Increase or decrease taxpayer bills? Sycamore city debates 2024 property tax levy

SYCAMORE – City officials this week said Sycamore can afford to pass a property tax levy which would offer taxpayers a bill about $62 less than what they paid last year, though some alderpersons said they aren’t sure that’s the best decision.

As city 2025 budget talks continued Monday, City Manager Michael Hall proposed a plan which would reduce the property tax rate to $0.55 from $0.62 for bills payable in the spring. Hall said maintaining the same levy request would result in a $62.21 reduction in city property taxes for the average Sycamore resident.

If the city sought to keep its current tax rate, the city would collect an additional $515,500 through its levy, a 13.62% increase in tax revenue, according to city documents. Under that scenario, property owners who’s property value increased this year would likely pay more in taxes to the city based on how much their property’s value increased, however.

Aside from keeping the total property tax levy the same, or maintaining the current tax rate, Hall gave city officials 14 other options to consider. Thirteen of those additional options would reduce the tax rate while increasing the total amount collected.

The final option would increase the property tax levy by 20%, and collect $757,192 more than in 2023. That large of a property tax levy increase would grow the city’s portion of the average property taxpayer’s bill by $29.20, according to city documents.

“[I’m] not recommending any of these percentage changes at all because the budget is balanced, but I just wanted you to see the kind of the ranges here of what that would look like if we were to do something else,” Hall said to the City Council.

The Council on Monday approved the city’s budget in a first-round vote but did not vote on the proposed property tax levy. Officials said there’s still time for amendments to be agreed upon before the final versions of the budget and levy are set. A final vote is expected in December.

Though Hall said he’s recommending no increase to the property tax levy, he said the city is in a position to consider its overall tax strategy – whether officials would prefer to keep the levy as it is for now and increase the levy quickly later, or work toward gradual increases over time.

“It’s just really a philosophy. I think that you all know your constituents, what you feel, and that’s kind of why I offered these options,” Hall said. “You have time until the next meeting to say, ‘You know what, collectively, majority believes we should do a two, a three, a four.’”

Sycamore’s tentative fiscal 2025 budget is balanced with an estimated increase of $2.37 million in total revenues to $26.75 million, and has an expected $2.37 million increase in expenditures for a total of $26.75 million.

Hall said he prefers to present city officials with a balanced budget that assumes there will be no property tax levy increase. He said he believes his proposed plan does just that, and also pays for a new main dig for the Sycamore Fire Department.

The city is currently budgeting $10.72 million for a new fire station by way of $2.5 million from the city’s general fund, $200,000 in interest income, and $8 million in bonds.

Third Ward Alderwoman Nancy Copple said she’s OK with that expenditure, and possibly more.

“We need our fire station, I want to be clear about that,” Copple said. “I wanted to go a little bit more expensive on the fire station, but that’s just me.”