The Village of Peoria Heights Water Department has lifted the boil order for customers in the 5300 thru 5500 blocks of North Glen Elm Drive.
This also includes 227 and 231 Cherry Ridge as well as 335 Frances.
There are currently no boil orders in the Village.
If you have any questions, please call:
309-686-2375.
Thank You
The Village of Peoria Heights Water Department has issued a boil order for customers in the 5300 thru 5500 blocks of North Glen Elm Dr, due to a water main repair.
This also includes 227 and 231 Cherry Ridge as well as 335 Frances.
Water service was disrupted for repairs.
Service will be restored shortly.
Thank You
In observance of Good Friday, Village Hall will close at 12:00 pm on Friday, April 18.
Hydrant flushing will be completed in your area the week of April 7 through April 11, 2025.
Dates and Locations.
Monday, April 7,
North of Seiberling, west of Prospect.
Tuesday, April 8,
East of Prospect from Glen to Voss including Grandview Drive.
Wednesday, April 9,
Galena area below the bluff.
Thursday, April 10,
West of Prospect from Hines to Toledo.
Friday, April 11,
South of Hines, west of Prospect.
The Peoria Heights semi-annual hydrant flushing program helps clear naturally occurring mineral deposits from the water mains as well as exercises fire hydrants for emergency use.
Hydrant flushing will occur on these days from 7:30am to 3:30pm. Use of water for laundry purposes is not advisable during flushing due to the possibility of discoloration.
This condition does not pose any health hazard.
The hydrant flushing program will begin on Monday, April 7, and continue through Friday, April 11, weather and schedule permitting.
For further information, please call the Water Office at: (309) 686-2375.
Thank you
Chris Chandler
Superintendent of Public Works
Forest Park Dr. hill will be closed from 9am-1pm on Thursday, April 3rd, for regular street maintenance/cleanup.
Thank You
Forrest Park Dr will not be closed on Election Day, Tuesday April 1st.
The March 17, 2025 regularly scheduled Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting has been cancelled.
Prospect Rd will be closed from Marietta Ave to Sieberling Ave on Monday, March 17th, for the annual St Patrick’s Day celebration.
The street will be closed from midnight Sunday to 7am Tuesday morning.
Please use caution when traveling along the detoured route.
Happy St Patricks Day!
Notice is hereby given of a public hearing to be held Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 5:00 PM at Village Hall, 4901 N. Prospect, Peoria Heights, IL regarding the proposed FY 2025-2026 Operations Budget. The tentative budget is available for public inspection by contacting administration@peoriaheights.org.
Stephanie Turner
Village Clerk
Village of Peoria Heights
Peoria Heights residents got their first glimpse of the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget at the Village Board’s Feb. 18 meeting. The financial blueprint calls for nearly $5.76 million in spending on an estimated $5.79 million in revenue. The 2026 budget plan anticipates a slight decline in spending from the current budget.
Meanwhile, the Heights is ending another year in the black, with 2024-25 revenues looking to exceed expenditures as the fiscal year enters its final month. That was by no means certain a year ago, when it appeared the Village might suffer a budget deficit for the first time in a while. Thanks to some mid-fiscal year adjustments and continued strong sales tax performance, that situation was avoided.
Village Financial Assistant Stephanie Turner indicated that the Village again has taken a conservative approach, with department heads given a baseline budget that “became a cost-cutting operation from the very beginning.” While revenues have grown substantially over the last few years, so have expenditures, she said. Public safety expenses, for example, are up considerably, with fire department expenses quintupling over the last five years, she added.
“I’m comfortable with the (budget) cuts,” said Police Chief/Village Administrator Dustin Sutton. “They won’t affect service.”
The fire department will continue to have its maintenance challenges, said Chief Dan Decker, but he is “looking for new grants all the time.” Meanwhile, the department continues to make progress, with response times, “from call to fire out,” improving dramatically in the last year, from 12.5 minutes to 9.5 minutes, he said. The department may look at purchasing used vehicles that still have some life in them, he added.
“These are very slim budgets,” and the Village Board will need to stay on top of those as, inevitably, circumstances change, said Turner. One example is the expiration of the state grocery tax on Jan. 1, 2026. The biggest impact of that will be felt in the 2027 fiscal year, but it does mean an annual revenue loss of some $325,000 unless the Board imposes a local tax on grocery purchases.
The proposed water budget shows spending of $1.58 million on revenues of $1.72 million, though the water infrastructure is entering a stage of major capital investment. The Village’s long-term water capital plan had anticipated two 10 percent increases in the coming year, but now the administration is proposing two 5 percent increases instead, in May and December. The local burden has been reduced somewhat by the Village’s success with grant acquisition.
Should the Village experience deficits here and there in the coming year, it has ample fund reserves to cover them, said Turner.
“So this is a balanced budget,” said Trustee Matt Wiggington, adding that not all central Illinois communities are facing the same financial prospects. “We had that fear last year. This is a testament to the success of Peoria Heights and why people want to locate here.”
The proposed budget may undergo some tweaks here and there in the coming few weeks. It will be adopted by the Village Board sometime in April, with the fiscal year beginning May 1.
In other business or discussion:
The Board approved a professional services agreement with Missouri-based water consultant Woodard & Curran, which will oversee the Village’s water capital improvement program along with grant administration at a cost not to exceed $80,000. That money will come out of the Village’s water budget.
The Village has a well-established relationship with Woodard & Curran, which will apply its hourly rate toward that $80,000.
“We don’t do the work unless you tell us to,” said Don Taul of Woodard & Curran, adding that in any given year, the work performed might not reach that ceiling. Should the cost of projects potentially surpass $80,000, Woodard & Curran would have to get Board pre-approval.
Woodard & Curran has had significant success in securing grants for the Village and currently is working on improvements to the filtration plant, specifically regarding the removal of magnesium from the local water supply.
Community Development Director Wayne Aldrich called Woodard & Curran “a big help.
“I would say say it’s necessary for a village the size of Peoria Heights to do this type of work … to assure we can get the projects complete.”
The Board approved the low bid for lead service line replacement in the Village, ultimately contracting with Five Star Energy Services of Waukesha, Wis. at a per-project cost of $6,706.
The Village received four bids that were wildly divergent, ranging from Five Star’s estimate to $69,630 from local firm Hoerr Construction, with evidently some confusion over what work the companies were actually bidding on. Ultimately, Five Star will do up to $2 million of lead line replacement at that per-unit price of $6,706, with the Village earlier receiving a $2.2 million fully-forgivable loan from the state.
The full extent of the Village’s lead line problem will not be fully known until contractors begin digging.
The Village Board agreed to the purchase of a fiberglass bison to be displayed in the Village at a price tag of $2,500, plus the added cost of decorating it by a local artist, as part of Peoria County’s bicentennial celebration. The effort is modeled after the City of Chicago’s Cows on Parade displays in 1999, which produced a significant amount of tourism to the Windy City. Communities throughout the county are participating.
The Village also is encouraging other local governments and/or businesses to participate.
“I think if we could get four or five of these in our community, it could be very exciting,” said Trustee Elizabeth Khazzam.
“We hope … to call it a herd,” said Mayor Michael Phelan, who also noted that there’s a natural connection to Peoria Heights, as former President Teddy Roosevelt visited the Heights more than a century ago and was known for his efforts to protect and preserve America’s bison.
The bicentennial bison will remain on display at various locations – Tower Park was mentioned, along with the library and perhaps a local school – through December of this year, and perhaps longer. An example is on display at Peoria Riverfront Museum. The fiberglass sculptures are about eight feet long, five feet tall and weigh some 100 pounds.
You can learn more about the bicentennial and its mascot at https://www.peoriacounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13010/Bicentennial-Bison-Purchase-Document-PDF.
The Board held a substantial policy discussion on Feb. 4 regarding the future of its Business Development District Fund after Trustee Brandon Wisenburg proposed the elimination of the 1 percent sales tax on businesses in the Village’s two Business Development Districts.
Wisenburg acknowledged that it was perhaps “a radical idea,” but questioned why the Village should “continue giving tax money to rich businesses to put up signs” if it means keeping something like the grocery tax “on essentially poor people” who are dependent on the basic services – police, fire, streets, etc. – that the Village provides. The state grocery tax is set to expire at the start of 2026.
Wisenburg’s comments prompted a quick response from other trustees, specifically from Trustee Sarah DeVore, who has two businesses in the downtown corridor and said that “not everybody that asks for it (BDD assistance) is a rich business.” She also argued that comparing the grocery tax, the proceeds of which go into the general fund, to the BDD tax, which is restricted to business development in a defined area, is “two different pictures.” Wigginton, meanwhile, noted that BDD funds were a big help when the Village provided grants to local businesses that were suffering during COVID. And with the proposed reconstruction of Prospect Avenue on the horizon, having the BDD to potentially help struggling businesses “could make or break some of these businesses.”
“I’d be really cautious,” said Phelan. “I’ve never believed government should horde money,” but with more than $1 million in BDD funds – which has “grown by leaps and bounds” – that money has proved a major tool in securing economic development projects, most notably the Beck Oil development on War Memorial Drive, said the mayor. The added sales tax revenue to the Village from Beck’s alone more than replaces the lost grocery tax proceeds, he said.
“The brand of Peoria Heights has increased in value probably tenfold in 10 years or so,” said Phelan. “By providing good services, having low taxes, having a walkable, safe community, all those things are important to developers and people looking to relocate their businesses.” That’s why Village government in a landlocked community needs tools like the BDD to promote economic development and the revenues it produces to pay for those basic services, he said.
Village Administrator Dustin Sutton largely echoed those sentiments, saying at the Feb. 18 meeting that he does not favor the elimination of the BDD, that the Village also pays some wages out of the fund and that it would be “a huge mistake” to strip the Village of that economic development tool.
The Board created an additional A-1 liquor license for Feels Like Ohm, a juice bar at 4606 N. Prospect Road. The vote was 5-0.
The Board authorized the purchase of outdoor Christmas decorations at a discounted cost – 40 percent off – of nearly $37,700. Many of the current displays date back to the 1970s.
“I think this is a huge upgrade,” said Sutton. “We’ve been putting this off for years.”
Both Wigginton and Wisenburg indicated that they’d like to see some of the decorations be placed below the hill “to delineate this is the Heights.”
The Village Board approved the installation of an on-street handicapped parking sign in front of the home of Gary and Tammy Roush, 1107 E. Moneta, which raised concerns about what precedent it would set.
The Roushes don’t have a driveway and Gary Roush suffers from debilitating asthma, prompting the family to request the sign. Tammy Roush indicated that a neighbor has multiple vehicles and frequently takes up the on-street spaces in front of their house, creating a hardship for her husband.
The request was unprecedented in the Heights, prompting a long discussion among trustees about how best to proceed, from having law enforcement speak with the neighbors about possible code violations to ongoing enforcement demands on the police department should more residents request the handicapped designations on the roadway.
“It makes me a little nervous,” said Wisenburg. “One, we haven’t done this before. Two, this kind of feels like a neighbor dispute to me.”
Ultimately, the Roushes agreed to seek a permanent handicapped designation from the state of Illinois with an accompanying placard, and the Board voted 5-0 – Trustee Jeff Goett was absent – to put up a temporary handicapped sign on Moneta for 120 days, open to anyone with proof of a disability including the Roushes.
Meanwhile, Phelan urged the Board to come up with a policy governing situations like this one. While “sympathetic” to the Roushes’ situation, the mayor said “lots of homes in Peoria Heights don’t have driveways and we have an elderly population … If you do case by case, you’ll have an issue.”
The Board learned of the promotion of two firefighters to assistant chief status. They are Austin Szentes (day shift) and Benjamin Thompson (night shift). Both are salaried positions.
Meanwhile, the Fire Department is seeking a $350,000 renovation grant from the state for the construction of a fitness area and day room for firefighters. There would be no cost to local taxpayers if the Heights receives the grant.