DuPage forest district taxes to increase about $1 for homeowners

District officials Tuesday approved an approximately $54 million tax levy for fiscal 2013-2014.

The levy translates to approximately $155 in property taxes for the owner of a $300,000 home, an increase of about $1 from the previous year. For every dollar spent overall on property taxes by DuPage County residents, about 2 cents supports the district.

“My experience of 22 years has indicated this board and previous boards have always taken a serious and intelligent approach as to how they do their levy,” said Forest Preserve District President D. “Dewey” Pierotti Jr. “I think the results speak for it.”

Commissioner Shannon Burns said approving a tax levy isn’t her favorite part of her position.

“For the forest preserve, our only source of income is the interest income that comes from the landfill and our tax levy, unlike the county where they have lots of other opportunities for money to come in,” Burn said. “I’m not fond of going into an election year having voted for taxes but my job up here is to vote for support that the district needs to keep running. And I believe this is a fair levy.”

The district maintains a balanced general fund that matches operating expenses with current-period revenues. Operations are funded primarily by property taxes, and the district is subject to the tax cap, which limits property tax growth to 5 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.