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News
No change in Oswego property tax levy : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisNo change in Oswego property tax levy
| Newly levy totals $1.2M-same as this year; but rate shows slight increase
| by John Etheredge
| 10/11/2012
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The Village of Oswego will continue to account for a very small portion of the property tax bills village homeowners receive each spring.
Village board members voted 4-0 to adopt the village's annual tax levy during a meeting this past week.
The levy totals $1,216,000, the same amount as the village levied for this year, according to information provided by Mark Horton, the village's finance director.
This year the village's tax rate for every $100 of equalized assessed valuation (EAV) was 0.1453 cents.
The county treasurer's office calculates tax bills by multiplying the total tax rate of all applicable local governmental agencies by the EAV, minus any exemptions.
Under the 0.1453 rate, a village resident who owns a home valued at $225,000 that did not claim any available exemptions paid $108.97 in property taxes to the village this year.
But to offset an anticipated six percent drop in the total assessed value of all properties in the village this year, the village's tax rate next year will increase by one cent to 0.1546.
Under that rate, that same owner of a home valued at $225,000 that does not claim any exemptions this year, will pay $115.95 in property taxes to the village next year.
However, most village residents will likely not see an increase on the village portion of their tax bills next year even under the higher rate since the assessed value on most homes and other taxable properties in the village has been reduced.
Dave Maher, Oswego Township assessor, told the Ledger-Sentinel last week that he had reduced the assessments on about 19,000 parcels in the township, which includes most of the village east of Orchard Road.
Maher said the assessment on most properties in the township have been reduced between eight to 8.5 percent.
In a memo to the board, Horton noted the village continues to account for a very small portion of local property tax bills.
Horton wrote, "...it should be noted that the village was responsible for only 1.5 percent of the total tax bill taxpayers paid this year. The village received $1.50 for every $100 of taxes paid."
The village's annual tax levy accounts for just a fraction of the village's annual operating revenues.
As in prior years, Horton noted the tax levy revenues will be used to "support the village's contributions to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) and the Police Officers Pension Fund."
As proposed, Horton said a total of $1,056,065 in tax levy revenues will be placed in the Police Officers' Pension Fund and $159,935 into the IMRF.
"Essentially we will get the same dollar amount as we did last year. The support for village operations from property taxes will be the same. Any increased costs for village operations will need to be made up from other revenues-primarily sales tax revenues," Horton said.
Horton said the village's sales tax revenues have continued to grow, "every year, month-to-month so far. We are still trending upward."
Horton noted that a 10 year sales tax rebate agreement a prior board approved in 2000 with the developers of the Oswego Commons shopping center on U.S. Route 34 has expired. As a result, he said, the village is now receiving 100 percent of the sales tax revenues generated in the center's stores, which include Target, Dominick's and The Home Depot.
In addition, Horton said two other sales tax rebate agreements with other retail developers will expire in 2014 and 2016, respectively.
"Oswego is in pretty good shape financially," said Village President Brian LeClercq.
However, LeClercq continued, "We have just been going along here meeting our budget. We really don't have a capital fund to draw down from for capital projects."
Once the board approves a financing plan to pay for the relocation of a water main along Ill. Route 71, LeClercq said, "We will really be out of money for capital projects. If we have to do other large projects, we're going to have to sell bonds or find another strategy for raising revenue."
For the past several years only the tiny Village of Millington has had a lower tax rate than Oswego among all municipalities in Kendall County.
On a village resident's property tax bill, Horton noted that only Kendall County Forest Preserve District and Oswego Township have lower tax rates than the village.
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