St. Charles to keep tax levy flat but boost utility rates

New budget plans will see St. Charles residents pay more. But the increase will come in drips, zaps and flushes rather than via their property tax bills.

The city's new budget year begins May 1. The budget plan calls for a seventh straight year of a frozen property tax levy. Slashing expenses and keeping city employee head count low has allowed the city to keep the property tax flat even through the recent recession.

Officials expect to end the current budget year with about a $1 million surplus.

The new budget calls for income to outstrip expenses by about $2.4 million. Despite the surplus, expenses will hit a new high water mark.

The previous record for city expenses was in 2008. There are 15 vacant city employee positions officials are currently recruiting to fill. Finance director Chris Minick said the city should be proud of how it's managed taxpayer dollars.

"We held expenditures below 2008 levels for nine years," Minick said. "I think that's quite an accomplishment. The prudent financial decisions that we have made during that time period have resulted in a fiscally responsible St. Charles. We're in a good place. And I anticipate that we'll be doing fine for some time."

The good place has come at the price of St. Charles residents paying more for water, electricity and wastewater treatment in recent years. The city operates its own utilities. Expenses outpaced income for several years until officials agreed to slowly increase rates to fully cover the operations a couple of years ago.

That trend of rate increases will continue in the 2016-17 budget.

Combined, the average St. Charles resident pays the city about $2,329 a year for electricity, water and sewer service. The new rate increases will see that average annual bill rise $132 to about $2,461.

Minick said that's still lower than the combined rates in Geneva and Batavia.

Residents will also see a new, 45-cent monthly charge for sewer service. The new fee will cover a phosphorus reduction project mandated by the Illinois EPA. The overall expected price tag is $7.5 million.

Minick said that means the monthly fee may hit $2.50 a month at some point in the future depending on the final cost of the system upgrade.

St. Charles residents have a chance to provide feedback on the budget plan. The public hearing is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Monday, April 4, at city hall.