Fox River Grove to offset property tax increase by reducing electric surcharge tax
Despite a rise in property taxes, Fox River Grove residents are expected to pay slightly less in village taxes overall next year, village officials said.
The Fox River Grove village board approved a nearly $1.06 million property tax levy, an increase of about $84,500, or 8.6%, compared to last year, but also decreased electrical surcharge tax by 40%, according to a news release.
Between the two taxes, the village expects to collect about $4,000 less next year, the release states.
About 40% of the new property tax dollars will come from the tax-increment financing district near the Stone Hill Shopping Area and the intersection of Routes 14 and 22 ending, according to Village Administrator Derek Soderholm and village documents.
The end of the TIF means that instead of some of those property taxes going into a special pot to be used for economic development, they will instead go to the various taxing bodies like the village and school districts.
The village's levy also requests the maximum allowed under the state tax cap that limits how much many municipalities and other local taxing bodies can raise their levies by each year. The cap ties the increases to inflation or 5%, whichever is lower, and new construction added to the tax rolls.
The inflationary increase translates to an estimated $24.72 in additional property taxes for a home valued at $250,000, the release states. The total tax bill for that home is $8,052, $494 of which goes to the village.
The release notes that if the village does not collect the increase allowed under the cap, it loses that revenue - plus subsequent increases on that value - in future years.
"We know that our residents and businesses are facing some of the same impacts of inflation that the village is experiencing across its operation," Village President Marc McLaughlin said in the release. "Our board was committed to finding a way for the village taxes to remain flat, even though many costs out of the village's control continue to rise."
To meet that goal, the village board voted to reduce the electrical surcharge tax by 40%, which will reduce the amount it collects in that tax by an estimated $53,000, the release states.
The electrical tax pays for general fund revenue and general village services, Soderholm said.
How much an individual resident will pay in taxes next year depends on how much electricity they use and what their property's assessed value is.
The village still plans on a balanced 2023 budget, which has not been set yet, Soderholm said, adding that there were "hundreds of moving parts."