Naperville considering property tax increase

Naperville is proposing a 2-cent increase in its property tax rate, but city council members say it's unlikely to become a reality.

Councilmen say the proposal is meant merely to provide a cushion in case the economy worsens and it's likely the rate will remain unchanged by the time property tax bills go out next spring.

Either way, residents can expect to pay more on the city's portion of their property tax bills.

Even if the rate remains unchanged, the city's portion of tax bills likely will rise by an average of roughly 1.4 percent as a result of slight increases in assessed values.

The proposed rate is 73.67 cents per $100 of equalized assessed value, but councilmen say they plan to cut it back down in spring to its current level of 71.67 cents.

At 71.67 cents, the owner of a $400,000 home can expect to pay just less than $920 for the city's portion of their property tax bill. If the 2-cent increase goes into effect they would pay roughly $25 more for the year, according to Karen DeAngelis, director of finance.

The city is facing a $14.1 million hole in its budget for the coming fiscal year, which includes a $5 million shortfall in general fund revenue, a $1 million cushion, a $6.6 million shortfall for road maintenance and $1.5 million to cover the proposed elimination of the roadway impact fee.

The city council held a public hearing earlier this week to let residents voice their opinion on the proposed property tax rate. The few who spoke urged officials to reduce spending before raising taxes.

Denise O'Hale asked councilmen to look at the budget line by line and question every expenditure.

Her husband, Tom, warned against a "spend and tax" mentality.

"I think a city has to simply say when it's over its budget it must stop various projects, it must reassess its budget, it must cut its budget," he said.

The city has been making cuts for the past several years. It faced an $11 million hole in the current budget and $5 million last year. Its cuts included 43 jobs - 20 that had been filled and 23 that were already vacant.

City Manager Doug Krieger has said additional staff cuts are possible. The city is also considering implementing a sales tax and raising its motor fuel tax.

Councilman Robert Fieseler told residents the city will make additional cuts to its expenditures as well.

"You are going to see after our discussions we are going to have very tough things to report to people about where services are going to go," he said. "We are going to do our best about what's core, what's discretionary."

However, he plans to vote against the proposed levy when it comes before the council next month because he feels the cushion will give the city less motivation to make the additional cuts.

Councilman Kenn Miller disagreed about the potential lack of motivation to cut. However, he said one of the challenges in making cuts is that three-quarters of the budget is related to personnel.

"There's some point where you have $5 million, $11 million and $8 million you're cutting three straight years in a row out of the budget ... there are not many pencils and pens left to cut out," he said.

Councilmen will vote on the levy Dec. 1 and determine a final rate in April.