Schaumburg officials move toward lower tax levy

The Schaumburg village board will begin acting to lower the municipal property tax levy by 4.4 percent Tuesday night, when they hold a “first reading of the levy.

The board tentatively approved lowering the property tax levy by 4.4 percent on Sept. 28, but Tuesday will be the first of two readings, a necessary step before the ordinance can take effect.

With sales and hotel tax revenue up, Schaumburg officials originally proposed the reduction last month.

The village estimates the reduction will save the owner of a $250,000 house about $289 on 2010 tax bills, which is collected in 2011.

The village has received mostly positive feedback regarding the tax levy, Village Manager Ken Fritz said. Proponents of the board's recent action have been grateful for the proposed reduction, while others have taken issue with the timing of the move, just months before the municipal election.

A final vote on the tax levy is expected Nov. 9.

The municipal tax levy, enacted in 2009, is Schaumburg's first in nearly half a century Schaumburg's ability to avoid a property tax from its incorporation in 1956 had long been a point of pride for village officials.

But the impact of the longest, deepest recession since World War II was too great for the village to hold out any longer, officials have said.

The original 2009 levy was for approximately $23.7 million. The proposed 2010 levy is just under $22.7 million.