Village Manager Says 2011 Looking Better Than 2010

Village Manager Ken Gabbert spent a few minutes at last Wednesday's council meeting to update the council on how various departments have done financially up to the second quarter of 2011.

Though specific figures weren't immediately made available, Gabbert said by and large, things are looking better than they did a year ago.

Graydon Pool, Parks and Recreation:

"The village is expecting a slight increase in revenue and a slight decrease in total participation," Gabbert said of Graydon Pool. The village took major steps in 2011 to while also raising fees about $10 per group.

Gabbert cautioned that not all the figures are in, and the village continues to analyze what numbers they do have.

The pool , an improvement over previous years as membership has declined over the past decade.

The Parks and Recreation Department, Gabbert said, is on pace for a slight improvement over 2010.

Emergency services:

The EMS division has a new agreement with Valley Hospital, but it's not as favorable to the village in 2011, Gabbert reported on Wednesday night.

"It looks like we're going to be doing slightly less well in 2011 than we did in 2010 mostly due to the agreement," he said. The volume of vehicles going to Valley is largely the same as a year ago, he reported.

Municipal court: 

Gabbert said the village is "continuing improvements with staffing" at the court, but said he doesn't believe revenue will be as positive as it was in 2010. "It should be in the ball park" though, he said.

Public health:

The village changed license and moving fees in 2010 at the public health department, which were reduced again in 2011, so there are some "negative numbers" according to Gabbert.

Fire prevention:

Major changes were made to the fire prevention bureau in late 2010 after it was about $300K in the red, but Gabbert says the full impact of the restructuring is starting to be realized. The firefighters who had worked as fire prevention officers were folded back into the regular fire department ranks and retired officers were hired on a part-time basis.

There's a departmental loss of about $200,000 in 2011 but the village manager says things "are improving."

Construction and building department:

"It continues to be a real positive" for the village, Gabbert said of construction and buildings. There's some new staff to help with service and Gabbert says it will be a revenue-getter in 2011. No specific figures were cited.