Palatine expects to spend record amounts on infrastructure in 2023

Palatine will spend a record amount improving the village's infrastructure this year, village officials say.

That includes $6.1 million on roads, $4.1 million on stormwater management and another $5.3 upgrading the town's water system.

"A lot of what we do is infrastructure," Mayor Jim Schwantz said last week during his State of the Village address. "We're over 150 years old, this community is. So our infrastructure is continually needing to be reinvested in. This is the kind of stuff that you can't just kick it down the road and hope it gets better."

As infrastructure spending goes up, the village is collecting less in property taxes. Village Manager Reid Ottesen said the village has reduced its property tax levy by 2%, to $22.5 million. Sales taxes now account for more than one-fifth of the village's operating budget.

"Every dollar we bring in sales tax is one less dollar we have to levy for," Schwantz said.

Meanwhile, the village is on its way to achieving its goal of being debt free by 2028, Ottesen said.

"If you go back to 2013, we had over $100 million in outstanding bonds," he added. "At the end of 2022, we were about $30 million."

The village expects to bring in additional revenue through an agreement with Deer Park. Under the deal, the village will provide additional water to the neighboring town in exchange for up to 40% of sales tax generated from parts of Deer Park that receive that water.

Schwantz also touted recent economic successes, including a new Volkswagen dealership and plans for a Belle Tire, Popeye's and Tore & Luke's, as well as new warehouses expected to generate $6.4 million in property taxes.

"I'll tell you this. There is one person in this room that can't wait for Tore & Luke's to open and that's me," said Schwantz, adding that when he played for the Dallas Cowboys and they visited Chicago, Tore & Luke's catered food for the team.