Mount Prospect considers freezing village tax levy next year

There is some support among Mount Prospect leaders to keep next year's tax levy flat, something the village has not done since 2010.

At a joint meeting of the village board and finance commission last week, Finance Director David Erb suggested a 1.66-percent levy increase, down from last year's 1.92 percent hike and the lowest since 2010.

The proposed levy of $19.4 million is $317,000 higher than this year's. The estimated tax bill for the village on a home valued at $350,000 would be $1,072, an increase of $18.

Erb said the village's general operating fund balance is expected to be $18.9 million, $5.1 million above the benchmark level. There has been growth in the reserve level for 14 of the last 15 years.

"We have got a good diversified revenue base. We have some strong growth in revenues," Erb said.

The numbers are so strong that Finance Commission Chairman John Kellerhals said the village should opt for no hike in the levy. The commission has recommended that for the last three years.

Trustee Paul Hoefert said he would support that.

"There are two times when you should reduce your levy. When things are really bad, which they were (in 2010), and when things are really good. In my mind, go to zero. We went to zero in the bad times. Go to zero in the really good times," he said.

However, he added, there remains uncertainty over how much funding the village will receive from the state.

"You don't know what the state's going to do," Hoefert said. "They keep chipping away at us."

Mayor Arlene Juracek said it is a scenario to consider. She expressed concern about rising costs for items such as police and fire pensions, but also pointed out that Mount Prospect Elementary District 57 homeowners recently approved a tax increase while Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 and Harper College are both planning November tax referendums.

"I think our homeowners are going to be witnessing an awful lot of what they perceive to be upward pressures," Juracek said. "So even though we always say we are only 10 percent of the tax bill, we are still money on the tax bill."