Riverside trustees have directed staff to pursue various changes as the village looks ahead at its finances through 2030.
At the village board’s Sept. 4 meeting, Finance Director Yvette Zavala presented a financial forecast of the village’s revenues through the next five years. She said Riverside’s municipal sales tax is expected to fall by about $45,000 in 2026 due to the expiration of the 1% grocery tax, which trustees in July said they did not want to implement locally.
Looking ahead to fiscal year 2026, Zavala asked the board for input on six minor matters that could affect the village’s funding and operation.
First, she asked whether trustees would like to increase the portion of the property tax levy that is dedicated to the parks and recreation department. Each year, the department receives a minimum 0.0667% of the funds per $100 of equalized assessed value, though the village can allocate up to 0.09%.
Zavala said funds portioned into the parks and recreation fund cannot be taken back out of the fund, though revenues collected into the village’s general fund can be used for parks and recreation expenditures.
The board agreed to keep the rate the same, allowing the village the most flexibility.
Next, Zavala turned to two historical wooden trolley stops in town that are deteriorating and in need of repairs. She said the Riverside Historical Museum had declined to store the wooden structures and asked if the board would like the village to restore them or remove them.
Trustee Alex Gallegos said he would like the village’s historical commission, which operates the museum, to weigh in on the value of the trolley stops and what could be done with them. Village President Doug Pollock agreed and said he would also like Riverside’s preservation commission to look at the trolley stops and weigh in. Trustee Cristin Evans said she would be opposed to removing them outright.
The next question was on the topic of in-service days, professional workdays for non-union staff to work on development, volunteering and document retention while the village is closed to the public. Zavala said she recommended taking such days on Presidents’ Day and Indigenous People’s Day.
“These days, historically, have had very low resident traffic at the village due to residents assuming we are closed,” she said.
The board agreed to institute in-service days.
“Having worked in places that have in-service days, the employees love it. One day without the phones ringing and all that, you can really get a lot done. I think it’s a great idea,” Pollock said.
Zavala then asked the board whether the village should continue to operate the Malstrom Trust, a set of earmarked monies within the general fund. In 1933, resident Fred W. Malstrom created the trust to assist villagers experiencing financial hardships at Christmastime.
The trust now has a balance of $7,871, Zavala said, meaning it falls under a $10,000 threshold that was established when it was created; in order to sustain the fund, money cannot be given out unless it would not bring the fund under that $10,000 value.
Village Manager Jessica Frances said she could only recall one instance in which Riverside made use of the fund since she started at the village in 2012. She said the trust has been under the $10,000 threshold since before she started.
“There was a resident that was having a financial hardship during our parking permit renewals, so the village, through the Malstrom Trust, paid for their parking permit. Beyond that, I’m not aware of it being heavily utilized,” she said.
In response to a question from Trustee Jill Mateo, Frances said the trust could potentially be emptied out through a partnership with Riverside Township, which offers services to township residents, though the trust can only be given to village residents. Otherwise, she said the police department could assist in disbursing it to residents.
The board agreed to eliminate the trust and give the funds out.
Then, Zavala asked whether staff should look into a potential amusement tax on television streaming services like Netflix, which could balance out decreasing revenues from existing taxes on cable plans and the revenue the village will lose once the grocery tax sunsets. Frances said the tax could also extend to purchases made within apps or online games in Riverside.
Gallegos said he would like staff to research the potential gain in revenue the new tax could bring, emphasizing that he would need to see the data to decide on whether to implement the tax.
Pollock said he felt looking into a new tax on streaming platforms was consistent with the village’s view on the sunsetting grocery tax.
“With the grocery tax, we discussed the fact that, one, it’s regressive, and two, to a degree, it’s not discretionary. Everybody has to buy food,” he said. “Everybody doesn’t have to buy a streaming service, so you can choose not to pay this tax by not having streaming.”
Finally, Zavala asked whether the board should pursue a financial incentive for residents to sign up for Automatic Clearing House (ACH) water bill payments. Due to the recent exchange of water meters, she said nearly every household in Riverside was on the same water billing cycle. This year, the village began passing on credit card fees to residents rather than paying the fees itself, causing an influx of residents paying through paper checks.
She said these two changes together have inundated the front desk with paper payments they must process when the bills are due. To reduce the load on front desk staff, Zavala suggested implementing a small incentive of $1 or $2 for residents who pay their bills through ACH bank transfers rather than credit cards or paper bills. She said she had polled other municipalities at a recent utility billing seminar and found many of them had similar policies.
Currently, about 558 households in town out of nearly 3,000 water customers are paying through ACH. Zavala said the finance department’s goal is to get that number up to 1,500.
The board reached consensus to have staff pursue the incentive.
