Orland Park mayor lays out 2026 priorities: public safety, roads, parks and economic strategy

Mayor Jim Dodge delivered the Village of Orland Park’s State of the Village address, telling a local business audience the main budget theme for 2026 is “investment in public safety.” Dodge outlined a strategic plan that centers on public safety, roads and infrastructure, parks and programming, and economic development to preserve the village’s retail-driven revenue base.

Dodge said the village has a balanced budget and restored fund balances to about 40% of operating expenses but warned that roughly 51% of revenues come from sales tax, making Orland Park sensitive to retail-sector shifts. “Sales tax is just about what 51% of our total revenue is,” Dodge said, arguing that keeping the shopping experience safe and convenient is essential to funding local services.

The mayor framed a set of near-term tactical challenges: Cook County tax differences that affect development competitiveness; a constrained north–south road network (Harlem, LaGrange, Wolf) that funnels traffic; and roughly 2,000 acres that are annexed but awaiting development. He described a multi-segment improvement program for 143rd Street that includes a $22 million intersection rebuild and other projects he said require state support.

On public safety, Dodge announced staffing increases, a shift to 12-hour police schedules, stepped-up enforcement for aggravated speeding and loud mufflers, and expanded technology such as a drone program to speed response times. “The main budget theme this year is investment in public safety,” he said, and noted the village reopened contract talks with officers to enable those changes.

Dodge described changes intended to strengthen civic engagement and day-to-day responsiveness: a reworked advisory-committee structure (young families, seniors, veterans, cultural arts), a new VOP Connect portal to centralize resident reports and surveys, and an organizational assessment to align staff resources with service expectations. He also said the village will study the business model for several amenities, including Centennial Park West and a potential performing arts or multiuse center, after officials determined the current Centennial Park West operating model could lose about $1.8 million a year.

The mayor highlighted a fiscal win: ending one TIF district early that returned about $60 million of property to the tax rolls and removed a litigation threat with local school districts. He described ongoing stress-test simulations staff are running to assess resilience to severe economic shocks.

During audience Q&A, residents pressed officials on scooter and e-bike safety near schools and on strategies to attract younger families. Dodge pointed to the Young Families Advisory Board, a push for varied housing types, and education and enforcement efforts for e-scooters as part of an evolving approach. A local school official, Chuck Austin Augustine of Kirby 140, praised police cooperation on school security work.

Dodge closed by inviting continued public input and said the village would release a budget brief soon as it advances the strategic plan and targeted capital projects for 2026.