Morris City Council places balanced budget on file for fiscal 2025

The city of Morris placed a balanced budget on file for approval Monday night, which is up for full approval at a special meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 1.

The budget measure passed with seven “yes” votes and one “present” vote from Alderman Alex Clubb.

City Clerk Lori Werden said the budget accounts for about $37.5 million in grant funding.

“These grants represent a significant investment in our community, supporting critical infrastructure, public safety and quality of life improvements,” Werden said. “Of that total, our local share that the city is responsible for is approximately $3.3 million.”

Werden said this level of outside funding helps the city to stretch its resources further while delivering important projects and services.

Grant-funded projects include the wastewater treatment plant, the city’s long-term control plan for sewer and water main improvements, the Illinois Route 47 lighting project that will add new streetlights from Benson Street to Illinois Ave., water tower maintenance, the electrical vault project and self-service gas pumping stations at the airport, and the Ashton Road resurfacing project.

Werden thanked the aldermen who attended budget meetings and contributed to her process of achieving a balance.

“Lori does such a tremendous just making sure this is as balanced as possible,” Morris Mayor Chris Brown said. “There’s a lot of things happening in the city right now with projects, and she starts this process as soon as it’s over, in a lot of cases, with her Excel spreadsheet. She takes a lot of time with staff and aldermen to prepare this.”

Werden said prices have gone up for the coming year, but they typically rise every year.

“Maintenance agreements are higher,” Werden said. “Service contracts are higher. Equipment’s higher. Vehicles are higher. The cost of doing business has increased, and part of the problem is some of these projects we plan for, and they don’t happen until next year, and you’re looking at a 15-20% increase just because you had to wait it out.“