Geneva asks for more property taxes

The Geneva City Council this week decided to ask for 6.3 percent more in property taxes for its general tax levy.

It approved a levy request of $6.33 million, up from $5.95 million in the 2009 levy.

The 2010 levy will be collected from taxpayers in spring and summer 2011.

Whether the city gets as much as it wants depends on what happens with the equalized assessed valuation of property in the city and how much new property is added to the valuation.

The general levy does not include levies for 10 special service areas. The special service area levies typically cover maintenance of common areas in some subdivisions, and streetscape work, snow removal and the cost of providing parking and enforcing parking laws in the downtown. These levies are paid by owners of properties within the areas.

The city's 2010-11 budget is $66 million for all funds, including the special service areas. About $36 million of that is in the water and electric funds, which are mostly supported by customer charges.