Politics & Government

City Proposes Reduced Property Tax Levy

Council reviews the proposed levy Monday before Dec. 19 vote.

Wheaton City Council will have its first reading of the Monday, Dec. 5. The proposed levy of $18,581,736 is almost $133,000—or .7 percent—less than the 2010 levy.

City staff and Council in a planning session Monday reviewed the levy, which includes levies for general purposes and the city’s debt service.

The general purpose levy of $15,092136 includes:

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  • $8,977,396 in its general corporate fund; 
  • $3,400,000 in its library fund; 
  • $1,782,779 in its police pension fund; 
  • and $931,961 in its fire pension fund. 

The debt service levy is for $3,489,600, a 2.4 percent decrease from last year.

City Manager Don Rose said the proposed levy is similar to last year’s, as staff assumes the city’s budget contains no new programming or activities beyond what the city currently provides.

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“I think this number fits in well with our other revenue sources to basically continue our current operations,” Rose said.

Council members supported the levy and commended staff on their efforts to reduce the levy for taxpayers. The 2011 levy would be the second levy that has not increased from the previous year, Rose said.

Councilman John Rutledge said, “It seems to me our taxpayers are not seeing an increase in their income, and it’s kind of nice we’re not putting an increase in their tax bill.”

Councilman Phil Suess acknowledged the staff’s work. For two years the city has maintain an unchanged levy, he said, “I think that reflects the work of the staff and some pretty important decisions the council made going back three years. I think we’re very fortunate to be in this type of position.”  

The Council will have its first reading of the levy at its 7 p.m. meeting Monday, Dec. 5 at . Council will vote at the following meeting Monday, Dec. 19.


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