Mount Prospect board set to approve $148.2 million budget, 5% hike in tax levy

Mount Prospect trustees are expected Tuesday to approve $148.2 million budget for 2023, as well as a 5% increase in the town's property tax levy.

The budget anticipates $143.2 million in revenues to go with the $148.2 million in expenses, but Finance Director Amit Thakkar said it is overall a balanced budget.

"It looks like we are having a deficit, but it's a timing issue," he said. "We have received revenues in one year (and) issued bonds in one year, but we are going to spend those revenues in another year. That's why it looks like we are having a deficit. But it's not a deficit. It's a timing issue."

The village's property tax levy is expected to rise from $19.4 million to $20.4 million. Thakkar said the village does not yet have data indicating how much more a typical homeowner should expect to pay next year as a result.

Last year, the owner of an average home valued at $330,200 paid the village $1,031.

Officials said the village saved taxpayers some money by dipping into the general operating fund to spend $750,000 for public safety pensions and $1.4 million for bond abatements.

Water and sewer rates will go up 8%, with the average monthly bill rising from $89 per month to about $96. Waste collection rates will be 3.5% higher, from about $262 to about $271 per year.

But residents will not have to pay for a village vehicle sticker, since the budget calls for a one-year sunset of the program.

The village's capital program, called its Community Investment Plan, will receive $28.4 million in funding, $5 million of which is from the federal American Rescue Plan.

The village's balance in the general fund reserves is expected to be more than $35 million, 48% of the general fund expenses and 4% higher than the fund balance in 2021.