Of the Central Park North project costs, $880,000 was funded by a grant obtained from the State of Illinois. These funds are not paid back to the State. The remainder of the project was funded through non-referendum bonds.  These bonds also partially funded a new Aquatic HVAC unit.  These 15-year bonds were assigned a AAA bond rating (the highest rating available) by Moody’s Investors Service.

The Park District has approximately $9 million in the bank depending on the time of the year.  $1 million of those dollars are restricted funds for Social Security, Risk Management (Insurance), Audit, and IMRF (Pension) obligations.  IMRF is funded by the Park District and is not associated with the State of Illinois pension system.  $8 Millon is fund balance reserve for the General Fund, Recreation Fund, Capital Projects Fund and the Tennis Center Fund.  These reserves are established by board policy and evaluated by Moody’s and creditors.  The Park District must maintain 3-9 months of reserves in each fund per board policy.  The current unrestricted fund balance constitutes approximately 5-6 months of reserves, within the board-established parameters.  

The State of Illinois requires all government entities to file a tax levy by the end of December annually.  The tax levy is capped at 5% or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower.  This year, the Park District requested a 3.15% tax increase. The Oak Brook Park District’s fiscal year is May 1 – April 30.  This fiscal year for budgeting purposes is used by the majority of park districts in the State.  With a May 1 fiscal year start, newly elected officials (usually sworn in at the May annual meeting) take office at the beginning of the budget year.  Park District law authorizes budget amendments at any time in accordance with specified procedures. Most programming starts in the Spring which provides for revenue generation at the beginning of the fiscal year. 

No individual employee of the Park District has the authority to spend District funds except pursuant to a board-approved policy or express Board authorization. Policy, the budget, the Executive Director and Corporate Counsel are all within the purview of the Park Board.  There are policies in place that the Park District must follow for bidding, purchasing and expenditures.  The budget, capital purchases, and change orders over $10,000 are all approved or rejected by the Board.     

In 2010, the CPI was 219.179.  In 2024, the CPI was at 315.605.  The Park District estimates that expenses have increased by 44% over the last 14 years.  Also included in the last 14 years the Park District has opened new facilities, acquired new real estate property and substantially increased programming, events, and memberships, all of which is open and available to residents of Oak Brook.  

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Oak Brook population in 2010 was 7,883 and as of July 1, 2023, the resident population in Oak Brook is 8,049.

Each year, thousands of Illinois park district commissioners and staff attend the Illinois Association of Park Districts/Illinois Park and Recreation Association Conference in Chicago. The conference conducts more than 165 educational sessions and hosts over 325 exhibits. The educational sessions provide information on legal changes, risk management and best practices in the fields of recreational programming, public employment, public finance, real estate and development, construction, Open Meetings Act/Freedom of Information Act, sustainability, and public private partnerships among others. Some staff and Commissioners do stay overnight depending on their schedule at conference.  Many conference sessions start as early as 8:30am, and board and staff members also attend committee meetings, and annual business meetings, which often are not completed until 8pm.  The Park District Staff and Commissioners typically stay at the discounted conference-recommended hotel.  

The Park District’s programming includes Travel Club, with many participants. The Travel Club takes many trips including those referenced above. This past year the group traveled to the Canadian Rockies and Maine for the Fall Colors, and Italy in April!  A staff member takes a group to these destinations. Staff travel expenses are paid for by the travel participants from program fees, not from taxes. The Canadian Rockies trip realized a net profit of $7,770.  Staff also take tennis teams to Indiana, Florida, and South Carolina. Program fees also pay the staff expenses on these trips. The last three National Conferences were in Phoenix, Dallas, and Atlanta where the Park District was a Gold Medal Finalist and staff presented sessions.  The flights to these conferences were paid for through points on Park District’s purchase cards.    

Commissioners do not give out memberships.  They do give out guest passes to promote the Park District.  No state laws are being broken as the lifetime membership is a de minimis expense to the Park District.  

Most of the “fine dining” receipts are from our senior paid programming.  As District stewards, we attempt to do this programming locally, therefore, many receipts are from local Oak Brook establishments which are paid for by the senior program participants.