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Residents press South Blooming Grove board on 2025 budget, water funding and bus costs
Summary
At the Nov. 4 public hearing on the village's 2025 tentative budget, residents raised concerns about trucked-in water funding, well permitting, missing DPW line items, and bus operations projections; one written commenter requested a public workshop and cited First Amendment concerns about meeting rules.
Residents used the Nov. 4 public hearing to press the Village Board on several budget concerns ahead of finalizing the 2025 tentative budget.
Bonnie Rum asked about traffic signage, well permitting and reductions to the trucked-in water line in the tentative budget, saying she saw conflicting information among County, Department of Health and Village sources and asking "where is the money coming from?" She asked whether employee contributions were expected given the village's fiduciary responsibilities.
A commenter identified as Publius read a written submission into the record and urged the board not to treat the tentative budget as ready for a hearing. Publius wrote that the tentative budget available to the public differed from what had been shared at an October budget workshop and argued the public needed more time to review records; the submission cites Village Law deadlines and requests a public workshop rather than a short hearing.
Another commenter, Jodie, said she planned to "go line by line" and told the board that "three minutes is not enough time to comment." Jodie questioned why the village used "Independent Accounting," asked who pays the salary for 'Kraushaar,' said she could not find DPW in the tentative budget despite a previously approved $750,000 figure, and flagged bus operations figures that she calculated as producing a projected three-year total that appears to outstrip the revenue included in the budget.
The board closed the budget hearing at 8:22 p.m. and did not take substantive budget votes at the Nov. 4 meeting. The transcript does not show a staff presentation or respond in detail to the specific budget calculations raised by commenters; residents requested additional time and documentation.
