Palatine approves 'no-gimmicks budget' for 2021
The Palatine village council officially approved next year's budget, which contains no property tax levy increase, a water rate increase of 25 cents per 1,000 gallons, a fee hike of 4.25% for discretionary things like building permits, business licenses and zoning applications, and raises for village employees.
The 2021 budget totals $118.1 million, a 3.76% decrease compared to this year's budget.
Mayor Jim Schwantz on Monday night called it "a no-gimmicks budget," with no changes in services to residents. He praised the work of village staff members, who presented a balanced budget with no increase to the property tax levy despite the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. "It just blows my mind," he said.
The village's philosophy is that increasing the levy should be a last resort, Schwantz said.
"It's my hope that others follow our lead," he said of other taxing bodies.
The village represents about 10% of residents' property tax bills. School districts have the heaviest impact.
The village will have 327 employees in 2021, down from 333 at the beginning of this year, due to a combination of layoffs and unfilled positions.
Nonunion employees will get a 2.5% salary raise. Employees in management and leadership positions are eligible for raises based on performance evaluations; those raises range from less than 2% to up to 3%, Village Manager Reid Ottesen said.
Ottesen is the village's highest-paid employee with a salary of $235,164. His performance reviews are done by the village council and are typically finalized in January or February.
Police union members are in the second year of a three-year contract, and also will get a 2.5% raise starting Jan. 1. The salary for entry level police officers is $77,792.
The village board also approved a new contract with its fire union effective Jan. 1. The current contract expires Dec. 31.
"It was a very collaborative process," Ottesen said of the negotiations between the village and Palatine Firefighters Local No. 4588.
The new contract calls for a raise of 2.46% for firefighter/paramedics and 2.51% for lieutenants in 2021, and a raise of 2.25% for firefighter/paramedics and lieutenants in 2021. The top pay for captains will be set at 5% above lieutenants' top pay.
The village and the fire union agreed to reopen the contract around Oct. 1, 2022, to negotiate midpoint salaries for 2023 and 2024 by using data from comparable communities.
The salary for an entry level firefighter is $66,655.
Still up in the air are eventual raises for public works employees, whose collective bargaining agreement expires this year. The village and the union will schedule meetings to discuss new contract terms.