And the Oscar goes to....

Not long ago, I had dinner with some friends who spent time talking about, among other things, where they live.

During the course of the evening, one said that the problem with Buffalo Grove is that there are no good restaurants in the village, the village let Lincolnshire grab the cinemas and also let the car dealers get away.

 

As Yogi Berra would say, it's déjà vue all over again.

The fact that the village does not have any good restaurants is not the fault of the village.  Granted, it has tight standards for building appearance or signage, but there is not, as far as I know, a Village Culinary Commission.  If you look at the car dealers in question; the Saturn, Toyota and Chrysler dealerships on Dundee Road only one, Arlington Toyota, chose to move out of the village.  The other two were closed by the year respective corporations; Saturn by G.M. and Chrysler by Chrysler.

The mere fact that Lincolnshire incorporated much of the area b y Aptakisic Road and Milwaukee Avenue was the result of a voluntary annexation by the property owner who, my sources tell me, needed to annex to Lincolnshire to get utilities because of a previous action.

What my dining companion did not realize, of if he did, he chose to ignore it, is the fact that the village continues to be in seemingly excellent financial shape despite the struggling economy.  It has endured reduced sales taxes, shrinking property taxes and excessive legal bills to resolve frivolous lawsuits and actions by folks who want to do little more than make a name for themselves. Through it all, the village has Triple AAA credit ratings from both Standard and Poors and Moody's.

Not too shabby.

While the economy continues to flounder, there is a ray of optimism that the village fiscal solvency will continue. It's the things movies can be made of.

The Nov. 21 Village Board meeting was highlighted by a two-hour presentation of the 2012 budget. Let's face it, budget presentations rank right up there with watching paint dry, watching 2011 Cubs highlights or reruns of McHale's Navy. This one, however, was deserving of an Oscar.

That's not my opinion.  All you need to do is listen to Village Board member Beverly Sussman who said "it is the best budget I have ever read in 30 years..it is the Academy Awards of budgets."

She may be on to something.  Aside from klieg lights heralding the event, it seemed like every department brought out its key staff, most of who were in dress attire.  It's the first time that the Police Department had more officers in attendance wearing dress uniforms than the Fire Department.

Before cynics cry foul, all they need to do is review the budget, all 306 pages of it, from the village's web site.  It is, from my non fiscal eyes, well presented and clearly written.  It seems to make sense.

The focal point of the budget is the use of four domains for each department.  They are: Strategy, Efficiency  Culture and Technology.  Budget goals and objectives addressed each category.

And yes, economic development in key areas, specifically the Dundee Road and Milwaukee Avenue corridors.  While there may be some faults with the 2012 budget because nothing is nothing is perfect, it is well scripted.

Worthy of an Academy Award?  Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I like the Hollywood theme Sussman  has given to the process.

Who knows, maybe it will spur some creative new businesses -- for example, how about a movie-themed bicycle shop.

How about calling it "Gone with the Schwinn".