Village of
Westchester JULY, 2021
POLICE DEPARTMENT PUBLIC WORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT
LIBRARY
SCHOOL DISTRICT
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SPOTLIGHT ON SENIORS
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SCOUTS
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From the Desk of President Frank Perry
T
he last month has been busy at the Village. We’ve had a number of face to face meetings with our leaders over the last month. I’d like to give a brief description on what went on and any results that transpired. Paul Nosek and I had a nice conversation with U.S. Representative Danny Davis at his offices in the City. We went over our needs in town and how he may be able to help out our residents. We are looking forward to some financial assistance with our senior programs that we will be implementing as well as some transportation needs. Any help given will go directly into the senior center that we are creating at the new village hall. I was on a zoom meeting with Leader Kimberly Lightford and in the course of the discussion we discussed the eventual move of our fire department. She lent advice and direction on possible areas for the replacement of our FD according to a study that was conducted roughly 8 years ago. It was noted in that study that the department should be one centralized unit. She opened up her budget generously to aid us in these efforts with a $200,00 contribution. We are so appreciative for not only the contribution but the priceless direction Leader Lightford was able to provide. I also had the privilege of having breakfast one on one with House Speaker Emmanuel “Chris” Welch. This was a long discussion covering everything from the new TIF districts, infrastructure, development, and the closing and development of the St. Joseph property. Speaker Welch has generously allocated $2M from his budget for assistance in moving and building out our new Village Hall. These donations from our leaders are pivotal, appreciated and most welcomed! We recently closed on the property where our new Village Hall will be located. The new location for Village Hall will be 2305-2325 Enterprise Drive. Our
police department and public works department will be moving along with Village Hall. There will be no interruption in service in any way. The move will not take place immediately as the space will need to be renovated first. Westchester Fest will be happening and we will be utilizing our new Village Hall location to have these festivities. The dates for the Westchester Fest are August 13, 14, and 15th. Our 4th of July Parade is also a GO! The parade route is basically the same as it has been in previous years, however the start time will be noon on Sunday the 4th and the parade will end at Crestwood (by the fountain). There will also be entertainment and refreshments provided near the fountain following the Parade. We are currently testing for new fire department personnel and there are currently openings posted for the police department and applications are being accepted. Our Police Chief, Dan Babich, has ordered a new all terrain vehicle (ATV) for use of our officers on patrol. It will be used to monitor all of our parks with ease and accessibility. You should be seeing our new ATV in action in the upcoming weeks. The Village Board has approved the 2022 budget. Our budget forecasts a surplus $577,500.00. We are projecting a surplus of just over $500,000.00 from last year’s budget, which is outstanding. This can be partially attributed to receiving funds from The Cares act to the tune of $285,000.00. Projected expenditures came in less than expected and revenues were strong last year in spite of the pandemic.