Fall Creek Village Board approves 2025 budget amendments and 2026 budget

FALL CREEK - The Fall Creek Village Board approved several amendments to its 2025 budget at its December meeting held back on the 8th in the Village Hall.

These amendments concerned the construction of the new Village Library and Community with changes in both revenues and expenses for construction, engineering, fundraising and grants for the project along with other village land sales and debt service.

In that same meeting the Board approved the election inspectors for the 2026-27 cycle and approved spending $13,800 on new police radios. They also put the vacant lots that were donated to the
Beyond Words Campaign up for sale after a closed session concerning both the sale of the land and potential litigation.. Prices will be determined after consultation with the realtor.

Speaking of construction projects, several pay requests by contractors were unanimously approved by the Board during its November meeting on the 10th, including any change orders/amendments such as RJ Jurowski for a net due of $235,968.12 and Tanner Excavating for a net due of $14,552.57 and Haas Sons for a net due of $193,449.70. They also unanimously agreed to approve Ayres Agreement Amendment #2 for the
Hwy. 12 Sewer Extension and Lift Station Project to include a not-to-exceed additional amount of $6,830 for construction administration. They also approved village funding for the Fall Creek Area Fire Department and gave their unanimously approval to the 2026 budget for $3,857,208 with a levy, also unanimously approved of at $579,409. This amount includes an adjustment of the allowable levy limit by $47,901 for debt service levy for general obligation debt authorized after July 1, 2005, (Section D, Line E) and by $1,385 for an adjustment due to an increase in the charges assessed by a joint fire department.

In the October meeting of the Board on the 13th, the Board unanimously approved making the regulation of golf carts operating in the village part of the code of ordinances, specifically the same regulations as govern ATV & UTV use in the village. They also approved all construction pay requests and change orders. A motion to approve only the front façade part of the application for downtown business signs and or facades, an application by of Thomas Lillevold for 115 E Lincoln, was approved but an application for Crickets Pizza for a projecting sign was unanimously denied due to for Crickets Pizza, 129 E Lincoln Ave, the proposed
projection reportedly exceeded the distance allowed by village ordinances and the design did not fall within the guidelines for the Downtown Business District. The Board also approved a loan application to borrow from the State Trust Fund Loan Program $1,500,000 for the purpose of financing construction of Library and Village Center and appurtenances.