Village adopts five-year general-fund forecast tool to guide long-term budgeting

The Plains' municipal finance advisor, David Connolly of Rock Mill Financial, presented a new five-year general-fund forecast tool intended to be a planning instrument rather than a budget. "This is your 1st, ever. 5 year forecast," Connolly said, explaining the tool groups hundreds of line items into categories so council and staff can run scenarios quickly.

Connolly outlined how the tool highlights the "available ending balance" and a separate "minimum ending balance" that functions as a rainy-day reserve. He recommended the administration update the forecast about every six months and accompany future versions with notes and assumptions similar to school-district forecasts so reviewers understand the methodology. Council members asked that key assumptions (households, filers, assumed wages and headcounts) be displayed prominently on the main page to judge aggressiveness of projections.

The presentation also showed the model can simulate hiring decisions by adding FTEs into scenarios, which allowed council members to test whether adding positions would keep ending balances above the recommended minimum. Staff said the tool will first run for the general fund and later extend to capital and other funds.