Salem Interim City Manager Annette Sola says several improvements are planned as part of the fiscal year 2025 budget. She continued her review of the proposed budget at Monday night’s City Council meeting.
Sola says the total revenue from all funds is 19.9 million dollars with expenses of $ 21.6 million. Sola says the shortfall is projects not finished this fiscal year and the expenditure of some motor fuel tax and Build Illinois Funds already in city coffers.
“Happy with how it came in. There are always things that every department would like to have that we have to move around. Some of the repairs we’ve done to City Hall obviously as we dig into those we find more repairs we would like to see made. We will try to tackle those things one thing at a time once we get done with the renovation that we are working on right now in the back. Then we will look at coming up the ramp and maybe doing some improvements in the council room and carpet things like that that have been here for quite sometime.”
Larger projects include the resurfacing of Kell Street from Broadway to College, College from Main to the end near Salem Township Hospital and North Jefferson from Main to Boone. The narrow sidewalk along Boone Street from Broadway to College is scheduled for replacement. A sewer line in the area of Spruce and Illinois Street will be replaced.
There are also improvements budgeted to the dog park in Bryan Memorial Park.
“Some more improvements we are looking at 2 small shelters. There is a shelter they make a small picnic table will fit right inside it. So we are looking to put 2 covers and 2 picnic tables out there so people can sit while their dogs are in their individual areas. We have it separated out there now between big dogs and small dogs and we will put one on each side.”
A number of repairs to the Salem Aquatic Center are budgeted with a goal of being completed before the pool opens next month. A new ADA lift chair is included.
Money is budgeted in the downtown tax increment financing district to purchase a vacant lot in the 200 block of West McMackin Street that will become a focal point for downtown festivities. The city will have to spend $60,000 to repair the large blue sludge-holding building at the sewer plant giving it 20 more years of life. Sola says that is better than spending a million dollars on a new facility. Roof work and other improvements are also planned for the water treatment plant.
There is also money budgeted for the lease payments on new squad cars. A new $135,000 dump truck with snowplow is being budgeted over five years in the street department.
The budget will come before the city council for approval at its next meeting.
