I always enjoy reading the Jake Griffin’s tax watchdog stories in the Daily Herald, especially those that show comparisons among the suburban units of government.

As summer approaches, Griffin took a look at the taxpayer costs of supporting public pools in 47 suburban communities and found a wide range from results, from a deficit of $503,262 in the Fox Valley Park District to a profit of $332,758 in Arlington Heights, although it should be noted that the Arlington Heights stats do not include maintenance costs.

• Read the Full Daily Herald Article Here.

It’s also important to note that the article compares the anticipated revenues versus budget expenditures for the coming year, so the revenue numbers may change, depending on how many people decide to go to the pools this summer. The past two years have not been especially conducive to big crowds of swimmers, the article said.

Of the 47 public-pool programs mentioned in the article, I counted nine from Kane County. Four of those are anticipated to make money this year and five are expected to run in a deficit, according to the Daily Herald report. You can see the totals in the table below.

Kane County public pools showed some of the bigger deficits and some of the bigger surpluses, so there’s a pretty representative range in our neck of the woods.

The bottom line of the analysis was that some pools are supported by user fees and others require additional support from tax revenue to make a go of it. The article also speculates that the high number of water-park and pool options makes competition a little more stiff, causing lower admission rates and a greater emphasis on state-of-the-art amenities, like water slides, wave pools and lazy-river experiences that years ago were reserved for the for-profit water parks.