DeKalb homeowners could see tax savings in 2022 under proposed City of DeKalb levy

DeKALB – DeKalb homeowners could see tax savings in 2022 under a proposed tax levy in the City of DeKalb.

The DeKalb City Council will hold a public hearing and first-round vote on the measure Nov. 8, said DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas. The hearing will be to consider how much the City of DeKalb will levy on homeowners’ property tax bills in 2022.

The proposed tax levy rate is 0.98%, a drop from the 2021 rate of 1.06%, which DeKalb property owners paid on their 2020 tax bill, documents state. Homeowners would pay the 2022 tax levy rate on their 2021 tax bill, which the City would collect in 2022.

DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes praised City officials for their finance work, and cited property taxes as a common grievance aired by residents during his 2021 mayoral campaign.

“The work you did to continue the trend of the reduction of our tax rate, but then also to be able to move dollars out of people’s pockets, is pretty incredible,” Barnes said.

City officials said the levied revenue would go in full to the police and fire pension debt, as it has in recent years, according to documents.

Nicklas told the city council recently he is proposing a total equalized assessed value, or EAV, of $6,845,317 for the fiscal year 2022 tax levy. He said city officials arrived at that number because of the Illinois pension crisis remains the “big pea under our mattress.”

Nicklas said the city’s actuarial obligation for pension funding in 2021 was “a little over $8 million.” He said Illinois state government requires municipalities to have their police and fire pensions funded at 90% by 2040.

“Which basically means...a minimum we should pay just to stay level with our funding ratios,” Nicklas said. “[The City is] in a position this year to meet our obligations and to expand our services while reducing the city tax rate.”

For a home valued at a $100,000 EAV, or about $300,000 market value, “the actual taxes would go down about $65 for that homeowner,” Nicklas said.

Ward 7 Alderman Tony Faivre said DeKalb is “not the only ones in this boat” struggling to fund city employee pensions. If approved as proposed, the 2022 tax levy would be the fourth year in a row rates have decreased for DeKalb homeowners, Faivre said. City of DeKalb levies account for about 10% of a property tax bill.

Ward 1 Alderwoman Carolyn Morris said closing of tax increment finance districts and more diversified tax bases account for the lowered rates.