Arlington Hts. not quite saved by zero
Arlington Heights trustees didn't back a zero percent tax levy increase on Monday night, but they came pretty close.
After eight failed votes, the board went with a .32 percent levy increase that also included $1.375 million worth of cuts from the 2009-10 budget. Trustees Joe Farwell, Helen Jensen, Norn Breyer and John Scaletta voted in favor of the proposal while Trustees Tom Hayes, Bert Rosenberg and Tom Stengren voted against it. Trustee Virginia Kucera was absent. The board will officially approve the new levy on Dec. 15.
About 30 residents attended Monday's meeting, and most urged the board not to approve any levy increase.
After first backing a zero percent increase, Village President Arlene Mulder reluctantly backed the .32 percent levy increase.
"We need to give everyone a chance to breathe," Mulder said.
Citing the lousy economy, more than 100 residents complained to village officials about their original 3.75 percent levy increase request at a Nov. 17 board meeting. That proposed levy would have added about $46 to the tax bill on a home with a market value of $340,000. The new .32 percent increase shrinks that figure to an additional $4, according to village officials.
"The thing about governments is that we always get our money, that's the way the system is set up," Stengren said. "This year, it's time for tough decisions. We shouldn't get our money."
The village operates on a May 1, 2009, to April 30, 2010, fiscal year budget. Every December the village sets its tax levy, which is the amount of money the village can raise through the property tax. In March, the board then discusses each department's budget and that's when it will decide where to shave the $1.375 million.
"It will be an ugly budget process," Mulder said.
Like most suburban municipalities, Arlington Heights plans on spending more than it takes in during the 2009-10 year. Projected revenues in the general fund are about $62.1 million while expenditures are $64.6 million, according to Thomas Kuehne, the village finance director and treasurer.
The village also has a reserve account of about $21.6 million. However, Kuehne figures that account will decrease by millions of dollars every year, so that by 2014 that village's reserve account will be $8 million in the hole.
That's the figure that kept Rosenberg from backing the either the zero or .32 percent levy increase on Monday.
"I can't do it," Rosenberg said about the zero percent increase. "Based on the numbers I see for the future. And no one says it's going to get any better."
The vast majority - or about 80 percent of the village's budget - pays for employees' salaries and benefits. The village's portion of a resident's total tax bill is about 10 percent. The library fund consists of about 5 percent.