2020 PAFR2020 Popular
Financial
Annual Report
Village Trustees
Andrew Stein
Lester Ottenheimer
David Weidenfeld
Joanne Johnson
Eric Smith
Gregory Pike
A Message
from the
Village
President
It is with great pleasure that the Village of Buffalo
Grove presents the annual “A Citizenʼs Guide to
Local Financial Activities” for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2020. It is my desire to deliver to the
residents of Buffalo Grove an overview of the
Villageʼs progress and financial performance that is
transparent and easily understood. This report
summarizes the financial activities of the Village and
is not intended to replace the Comprehensive
Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The full disclosure
financial statements, or CAFR, can be found on the
Villageʼs website at www.vbg.org.
The analysis conducted within this report outlines
growth drivers, capital projects, and summarized
financial and trend data. The presentation of
financial information in the report has been derived
from the audited financial statements and conforms
to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
and related reporting standards.
The Village continues to make financial
transparency a priority and providing open
communication with its residents and businesses. It
is my hope that the information and data contained
in the 2020 guide to local financial activities will
provide the reader a snapshot of the challenges and
opportunities the Village of Buffalo Grove is
managing today and into the future.
Sincerely,
The Village Clerk's office maintains all of the Villageʼs
official records, meeting minutes, documents as well as a
range of services including business and liquor licensing,
voter registration and municipal code updates are provided
daily.
Budget Overview
The Buffalo Grove Budget is designed to provide residents and other
interested parties with an easy to navigate format that clearly explains how
the Village allocates its resources. Each program strives to make BG more
responsible, resilient, or safe. Every program consists of major services the
Village provides for its residents and the business community. The budget
document is therefore organized by areas, programs, and major services. The
gray boxes on the following pages provide an overview of each area .
Each program provides oversight over the services that are provided either
directly to the community or indirectly as an internal support function. How
resources are allocated within the annual budget provides the reader insight
as to what the strategic priorities are and what services are valued by Village
stakeholders. The Budget supports 18 programs that deliver 47 services.
Each year, the Village determines its level of service, strategic goals and
expectations and staffing levels based upon the demand for services,
anticipated revenues, and progress toward long-term operational and capital
development goals.
Responsible
Resilient Safe
BG is...
BG is...
of residents have some level of
post-secondary education
87%
is the median household income in
BG
$115,951
A Closer Look at BG
Responsible
BG is committed to
being prudent
stewards of the public
dollar.
To achieve this
commitment the
village takes the
following actions:
Innovating the
administrative,
personnel, and
legislative functions
Managing the village's
finances, pensions
funds and debt
service
Overseeing the
strategic use
of information
technology resources
The Villageʼs net position increased by $13.8 million (or 22.7 percent) during the
fiscal year ending December 31, 2020. The governmental net position increased
by $6.9 million (56.1 percent) and the business-type activities net position
increased by $6.9 million (14.2 percent).
Equalized assessed valuation increased by $127.8 million or 7.6 percent to
$1.82 billion for the 2019 levy year. The increase is due primarily to the triennial
and quadrennial assessments in Cook and Lake Counties as well as new property
and development experienced during the year.
Did you know?
Open BG provides a landing page with direct access to the villageʼs financial,
historical, and contractual data. Anyone can use this data to participate in and
improve government . Check it out at vbg.org/openbg!
BG Fast Facts
Where Your Property Tax Dollars Go
of residents in the labor force are
currently employed
96%
is the median age of a BG resident
41.7
of residents have access to 4+
acres per 1,000 residents
79%
Single family homes in
Buffalo Grove
11,326
of residents were born outside of
the United States
27%
Total population in BG
43,212
BG has a distinctive local economy with an employment
base of 20,000 daily workers.
BG has over 10 million square feet of commercial, office,
and industrial space.
BG is home to several advanced manufacturing centers
as well as many high profile firms such as Flex, Siemens
and Yaskawa.
2020 Top Employers and Tax Payers
BG is...
Resilient
BG strives to provide
and maintain the
highest quality
infrastructure.
To achieve this
commitment the village
takes the following
actions:
Maintaining the
village's streets,
grounds, water,
drainage, and
sewer systems
Improving the
quality of municipal
buildings, parking
lots, and vehicles
Directing the long
term structural
needs through
engineering
Revenues for the Villageʼs governmental activities for the year ended
December 31, 2020 were $50.8 million an increase of $1.9 million or 3.7
percent. Property taxes continue to be the Villageʼs largest source of revenue
(33.5 percent) at $17.0 million. Included within the property tax revenues are
the pension levies for the Police and Firefighter Pension Funds and
IMRF/Social Security. The pension levies account for 41.1 percent of the
property tax levy. Other taxes and intergovernmental revenue including
sales tax, state income tax, utility tax, prepared food and beverage tax, hotel
tax, and real estate transfer tax total $20.7 million or 40.8 percent of total
governmental activities revenue.
Revenue Overview
Did you know?
MoneyGeek.com recently evaluated small cities and
towns across the United States - those with 30,000 to
100,000 residents - and ranked them according to the
per capita cost of crime. They ranked Buffalo Grove the
#1 safest town in the U.S., with a $22 crime cost per
capita.
Local Economy
External economic factors at the national and state level continue to impact
the Villageʼs revenue profile and, subsequently its ability to manage operating
and capital resources.
Property tax collections totaled $17,035,362 which is an increase from the
previous yearʼs total of $16,321,876 an increase of 4.4 percent.
Water and Sewer collections increased from $10,938,035 in 2019 to
$14,625,649 in 2020. A total increase of 33.7 percent.
Sales taxes [net of rebates], both state shared and home rule, generated
$9,829,765 in 2020 versus $9,945,749 in 2019, a decrease of 1.1 percent.
Did you know? MoneyGeek.com recently evaluated small cities and
towns across the United States - those with 30,000 to
100,000 residents - and ranked them according to the
per capita cost of crime. They ranked Buffalo Grove
the #1 safest town in the U.S., with a $22 crime cost
per capita.
When a TIF district is created, the property values of the parcels within the
district are set at a base equalized assessed value (EAV). Taxing bodies (Village,
county, township, school districts, etc) continue to collect property taxes based
upon the base EAV. Any increase in the EAV generates the TIF increment, which is
then available for projects within the TIF district. At the end of the TIF district's
23-year life, all real estate tax revenues are again shared proportionately by the
taxing bodies based on their individual tax rates.
Tax Increment Financing
BG is...
SafeBG knows that the
community expects to be
safe in their homes, at
work, and around town.
To achieve this
commitment, the village
takes the following
actions:
Insuring the public's
safety through
emergency medical ,
fire, and police
services
Inspecting the
environmental and
heath impacts of
businesses
Developing standards
for the permitting and
zoning of the village's
built environment
The Clove
Kensington Developers will be presenting their plans
to redevelop the 20-acre Town Center property at a
Public Hearing on April 6th. The proposed
development, The Clove, will be a modern central
entertainment and residential district anchored by a
national grocery store, retail shops, a park,
restaurants and luxury multi-family residential.
WJ Golf
Plans for the Village-owned The Arboretum Club at
401 Half Day Road have been approved to convert the
existing banquet space into a virtual golf center.
WJ Golf, an indoor golf business, is the tenant and
will manage the virtual golf center, as well as the
renovated full-service restaurant WJ Golf will offer
indoor golf activities including private lessons, golf
simulators, full-service dining, and entertainment, t,
which will complement the Arboretum Clubʼs
beautiful 18-hole outdoor golf course to create a
unique and exciting regional destination
The Village Board has authorized the establishment of a TIF district which
includes the Town Center project and encompasses most Lake Cook Road
properties. Preliminary projections show that the taxable EAV, which is currently
$18 million, will grow to over $80 million. The preliminary TIF budget is
projected at $100 million.
Lake -Cook Road TIF District
A TIF is a commonly used tool,
which helps municipalities
make needed improvements
(such as roads and sewers) or
helps attract private
development. TIF generates a
pool of revenue used for
reinvestment within the
district. Property owners within
the district continue to pay
their normal property taxes.
BGPD Quick
Facts
Expense Overview
The cost of all governmental activities this year was
$42.2 million, a decrease of 11.5 percent from 2019
($47.7 million). The largest decrease was made in Public
Safety expenses $4.1 million in 2020. Public Works
expenses decreased by $2.5 million (24.5 percent).
Water sales increased $3.9 million from the previous
year. The total amount pumped was 1.24 billion gallons in
2019 versus 1.26 billion in 2020. The utility increased
revenue with a 11.0 percent water rate increase. There was
a slight increase in water consumed .05 billion gallons (4.3
percent). The two golf courses generated $2.5 million in
2020, $0.5 million (25 percent) better than 2019 earnings.
Affirmative Action
Recruiting Plan has been
in place since 1986 and
updated every 3 years.
Biased Based Policing
Annual review revealed
the 17th consecutive
year without any
complaints of biased
based profiling.
Officers complete an 8
hour Mental Health First
Aid and a 40 hour Crisis
Intervention training.
Buffalo Grove 2020 Expenditures by Function
Village Pensions Obligations
The Fire Pension Fund was 74% funded.
The annual interest rate assumption is
7% with a the five-year average return is
11.0 % as of December 31, 2020.
The Police Pension Fund was 72%
funded. The annual interest rate
assumption is 7% with a five-year average
return of 10.4% as of December 31, 2020
72% of benefit costs are related to
pension costs. $7.9 million is the Villageʼs
employer obligation for current and
future annuitants and $8.8 million will be
distributed to retired pensioners.