Carlinville council holds Budget hearing, special meeting, April 28

By ERIN SANSON
Enquirer~Democrat Reporter

The Carlinville Council gathered Mon., April 28 to hold a special meeting and public hearing to pass the budget for 2025-26.

Public Hearing

During the Public Hearing, Mary Tinder went before the council to ask whether certain items were included in the budget. Tinder asked if there was money in the budget for an ordinance officer, city manager and funds for the beautification of the town.

Kim Harber, Chairman of the Finance committee, said no requests for those items were made while the budget was being created so they are not in the budget.

There were no further comments during the public hearing.

Public Comment

During the regular meeting, there were several public comments made by members of the council and public comment made by Andrea Duncan.

Duncan, a member of the tourism committee, spoke to the council about the removal of the planters from around the Carlinville Square which occurred in March. Duncan provided the council with a history of the planters, which were first painted in 2015 as a way to improve tourism around the Square. Many planters were paid for through donations and sponsors, including donations from families to have the planters painted in memory of deceased relatives and loved ones. Duncan also provided the transcript of a conversation she had with Mayor Sarah Oswald about their removal. According to the conversation, Oswald said that she approved the removal of the planters because the business owners were surveyed and they did not like or want the planters, as they had to pick garbage out of them and care for the plants, which often died during the summer. Duncan said she could “live with” the planters being removed from the Square but that they were destroyed without any opportunity to move them or telling anyone is what bothered her the most.

Mayor Oswald thanked Awesome Ink for the donation of a new city seal to hang on the wall of the meeting room.

Alderman Randy Ober reminded citizens that it was spring again and time to mow their lawns and asked that the citizens keep on top of their yard work this year.

Harber spoke about the previous years budget.

2025-26 Budget

The city budget for 2025-26 was approved. The general fund is expected to see revenue of $3,856,435 and expenses of $3,918,873. The TIF fund is expecting revenue of $222,000 and expenses of $18,750. The Infrastructure fund has an expected revenue of $865,000 and expenses of $387,000. The business district fund has an expected revenue of $13,250 and expenses of $10,000. In the law enforcement fund, the projected revenue is $31,350 with projected expenses at $21,400. The projected revenue for the Social Security fund is $54,500 with no expected expenses. The Hotel tax has a projected revenue of $9,000 and projected expenses of $30,000. In the IMRF fund, the revenue is expected to be $67,500 with no projected expenses. The Insurance fund revenue is projected at $226,400 with expenses projected at $305,150. The Motor Fuel Tax Fund has a projected revenue of $316,488.40 and expenses of $316,487. The street fund has projected revenues of $75,750 and expenses of $524,195. The water fund has a projected revenue of $4,150,779 and projected expenses of $4,316,839. The customer deposit fund has a projected revenue of $3,100 and no expected expenditure. The American Rescue Plan Act Fund has an expected revenue of $15,000 and projected expenses of $411,000. The Lake fund has a projected revenue of $182,600 and projected expenses of $164,013.

The total projected revenue comes out to $10,089,152.40. The total projected expenses comes out to $10,423,707, a deficit of $334,555.60.

To read the full story, see the May 1st edition of the Macoupin County Enquirer~Democrat!