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BRADLEY – Make no mistake about it, sales taxes are king in Bradley, and those taxes continue to fuel the village’s economic engine.
The Bradley Village Board unanimously approved a $21.9 million budget with some $1.5 million of income over expenses on Monday.
But it is sales taxes generated within the retail hub of Kankakee County, which provides the fuel for the village sandwiched between Kankakee and Bourbonnais.
Village finance director Rob Romo reported sales taxes are expected to reach $17.5 million in what he described as a conservative estimate.
In fiscal 2024, sales taxes reached $17.9 million, and in fiscal 2025 sales taxes are anticipated to reach $18.1 million.
Romo said the projected decline is in regard to village leadership taking a conservative look into dollars generated.
He said it’s possible that sales taxes could reach upward of $18.5 million within the May 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, budget year.
Romo projected the village’s standard 1% sales tax to generate $8 million this coming budget year. That figure is actually a slight $200,000 drop from projected final fiscal 2025 total of $8.2 millon.
In fiscal 2024, the village collected $8.1 million.
The village also receives sales tax revenues from its own specially-imposed 1% sales tax rate approved by voters three years ago for all of Bradley, which will likely add $5.4 million to the coffers.
The village also created a third business district tax that covers significant portions of Bradley, most notably the retail business-heavy area of Illinois Route 50 and East and West Broadway Street. This tax is forecasted to bring in another $4.1 million.
Romo said the goal of the budget forecast is to rather cautious with the dollar amount coming into the village register.
“We want to under promise and over deliver,” he said just before the budget document was approved by the trustees.
Within the village, the administration dedicated:
• $7 million to the police department, comprised of 38 sworn officers and one unpaid K-9 officer, Blitz
• $2.8 million to the fire department, made up of 14 sworn officers
• $1 million to the Public Works Department, made up of 11.5 members (one employee shared with the village’s sewer services department)