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Algonquin holding the line on tax levy

Algonquin leaders are freezing the 2013 property tax levy and will only seek $5.4 million combined from Kane and McHenry counties. The amount marks the village’s lowest levy since 2007, officials said.

The plan is to hold the levy steady even after officials know the village’s equalized assessed valuation in the spring,

“Right now, everything indicates that we will have enough revenue leaving it as flat as it is,” Trustee Jerry Glogowski said. “We’ve still got our sales tax revenue, we’ve got all our other monies coming in, so we didn’t feel a need to increase it at all.”

There are also no plans to find revenue elsewhere because the village has saved and generated revenue in several ways, said Michael Kumbera, assistant to the village manager.

Over the years, the village lost eight percent of its workforce — 13 full-time people — due to attrition and retirements. The village did not replace those workers and people took on additional roles, which allowed the village to save money, Kumbera said.

Algonquin’s increased use of alternate and biodiesel fuels also means officials save money on diesel gasoline, Kumbera said.

Retail-rich Randall Road continues to be a cash cow, thanks to sales tax that continues to roll in. It allowed the village to budget $7.3 million in sales tax for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2014, Kumbera said.

“It still shows Algonquin is a retail shopping destination, which basically helps us fund our operations,” Kumbera said.

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