Glen Ellyn keeps village property tax levy flat for next year
Although the Glen Ellyn village board has decided to keep its property tax levy flat for the next year, the levy set by the Glen Ellyn Public Library has increased by 1.5 percent.
Of the $11.5 million combined levy approved by the board Monday night, $6.6 million will be levied for village operating and capital purposes - the same as last year.
The total levy for both entities combined increased by 0.6 percent, according to village documents.
Assuming all properties' assessed value grows at the same rate, a house with an assessed value of $417,000 last year would continue to pay $783 in taxes to the village.
This levy will be reflected in residents' property tax bills that they receive in 2015.
"I hope (it) sets a precedent moving forward for ourselves and the other municipalities that there is a point that we have to try to find efficiencies and work within our means and not always look to a levy increase but look to how we can spend money more appropriately, more conservatively, and offer value within the boundaries that we can afford," President Alex Demos said at the Monday board meeting.
But, assuming properties' assessed value grows at the same rate, a house assessed at $417,000 last year would be paying $8 more in taxes to the library, with taxes rising from $476 to $484.
Property taxes will make up 12 percent of the 2015 village budget revenues, and the other 88 percent of village revenues come from other sources.
Glen Ellyn Public Library Executive Director Dawn Bussey said this is an important fact to remember when thinking about the levy increase.
"We don't have the same options to raise revenue that the village does," Bussey said. "We don't have sales tax available, we don't have fees that we can charge and things ... our insurance costs have increased, we are giving a 0 to 2 percent performance-based raise to our staff, and without levying for extra dollars, we don't have those dollars to do those things,"
Along with the levy, the board also approved the village budget for the next calendar year. This will be the first calendar year budget for the village, which previously operated a May 1-April 30 fiscal year.
The budget's net revenues total to about $49.7 million, while net expenditures clock in at about $54.6 million.
Under the approved budget, the village's general fund is balanced and includes a small surplus of $60,337.
Finance Director Christina Coyle said the village's contribution to the police pension will increase by $172,000 under the approved budget and will take on the general fund's surplus.
Capital projects that are funded under the approved budget include work for street fixes and Roosevelt Road water main rehabilitation.
Water and sewer rates will also increase Jan. 1 by 9.5 percent, the last approved rate-increase of a 3-year plan approved by the board in 2012 due to higher water costs from the city of Chicago and the DuPage Water Commission, Coyle said.