Two weeks ago the Hinsdale Village Board received a dim financial report outlining what officials had suspected for more than a year — not enough revenue coming in to cover expenses, as well as a whopping $90 million cost estimate to rebuild and maintain the town’s aging infrastructure.
On Tuesday trustees heard another report outlining a variety of potential measures to right the listing ship, including further reducing the village’s budget, increasing the retail sales tax and the utility tax, and other alternatives the board will ponder in the coming months as it begins to prepare the 2010-11 budget.
But while officials seek new revenue streams to pump wind into the village’s financial sails, the village’s community development department continues to expand existing sales tax revenues by creating a healthy business environment in the downtown.
“Revitalizing the downtown business district is one of the keys to increasing our revenue base,” said Village President Tom Cauley.
From 2006 to 2008, sales tax revenues in Hinsdale rose from $2.4 million to $2.7 million, but then dipped to just under $2.6 million last year, according to statistics released by the village.
The downtown business district, an area south of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tracks roughly between Garfield Avenue and Madison Street, is the target for renewed business recruitment to attract more business and shoppers to Hinsdale.
The Community Development Department works closely with the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce to promote business in a variety of outreach programs — the Who: What: Wear: program and the 3/50 program are two new marketing tools being employed — but the key to growth is a delicate balancing act, said Tim Scott, director of the Community Development Department.
The need to fill vacancies and generate property and sales tax must coexist with the need to develop the right mix of businesses in a downtown area noted for its “Main Street America” charm.
“Maintaining the right tenant mix in our downtown area is a critical component, of which we don’t really have control,” Scott said. “But the physical environment of our downtown, its character and charm, cannot be replicated easily elsewhere.”
Recently the district added two new businesses — Il Poggiolo, 8 E. First St., and Dips and Dogs, 50 S. Garfield Ave. — additions Scott hopes will trigger a spurt of growth in eateries in the downtown district.
“Residents have been clamoring for additional dining options in the downtown area, and Il Poggiolo and Dips and Dogs have been two great successes,” Scott said. “Il Poggiolo itself has breathed a tremendous amount of life into that street. People who park nearby and walk to the restaurant have to pass stores along the way.”
Hinsdale, IL —
