel inflation, which will shape the final ESU ask to the city council in July. The document presented to the board lists capital at about $2.675 million overall (an increase from an earlier $2.275 million figure) and explicitly includes a $400,000 line item for riverfront work.
Staff said fuel prices were a major driver of budget adjustments. "Regular gas rose 48.99% over the course of the last year in the Department of Sewer Services and ... diesel rose overall 93.97%," the assistant controller said, urging the board to factor those increases into FY27 planning. Staff also noted planned rate adjustments already in place: a residential sewer rate increase that took effect in December 2024 and a proposed 7% industrial sewer rate to better match cost recovery.
Other changes in the draft include a new technical-services summer-hire account (previously supported by ARPA funds), adjustments to supervisor salaries to normalize full-year costs, and a 10% reduction in solid-waste fees tied to a new hauling agreement the city negotiated. The controller and assistant controller said several expense lines remain under final review and that they expect to present a final ESU budget for formal adoption in July and concurrent approval at city council.
Board action and next steps: no final budget vote occurred. Staff will refine operating and capital line items (including which riverfront costs the ESU will charge as utility-related) and return with a final proposal in July. The board is scheduled to consider formal adoption then and to forward the recommended budget to the city council.
