Tax hike threat in West Dundee

Officials in West Dundee say a hike in the village's property tax levy is needed to make up a $350,000 budget deficit and to cover the anticipated rising costs for services.

Trustees on Monday directed the village's finance director, David Danielson, to draft an ordinance asking to increase the village's property tax levy from $2.175 million to about $2.612 million next year, an increase of about $437,000. That increase is estimated to raise the village's property tax rate from the current 76 cents to about 90 cents per $100 of equalized assessed value.

That increase, Danielson estimated, would cost the owner of a $250,000 home about $750 per year, or an additional $110 per year over the current rate.

But the actual rate will not be known until the spring when an accurate value of the village's property is known.

Danielson estimated the village's equalized assessed value would increase about 2.5 percent, the lowest increase the village has seen in more than a decade.

The small increase in the equalized assessed value - or the total value of property in the community - is due to the small number of new residential developments in the past year, Danielson said.

"It is a reflection of what has happened in the past 12 months," he said. "There have been a handful of new residential permits in the last year, but I would say it was less than 10."

The village's tax levy funds general expenses like salaries, but a large portion also pays for police and fire pensions, Social Security and insurance. Village officials said even if the village does approve a 14 cent tax rate increase, West Dundee would still fall below the tax rates of neighboring villages like East Dundee, Elgin and Carpentersville, with the exception of Sleepy Hollow.

A public hearing will be scheduled before the village board can impose a rate increase.