MOWEAQUA, Ill. (WAND) - The Village of Moweaqua faced some challenging decisions Wednesday night as its budget is heading into the negative.
From cutting positions to reducing shift hours, the board is trying to stay out of the red.
"It's not that we can't look at making some changes if it's going to benefit the village, but to me, we're kicking a dead horse. We know what the problem is. We know where it lies. So we have to just deal with it," said Chairman Roger Cox.
After discovering the comp and overtime budget was overspent, village leaders sat down with an auditor to determine where money could be saved. Financial Auditor Kevin Buckley said the village's budget was set too high, spending more money than it would be bringing in.
"The police expenditures that were done for '25 and then during the current year were part of your budget. I'm not saying that the budget should have been that high. I am saying, though, it was within what was approved," Buckley said.
The auditor found that police expenses increased by $180,000 from 2024 to 2025. In 2025, the budget for police was $652,000, $534,000 was spent, with 80% of the money spent going to employees.
"What's changed is the acceleration of the police as a percentage of your overall expenditures has increased dramatically in the last year. And nine months. it isn't feasible to keep growing the police budget," Buckley said.
Buckley said the general fund was positive before any transfers for the police at the end of 2025. He recommends that the village use money from the CIPS to weather this financial storm. The CIPS fund is designated by the board to be used for major improvements, such as trucks.
"I would basically commit that money and use that rather than borrowing from other funds," Buckley said.
The village also had to eliminate one police officer position and an administration position. Even Mayor Shawn Conlin resigned after the executive session.
"Here's my letter of resignation, but it is not from pressure from this group. I'm resigning because the climate and the opinions of some of the board members do not align with my goals and prior priorities," Conlin said.
Many village members were upset following the meeting, but hope the financial issues will be solved soon.
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Moweaqua Police Department exceeds overtime budget by nearly 70%
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