The steady progress shown in Brookfield’s village government over recent years is impressive. Having inherited a fundamentally dysfunctional village hall where elected leaders were clueless and village staff followed their lead, we have watched the gradual reclaiming of this local government with satisfaction.
This comes to mind with news that the village’s budget draft for 2014 includes the creation of a new five-year, rolling, capital improvement budget. The basic notion of a capital budget is establishing a long-term planning tool that anticipates necessary infrastructure investments, prioritizes them and creates a funding mechanism that will pay for the improvements.
With its recently completed street condition survey, the village now has the baseline documents it needs to lay out a plan. It has set aside motor fuel taxes as a primary funding source and will now look actively for state and federal grant money — something the village seems to be good at.
For 2014, the draft budget includes $1 million to spend on improving residential side streets. This will be happy news for many residents.
