Village of Huntley approves a flat tax levy and a balanced budget for 2021
Before the new year, the Village of Huntley came to a decision on December 10 to approve of a flat tax levy for 2020 taxes as well as approve of the 2021 balanced budget which commenced the first day of January.
The Village’s 2020 tax levy request was just shy of $4.8 million which according to the meeting packet provided, follows the Village’s financial policies to increase the Village’s police pension obligation which is to be 90% funded by the year 2040. As of 2019, the police pension fund level was at 57.9% funded.
In other words, there was a 22.6% increase of $1.2 million more than the 2019 tax levy. In order to keep the 2020 tax levy at a zero dollar increase from the year prior, the Village decreased the dollar amount in the general operations fund, the Village’s main operating fund, by $220,807, the same amount that went into the police pension fund.
Another point of interest in the Dec 10 meeting was a consideration to amend the tax rolls and abate taxes for each Special Service Area (SSA) in the Village for the 2020 levy year for taxes payable in 2021.
To help provide a little more context into what this actually means for Huntley homeowners, Cathy Haley, the finance director for Huntley, explained, “So, SSA five is a maintenance SSA, because there’s no homeowner’s association for that particular residential subdivision, so the Village takes care of like the annual landscaping, lawn maintenance, etc. So, we levy taxes to cover those costs, which is pretty minimal. But SSA six through ten are SSA’s that are not maintenance SSA’s, they were put into place when the contractor built those subdivisions and the contractor took out a 30-year bond to pay for infrastructure.”
Infrastructure, or public improvements as they are also known as, includes maintenance of stormwater drainage, streetlights, sidewalks, etc. Haley stated that every year the Village uses a third-party financial consultant, MuniCap, Inc., to assess the rate at which the SSA tax will be levied, which is limited to a “Maximum Tax” that was set fourth in the establishing ordinance when the bonds were put into place.
The subdivisions subject to SSA taxes include SSA’s numbers five through eight which encompass the Southwind subdivision. SSA number nine is the Wing Pointe subdivision, leaving SSA number 10 as the Heritage subdivision. Based on the informational meeting packet, some subdivisions saw a decrease in their SSA taxes, while others had an increase. This was especially true for SSA number five who saw an increase in the amount of $5,000 that will assist in covering the increasing cost of maintenance as well as the request from the subdivision to enhance some of the entryway landscaping.
Haley added, “So, there is a levy on every individual homeowner but there’s a ‘Maximum Tax’ that is part of the ordinance. Whatever the levy calculation is determined to be by our third-party [financial consultant], the difference between that is to be abated.”
Residents interested in learning whether their subdivision is part of the SSA 2020 tax levy to be paid in the 2021 SSA tax bill can do so by visiting the Village of Huntley website and viewing page 23 of the December 10 meeting packet. More information on SSA taxes is also available on the Village’s website.
The proposed budget for the 2021 fiscal year that was approved by the Board of Trustees on Dec 10, includes revenues of more than $30.2 million with just over $29.4 million in expenditures not including interfund transfers. Compared to the 2020 budget, the 2021 budget proposed over $3.2 million more in total expenditures. More than 88% of that increase is due to three major improvement projects.
$2.1 million will be used by the Village to replace an aging water main along Route 47 from Main Street south to Mill Street; ending on Dean Street from Mill Street south to Martin Drive.
Another $1.5 million will be put towards the downtown tax increment finance (TIF) fund for stormwater management improvements to address drainage issues in the core downtown area and adjacent areas along Route 47. The Village also plans to use this money to redevelop the Village-owned Catty Building that would have the potential to incorporate a train station and related elements.
Lastly, the Village will use $1.9 million along with an additional $1 million from the motor fuel tax fund for the annual street improvement program and other pavement management programs.
Overall, the Village’s general operating fund for 2021 is kept balanced with over $12.9 million in revenues and expenditures. Other funds that indicate more expenditures than revenue, are balanced by existing fund balance, interfund transfers, and one-time revenue transfers, according to the meeting packet.
While Haley presented the Board of Trustees with various options for how the Village would move forward with its levy, she believes that the $0 increase was the appropriate approach.
“Ultimately there’s unlimited choices but you know, this year, especially with the COVID-19, [the Board of Trustees] really chose to hold the levy flat. So, no increase. [The Village of Huntley] has excellent financial policies that are put into place that they take into all of the factors. You know, and one of those factors is holding that tax rate steady or as low as possible. Especially at a time where there is this economic situation. I think it’s the most fiscally responsible choice that they could have made,” Haley said.
