Schaumburg prepares new, lower tax levy

As predicted in the spring, Schaumburg officials are recommending the village’s third property tax levy this fall be reduced by 6.1 percent from last year’s, due to continuing improvements in other revenues like sales tax.

“We are doing what we promised we would,” said Village Trustee George Dunham, who chairs Schaumburg’s finance committee.

At Monday’s finance committee meeting, village staff recommended a levy of $21.3 million for 2011. This and other revenues are expected to leave the general fund with reserves of $3.8 million at the end of the 2012-13 fiscal year — which is 4.25 percent of projected operating expenses for a single year.

The village’s first and highly controversial property tax levy was approved in December 2009 after what officials called an extended period of declining consumer taxes that had reduced financial reserves to an all-time low.

But several elected officials said freeing the village of a property tax again was their ultimate goal — even though a new financing plan for garbage pickup was specifically tied to the tax.

Schaumburg’s first property tax levy was for $23.7 million. Officials claimed to be making good on their promises as early as the second levy, which was $22.7 million, or 4.4 percent lower than the first.

The village board is expected to formally set the newly recommended tentative levy at its Sept. 27 meeting for a first formal reading on Oct. 11.

Final approval of the levy must occur by Dec. 27, but the village is currently planning on holding the second reading and consideration of final approval on Nov. 22.

Schaumburg Village Manager Ken Fritz explained that a certain level of financial reserves are of help to the village in counteracting uncertainties in the economy and the level of state funding, of which there have been many in recent years.

From the 2006-07 through the 2009-10 budget years, the recession depleted the village’s reserves from $26 million to $9.8 million.

These reserves were originally hoped to help the village ride out the economic downturn without turning to a property tax. But the reserves had sunk to nearly rock bottom by the time the village board approved the first levy 21 months ago.