The issue
The Village of Brookfield is facing a nearly $500,000 budget deficit for next year. The Village Board is trying to determine what to keep and what to cut in their budget, and looking at cost saving measures. A final budget total was expected to be given at the Oct. 26 Village Board meeting.

What we knew
Staff pension expenses are going to rise from what they were last year. For this upcoming year, the increase is expected to be $440,000. Another required payment is $1.5 million dollars in bond payments. Another expense was the fuel tank at Public Works which needed to be replaced next year. The village may or may not receive capital funding to replace the tank.

What happened

Village staff spoke to Acura Tanks, the company managing the tanks, which gave the village two options — clean the diesel tank or replace the fuel tanks entirely. To replace both tanks would be about $250,000. The cost of replacing the diesel tank, which is nine years older than the other tank, would be about $190,000. The cost of cleaning the tank would be $5,000.

Another proposal was freezing village salaries for management staff next year. If that happens, the village could save up to $25,000 for next year. Five-day furloughs for management positions may also occur, which could save the village $30,000.

The total savings would be about $300,000 for the tank cleaning, frozen salaries and staff furloughs, Village Manager Rick Ginex said.

What’s next
The board wants village staff to look at the potential for furloughs and wages freezes among other recommendations. Village President Michael Garvey said the board also wants the village staff to look into the possibility of increasing property tax fees. If the property tax referendum measure were to go on the February ballot, the board would have to make a decision by the end of November. The discussion is expected to continue at an upcoming board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at Village Hall, 8820 Brookfield Ave.

In other board news
The Police Department wants to lease eight new vehicles to replace the marked fleet, because the cost of maintenance for the current vehicles are outweighing the benefits of keeping the vehicles another year.

The Fire Department asked the board to increase the advanced life support ambulance fee from $600 to $1,000 dollars to gain more potential revenue.