Public Hearing for Tax Levy Set for Nov. 13

A public hearing for Yorkville’s proposed Fiscal Year 2013 tax levy will be held Nov. 13.

The estimated corporate and special purpose levy is $3,650,692, although the final number is expected to be lower, said City Administrator Bart Olson. The estimated $3.6 million figure is 6.1 percent higher than the approved $3.55 million levy passed in 2011, Mayor Gary Golinski said during Tuesday night’s council meeting.

The estimated property tax to be levied for debt service and public building commission leases is $1,257,909. Total property taxes estimated for the levy are $4.9 million, a .71 percent reduction in all city property taxes, according to city documents.

In 2011 city officials unofficially adopted a plan to reduce levies for Fiscal Years 2012-2017 due to the non-home rule sales tax referendum.

Officials speculate the amount paid by each homeowner under the new levy will be lower than the previous year.

A grassroots effort in Kendall County is urging all taxing bodies in the county to reduce levies by 20 percent. In an earlier report Golinski told Patch that property taxes in the county are too high, but said to reduce Yorkville’s levy by that amount would need require a cut of about $500,000.

“This equals about 10 full-time employees (with benefits calculated), or about 7 police officers. We're already understaffed in the Police Department, and have cut 30% of our employees since 2007.  Prior to this year, our employees have not had a raise in 4 years and have had to take furloughs. The Sergeants union and Public Works union have both agreed to wage freezes for the last two years and the Patrol Officers union agreed to no pay range increases for the past 4 years,” Golinski said.

The city's budget for the fiscal year starting May 1 estimates about $11.1 million of the $23.2 million in revenues will come from property taxes.

Overall, the budget anticipates a slight surplus of $20,161, but leaders expect a $931,242 surplus in the general fund. That would bring the general fund's balance to $1.59 million on April 30, 2013, or about 14 percent of the $11.4 million in expenses for the year. City leaders want to have about 15 percent of the fund's annual expenses in savings.