Carpentersville freezes property tax levy

Despite a need for additional income in the wake of a weak housing market and sluggish sales tax revenues, Carpentersville trustees voted unanimously to freeze the village's property tax levy amount.

The board approved an amended ordinance Tuesday night, lowering the requested amount from $11,228,301 to the 2008-2009 fiscal year levy of $11,042,864.

The funds are used to cover expenses related to pensions such as for the police and fire departments, to pay down debt service and refuse collection.

But with preliminary revenue projections for the 2010-2011 fiscal year already indicating a $2 million shortfall, the level of service provided will likely decrease further.

"These reductions will impact the service levels that the village can provide," Finance Director Lisa Happ said in a memo to trustees. "Village staff is working to mitigate that impact but it is almost certain that some services will be reduced or eliminated."

Still, trustees said asking residents to pay more under the current economic conditions is unsatisfactory.

"These are hard economic times. People are struggling," said Trustee Paul Humpfer, who advocated the levy amount freeze. "Now we are going back to the residents and asking the residents to pay for a public works facility. We are adding taxes on top of taxes."

Humpfer said it would be "pure speculation" to identify departments or areas that the village could trim from in order to make up the difference in revenues.

Although the village's equalized assessed value jumped 5.25 percent from 2007 to 2008, the estimated 2009 value has decreased to $710,822,906, a 1.34 percent drop compared to last year, Happ said.

Based on estimated property values from Kane County, Happ said the property tax rate would be about $1.35 per $100 of equalized assessed value after abatements.

The levy does not include a proposed tax that would be needed to fund the construction on a new public works facility. Village trustees and officials have said there is a potential for a tax rate increase to pay off a bond that will be needed to continue the village's capital improvement program and to build a new public works facility.