Politics & Government

UPDATE: Village Board Passes 2.6% Decrease in Tax Levy

Homeowners whose assessed value decreases or stays the same will pay less on the village portion of their property taxes.

  • UPDATE (8:23 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6): Added charts breaking down property tax revenue.

continued its tradition of lowering the property tax levy each year, approving an ordinance at Monday's meeting that decreases the 2011 levy by about 2.6 percent.

The 2011 levy, which homeowners will see on their March 2012 property tax bills, is about $3.04 million at an estimated rate of .3391. . For residents, this means that if assessed value of their home decreases or stays the same, they will pay less on the village portion of their property taxes, which makes up 5 percent of the overall bill, said Sandy Babka, village finance director, at a public hearing on the levy before the village's board meeting.

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"Once again this village board has managed to reduce the amount of the tax levy, and we believe we have reduced it enough that the tax rate will go down ... ," said Mayor Jim Holland. "This board is doing everything it can to reduce property taxes."

Since 2000, the village has been able to decrease the tax rate each year, and this is thanks in large part to Frankfort's reliance on sales tax as its main revenue stream, Holland said. In fact, with reports in through August of this year, the village is on schedule to reach its sales tax budget expectation of about $4.29 million and probably exceed that to hit $4.5 million, said Village Administrator Jerry Ducay.

Find out what's happening in Frankfortwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But the village also has made budget cuts and staff reductions in order to keep the tax levy low, said Trustee Cindy Heath.

"When we allocate the money to operate we can either tax more or cut less. And we decide to cut more and tax less," said Trustee Todd Morgan. "It's a novelty not shared statewide, but it is our practice."

However, another decrease in the levy means the revenue from property taxes also decreases again because of the continued decrease in the equalized assessed value, which dropped to 4 percent, Babka said. The EAV has decreased the past three years because of the reduction in housing development in Frankfort, and the resulting reduction in the property tax revenue has charted as follows:

  • 2008: $3.28 million
  • 2009: $3.23 million
  • 2010: $3.13 million

The public hearing to discuss the levy drew no attendance, something Holland called typical but other board members criticized.

"There's plenty of time for (community participation), said Morgan, adding that residents who want a say in the process should attend village committee meetings. "It's sort of sad to see the lack of participation."


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