Palatine tax levy stays level; rate actually may decrease

Palatine officials on Monday adopted the smallest property tax levy increase in more than a decade and lauded employees for making concessions that helped balance the budget.

The requested levy will increase 0.71 percent to about $21.2 million. That includes more than $9 million of abatements from various alternative revenue sources, including federal Build America Bond rebates and tax increment financing district revenue.

Village Manager Reid Ottesen projected the village's property tax rate will actually decrease by 0.2 percent to 91.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation - a rate not seen since the early 1980s.

The discussion over the tax levy took place in conjunction with the official adoption of next year's budget, with words of praise for concessions made by the village's public works, police and fire departments.

Public works employees, for example, agreed to a 1 percent cost of living increase in 2010 when they originally requested 4 percent.

The police union also met with the village to amend their contract due to budget constraints. Employees were to have received a 4 percent cost of living increase next year, but agreed to 2 percent in January and an additional 2 percent in July. Uniform allowances were also cut from $700 to $200.

State Rep. Suzie Bassi, in attendance to accept a village resolution calling for pension reform, lauded the village's firm financial footing given the economic downturn.

"I think you are my only town that is not in really dire straits," said Bassi, a Palatine Republican whose 54th district includes Palatine and parts of Barrington, Inverness, Hoffman Estates and Rolling Meadows.

Councilman Scott Lamerand also commended firefighters for stepping up to pay for $44,000 worth of new defibrillators using a foreign fire tax fund, a fund whose spending is left to the discretion of the department. That expense was originally budgeted in the village's general fund.

The firefighters union is the midst of contract negotiations with the village for its first-ever collective bargaining agreement, and Ottesen said talks have been positive.

"We cut absolutely everything we could and asked employees for everything they could throw into the kitty," Lamerand said. "We did the best we could to do nothing to the property tax."