CENTERBURG — Centerburg council members approved $3 million in appropriations on Monday, including $20,000 for sidewalks, $291,000 for a comprehensive plan, and $201,065 for design services for the Main Street improvement project.
Estimated revenue is $2.1 million. Appropriations total just over $3 million. However, estimated expenses are $3.11 million.
“We currently have $2.2 million cash on hand following some of the investments in planning and other things this year. We expect to close out the year with $1.5 million cash on hand in the general fund,” Village Administrator Richard Dzik said.
Dzik said the council might appropriate some of the $1.5 million in the general fund for its 2026 paving program.
Estimated paving costs are roughly $221,000.
Dzik has a $50,000 spending limit that he can authorize without requiring council legislative action.
Additionally, the village can complete up to $75,000 in work without going through the bid process.
To complete all of the paving on the list requires the village to bid the project.
Safety committee members agreed that Factory and Preston streets and Landrum Avenue need work. They are considering doing Preston Street between Union and Dally streets in 2026.
“As we finalize our paving plan, we’ll continue to give updates on where that places us in terms of reserve balance. But this basically gets us what we need for county auditing purposes to keep spending throughout the year,” Dzik said of the appropriations.
Ideally, the village would like to keep six months of operating expenses, about $500,000, in reserve, he said.
Additional budget items
The 2026 appropriations also include $70,000 for land acquisition and $43,000 in architectural fees for a new street garage at 80 Miller Street.
The village will pay the Knox County Land Bank $70,000 for the property.
Council members waived the third reading and awarded the contract for preparing the comp plan to V3 on Monday.
The village will split the $291,000 fee equally between the general and sewer funds.
Dzik said that if the village creates a New Community Authority, it can potentially recoup V3’s fee from NCA revenue.
Council members suspended the third reading by a 5-1 vote and approved contracting with Greg Daniels of Kutarock to provide legal assistance in setting up an NCA, also by a 5-1 vote. Councilman Daniel Hardwick cast the no votes.
The sewer fund has $1.2 million cash on hand. Dzik expects to finish the year around $1.1 million.
Dzik said the village is researching hydro-jetting and camera equipment for stormwater and sewer lines this year with an eye toward purchasing in 2027.
