Kane forest board overturns its tax levy hike

Kane County taxpayers will see small but unexpected decreases in their property tax bills because of a last-minute change of heart Tuesday by forest preserve district commissioners.

Just last month, commissioners approved a preliminary budget for the district that called for increasing the district's tax levy. The increase would account for new construction that's come on the tax rolls in the past year.

In a 12-11 vote, commissioners at the time sold the plan to increase the levy by about $75,000 as a move to make sure all taxpayers pay for the services the district offers. But in the process, tax bills across the county would only drop by about $1.75 for the average $233,000 home. That's 39 cents less than they would drop under a full tax freeze.

With two of those "yes" votes absent, and some switching of votes, commissioners Tuesday overruled the budget they approved earlier. With calls to hold the line and find $75,000 worth of cuts instead of increasing the levy, commissioners voted to keep the levy frozen for a fourth straight year.

Commissioners Brian Dahl and Mark Davoust were absent from Tuesday's vote. They both voted in favor of raising the tax levy last month. Those absences automatically swayed the balance of the final vote in favor of maintaining the freeze.

Solidifying the change was the reversal of two "yes" votes from last month. Commissioners Bill Lenert and Joe Haimann both reversed their stances and voted in favor of maintaining the tax freeze Tuesday.

Haimann said that given more time to evaluate the tax freeze and hear from constituents, he was persuaded to maintain the freeze for one more year.

Haimann said he believes local taxpayers will already see increased tax burdens imposed by local school districts receiving less money from the state. Haimann didn't want the forest preserve district to add to that burden, he said.

He said he'll push to find a combination of spending cuts and use of Kane County riverboat gambling money to make up for the $75,000 in additional money raising the levy would have brought the district.

"If we can just hold the line for one more year, it's not a lot of money, but I think it will mean a lot to our taxpayers," Haimann said.

Monica Meyers, executive director of the district, said her staff will handle the unexpected funding cut the same way any homeowner would.

"If you don't get a raise, but you know your electric bill is going up, then you know you have to cut from somewhere," Meyers said. "Where the money ends is where the line ends."

Meyers said the district will likely cut back on capital projects. In recent years, with tight budgets, the district has cut way back on its annual program of converting farmland back to native prairie.