Mount Prospect avoids tax increases, layoffs

The Mount Prospect village board on Tuesday unanimously passed its tax levy, which will drop slightly this year, allowing village taxpayers to experience a slight decrease in their village tax bill.

The village's portion of residents' property tax bill will stay about the same, said Dave Erb, the village's finance director.

Owners of a typical Mount Prospect home, assessed at about $372,000, will find the village portion of the bill to be about $2 less than last year's bill. That's a reflection of a .42 percent decrease in the tax levy, he said. However, the village only makes up about seven percent of the entire bill, so residents might see an overall increase due to the other taxing bodies including schools, which levy their own taxes.

While the village board was pleased with the levy this year, some members stressed the village had to continue to hold the line in such hard economic times.

"We need to be vigilant," said Trustee Steve Polit, who also commended the village staff for its efforts to keep costs down. "We must remain (fiscally) conservative."

Other villages have had to lay off employees to make ends meet, but Mount Prospect will not be taking such steps, Erb said. The village has been fortunate that its revenue streams are more diversified than some other towns, he said.

As the largest part of the village's revenue, sales tax revenue accounts for only 14 percent of money taken in by the village. Also, the village has a lot of discount retailers like Wal-Mart, Kohl's, Home Depot, Menards and Costco, which have done well even in hard economic times as more people tend to shop there. The village's sales tax revenue, about $14 million, has remained steady as a result.

There have been declines in other sectors, such as real estate transfer taxes and building permits. But the village has cut costs by asking its staff to reduce buying supplies. Also, the village received a $500,000 building permit fee from the redevelopment of Randhurst Shopping Mall, which closed its inner mall last year, leaving its anchors open. Developers expect to gut the mall next year and build a series of new shops and hotels in its place.