Mt. Prospect panel recommends 1% levy increase for village

The Mount Prospect Finance Commission has recommended the village increase its portion of the property tax bill by 1 percent for the upcoming budget year — less than a quarter of the amount that was recommended by Finance Director David Erb earlier this week.

Erb had projected a 4.42 percent increase in the property tax levy collected in 2015, to raise an additional $760,000. But the Mount Prospect village board has talked about trying to lower that increase. Trustee Paul Hoefert has been especially vocal about wanting to give something back to residents in the wake of recent tax and fee hikes to fund street repairs.

On Thursday, the Finance Commission, an advisory body which reviews the budget in detail and makes recommendations to the board, agreed on several ways the village can find money to make up for a lower increase.

One is lowering the proposed 2 percent salary increase for nonunion village employees to 1.7 percent, equivalent to the increase in the consumer price index, members said. Another source of revenue is $450,000 in real estate transfer taxes that would come from the anticipated sale of Randhurst Village to a new owner.

And, as commission members pointed out, the village traditionally comes in under budget by about $500,000.

“If we add up these things, we're going to be well over $700,000,” Commission Chairman Vince Grochocinski said. “We'll probably be twice that. If you put them all in the budget, then you'll have a surplus and then if something doesn't come in, all it does is bring you closer to a balanced budget.”

Commissioner John Kellerhals expressed concern for residents whose incomes are not keeping up with the yearly tax increases.

“We do have an aging population, and for those on fixed incomes or on Social Security, what we're doing on property taxes isn't sustainable,” he said. “If there are opportunities to shift the burden away from the property taxpayer, we should be looking at those opportunities.”

Commissioner Trisha Chokshi, however, said the group should keep in mind that residents expect a certain level of service from the village.

Grochocinski added that a 1 percent hike won't pay for police and fire pension increases, which would have to come out of the general fund.

The commission looked for other ways to save money, including possibly cutting a proposed $110,000 expense for a fitness area for village employees.

Chokshi called it a perk, saying, “Morale-wise and public-wise, putting that cost on the taxpayer just rubs me the wrong way.”

The commission didn't make a recommendation to the board on that item, however.

The village portion of the property tax bill is about 11 percent of a homeowner's entire bill and is broken up into levies for general operations, debt service, and police and fire pensions.