Does La Grange Fitness Center Pay For Itself?

LA GRANGE, IL – La Grange Fitness, a local park district facility, pays for itself – and then some.

Patch asked the Park District of La Grange for the income and spending at La Grange Fitness for the budget year that ended April 30.

The income was $796,150, while the spending was $461,149, according to the district. That resulted in a surplus of $335,001.

“La Grange Fitness operates with its own independent fund and does not receive any tax revenue,” Jenny Bechtold, the district’s executive director, said in an email to Patch. “We are currently wrapping up our audit, which could slightly adjust these figures. While we don’t anticipate any changes, we cannot confirm until the auditors complete their work.”

The public is likely to watch the district’s finances closely as the park board prepares to put a tax hike measure on the ballot.

The board reached a “verbal consensus” to put the issue on the November ballot, Bechtold told Patch earlier this summer.

The tax increase is expected to cost the owner of a $500,000 house $71 a year, according to the park district.