Village Taxes Rise Slightly for 2013

The municipal budget process is hardly a climactic process, and the Village Board’s approval of the 2013 operating budget anticlimactic – even for budget hearings.

The board passed the budget with out a single voice of opposition from the public Monday. The relative silence at Village Hall was likely due to the largely status quo budget that was passed.

The village plans to increase its overall tax levy by $205,589, or roughly 0.95 percent, in its 2013 budget. That would bring the total levy to $21.9 million. The increase was due to $42 million worth of new construction in the village. State law limits a municipality’s ability to increase its tax levy revenue by only the total increase in value created from new construction.

The tax rate remains virtually unchanged. It will rise from $5.195 per $1,000 of assessed value to $5.198 per $1,000 of assessed value. The fractional increase equates to an additional $1 on the village tax bill of an owner of a $250,000 home. That’s a bill of $1,400 including the $100.12 solid waste fee, which remained unchanged.

“We’re thrilled about the budget’s minimal impact on citizens. In this economy, we didn’t think it would be prudent to do anything substantially different in the budget planning,” said Village Manager Mark Fitzgerald. “We believe there will not be any noticeable shifts or decline in service to citizens throughout the village.”

Since 2006, the village’s tax rate has risen from $5.08 per $1,000 of assessed value to $5.19 per $1,000 of assessed value. That’s roughly an increase of $28. The village has maintained conservative principles and a lean team of personnel to maintain services in a difficult economy.