Mount Prospect reduces 2027 tax levy, eliminates debt

The Mount Prospect village board Wednesday adopted a $196.9 million budget for 2027 that largely will be funded without using property tax revenues.

The village is reducing its property tax levy to $17.9 million — the lowest in more than a decade and a 1.8% reduction from last year — and eliminating the debt service portion of the levy.

With diverse sources of revenue, the village can afford to rely less on property taxes and give taxpayers a break, officials said.

That translates into $8,292,793 in property tax abatements, funded through $380,000 from video gambling tax revenues being used to retire debt service, and more than $1.5 million from grocery tax revenues to ease the levy for police and fire pensions.

Village Finance Director Amit Thakkar said for an average home valued at $397,400, the village’s share of the tax bill will be $812. The bill would have been $1,192 without the abatements, he said.

The budget includes money to hire two additional full-time Mount Prospect police officers and two-and-a-half full-time equivalent employees for the Human Services Department. The additional officers will fill out the department's traffic unit.

“We are not compromising with our service level or staffing level,” Thakkar said.

The general fund budget is balanced at $97.5 million.

Trustee Colleen Saccotelli said eliminating the debt service levy is exciting for residents, as is having a fully functioning traffic unit and providing better human services.

szalusky@dailyherald.com