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Schaumburg once again expecting reduction in property taxes

Schaumburg's proposed 2015-16 budget, despite a robust $25 million capital improvement plan, includes a 1 percent reduction from last year in spending and the property tax levy.

The village is arguably unique in the region for having reduced its tax levy by at least 1 percent every year since it was first introduced in 2009, during the depths of the recession.

Village trustees will discuss the proposed budget in a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. today — a week before a final version must be approved. The 2015-16 budget takes effect on May 1.

Trustee George Dunham, who chairs the village board's finance committee, said board members have been free to ask questions ahead of Tuesday's meeting but he hasn't felt any need to.

“Generally, I like what I see,” Dunham said.

The budget projects total revenues to increase 4.2 percent from last year, to $219 million. The anticipated $201.6 million in expenditures is 1 percent less than last year's budget.

Among the costs that have gone down the most are supplies, projected to be 8.2 percent lower than the past year.

Schaumburg Finance Director Lisa Happ said there are some supplies purchased only every other year. The projected savings might also be a result of fewer vehicles due to be replaced, she added.

The village's general fund, which is its main operating budget, includes $87 million in expenditures — the same as last year — and $93 million in projected revenues.

Of the $25 million in capital projects, $18.7 million — about 61 percent — is going to roadway and bikeway improvements. Other top projects include the implementation of a four-year plan to replace aging water meter transmitter units, and $1 million to mitigate the impact of the emerald ash borer on the village's trees.

The continued construction of new tollway interchange ramps at Meacham and Roselle roads, a joint endeavor with the Illinois Tollway, is another project seen as a long-term investment in Schaumburg's economic growth.

Over the course of the next year, the village also plans to redesign its website, revise its comprehensive land-use plan and study the economic impacts of the Prairie Center for the Arts and Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center.

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