December 15, 2024
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Yorkville special census price tag is about $600K more than originally thought

Originally approved for $300K, new total is nearly $900K

By Joey Weslo
The Yorkville City Council approved the 2024 tax levy at their Oct. 8 meeting. The tax levy will be further discussed at a public hearing at the Nov. 12 meeting to pave finalization for the levy that is projected to result in savings for Yorkville homeowners on their property bills.

The Yorkville City Council unanimously approved at their Dec. 10 meeting a special census that will potentially rake in an extra $1 million dollars for the city coffers annually, and qualify the city for Home Rule status. (Joey Weslo)

Even though conducting a special census will cost Yorkville around $600,000 more than expected, city officials still approved one because the town’s population increase could bring an extra million dollars annually in tax revenues.

City officials originally planned to conduct a special partial census for around $300,000, but the Census Bureau informed the city they now only permit full censuses, which will cost Yorkville $899,950.

The 2020 US. Census calculated Yorkville’s population at 21,533 citizens. Since then, the area has experienced a surge in housing development and population. The town receives $250 annually per resident in state tax disbursements based upon calculation.

In October, city officials estimated the current population of Yorkville to be 25,732. If the special census confirms that number, it could bring an additional $1,050,000 to the city’s coffers annually. When they conduct the special census, the city expects the figure to be even higher than their October estimates.

The city would receive the first payment tentatively in January, 2026, according to city documents. The next official U.S. census takes place in April, 2030.

“It’s a big chunk of money upfront, but we will get it back real quickly,” Mayor John Purcell said at the Dec. 10 City Council meeting.

At the meeting, the City Council unanimously approved conducting the special census.

According to city documents, Yorkville has more than 1,500 new residential housing permits since the completion of the last 2020 census.

Another large impact of officially documenting the city’s population increase is the potential to qualify for Home Rule status. Towns qualify for the status once the Illinois Secretary of State certifies the community has a population over 25,000.

Home rule status is a big deal because it enables communities to perform city governance with broader authority without having to seek approval from state officials. City staff can move more quickly to explore solutions for local issues through implementation of new policies, establishing new regulations, and creating new taxes.

At the meeting, many alderman questioned how certain the city was they would cross this population threshold by conducting the special census.

“I’m fairly confident that we’ve already passed it and then we have a couple hundred new housing starts this year that have not yet factored into that analysis,” Bart Olson, city administrator, said at the meeting. “We also have a few townhouse developments that are in the hundreds of unit ranges. I do not think we will have an issue.”

At the meeting, the City Council also unanimously passed codification of the city’s non-Home Rule 1% sales tax.

The action should not make any new dents in shoppers’ wallets, because the sales tax has been imposed since a resolution in 2012. The tax was authorized by a referendum in 2011.

Sales taxes do not need to be officially codified in order to be collected, but doing so helps with fiscal planning and city administration duties.

“It’s good for transparency purposes,” Olson said at the meeting. “It does not change how we collect it, the amount of it, or anything else. It just gives it a citation number within the city code.”