Schaumburg to lower its property tax for fifth year

Schaumburg officials are continuing their streak of lowering the village's property tax levy as they have since introducing the unpopular tax back in December 2009, during the depths of the recession.

Trustees Tuesday set the tentative levy for 2014 at $20.7 million - a 1 percent reduction from last year.

The village that was once known for not having a municipal property tax set its first levy at $23.7 million nearly five years ago. At that time, sales taxes from Schaumburg's many commercial properties were no longer reliably providing 60 percent of the village's revenues.

But as the economy has recovered, Schaumburg has consistently reduced its levy from that original amount - 4.4 percent in 2010, 6.1 percent in 2011, and 1 percent per year ever since.

Schaumburg Village Manager Brian Townsend concedes that some critics could argue that the village should be doing more and reducing the levy even faster. But though the economy is undeniably stronger than it was five years ago, there are factors cautioning against moving too quickly, he said.

For one, the economy is still not as robust and dependable as it was before the recession. And there are other factors that could reduce shoppers' spending in Schaumburg during the year ahead, such as the massive construction underway on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, Townsend said.

"We think 1 percent is a reasonable reduction right now," he said.

Though Tuesday's vote set the tentative levy, the final vote on the actual levy is scheduled for the village board meeting of Nov. 11. The levy must be set by the end of the year.

Even in the best-case scenario, in which Schaumburg's sales taxes again reach their pre-recession heights someday, village officials would face a philosophical question about whether the property tax should remain to some degree.

When the property tax was introduced in 2009, it was presented as a fairer method to cover the cost of garbage pickup in the village - even if every other expense now covered by the property tax were again paid for by other revenues like sales, food and beverage, and hotel taxes.