Geneva adopts tax levy

The Geneva city council decided to not increase property taxes as much as it could have for the 2011 property tax levy it adopted this week.

It could have increased taxes by 1.5 percent over what it got last year on existing property. It decided to ask for 0 percent increase, plus some extra to cover any increase allowed by additional new properties. Since the value of that new property won’t be determined by Kane County until spring, the city estimates the new construction amount. The levy was less than that recommended by the city’s finance director, and still $20,138 more than what was extended last year.

Taxpayers will also pay more for the city’s loans, as the city expects that levy to increase by $57,865. The county clerk calculates that levy, which is not subject to the state property tax cap law. The levy was approved 9-0, although Aldermen Craig Maladra and Dawn Vogelsberg initially voted against it during an earlier Committee of the Whole meeting. Alderman Robert Piper was absent.

The council failed to adopt a levy at its meeting the week before, with Alderman Dean Kilburg saying the council had a moral responsibility to not increase it in “these tough economic times.”

Maladra disagreed, reading a two-page statement Monday night. He said it was not in the best long-term interests of the city. He said the city council has cut the General Fund budget by 22 percent over the past two years, including reducing staff and deferring capital investment.

He also said the difference in the proposed levies amounted to about $10 a year for a homeowner. “Does that $10 really lessen the economic impact to the homeowner? It may lessen the philosophical sting, but in terms of a budget it makes no difference whatever.”

But several residents who spoke said even a small amount matters, when added to increases in property taxes for other government bodies.

“That’s not the end of it for property owners,” said Russel Lefevre. “Where I come from, $80,000, even if spread over a $15 million budget, is not a drop in the bucket.”

Michael Olesen, an investment banker and owner of Stockholm’s Pub in downtown Geneva, said he hears complaints from a lot of people.

“What they want to see, what the citizens of Geneva want to see, is the drastic cuts you just referred to, Mr. Maladra,” he said. “Maybe you need to make those cuts so severe that they have to decide what they truly want their government to provide for them ... (so they) taste the alternative of reduced services.”

The levy is for property taxes to be billed in spring 2012. The city’s fiscal year starts May 1.