Mokena Library Board Approves Final Budget for 2025-2026 Fiscal Year

Mokena Community Public Library District Board of Trustees Meeting | August 2025

Article Summary
The Mokena Community Public Library District Board of Trustees has officially adopted its Budget and Appropriation (B&A) Ordinance for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, establishing the legal spending limits for the library’s operations and capital projects. The unanimous approval followed a special public hearing held just prior to the regular board meeting.

Mokena Library 2025-2026 Budget Key Points:

• Ordinance 369-2025, the Budget & Appropriation Ordinance, was unanimously approved by a roll call vote.

• The ordinance establishes the maximum spending authority for the library in the upcoming fiscal year, including potential grants and donations.

• The board held a public hearing on the ordinance, which received no public comment.

• The statutory deadline for the ordinance’s passage is the fourth Tuesday in September.

MOKENA, Il. – The Mokena Community Public Library District Board of Trustees gave its final approval to the 2025-2026 Budget and Appropriation (B&A) Ordinance during its regular meeting on August 26, setting the legal spending authority for the upcoming fiscal year.

The unanimous passage of Ordinance 369-2025 is a critical annual step that establishes a spending cap for the library. As explained by Executive Director Cathy Palmer in her report, this cap includes the regular operating budget as well as potential, but not yet secured, funds from grants, bequests, and other unanticipated revenue sources.

“It functions solely as a spending cap, not an allocation of actual dollars,” Palmer’s report clarified.

The approval followed a special meeting held at 7:15 p.m. for the legally required public hearing on the ordinance. With no members of the public present to comment, the hearing was closed after just three minutes.

During the regular meeting that followed, Treasurer Alvin Kempf, Jr. made a motion, seconded by Vice President Kathy Lewandowski, to approve the ordinance as proposed. The motion passed unanimously via a roll call vote, well ahead of the September 23 statutory deadline.