Two weeks after voters overwhelmingly approved home-rule power for the community, village officials said one of their first acts would be an attempt to keep a 5 percent cap on property taxes in next year’s budget.
“We developed (the budget) with the intent that the tax cap stays in place,” said Janet Bell, head of the Village Board’s Budget Committee. Speaking at last week’s board meeting, Bell said the village’s auditor, Peter Skinger, “will see if we can voluntarily elect to have the tax cap apply.”
Village President Larry Kochel said leaving property tax rates in place would fulfill officials’ promises. “We kept telling the public we didn’t want to raise their taxes,” Kochel said. Continuing the tax cap “is our way to ensure that.”
Monee voters approved the expansion of Monee’s taxing powers by a 165-71 vote in a March referendum. Under Illinois law, communities with populations of less than 25,000 must obtain voter approval to increase regulatory and taxing powers. Village officials said Monee’s current population tops 1,200.
Skinger said the state-imposed tax cap, which affects the six collar counties in the Chicago area, is pegged at a 2.7 percent inflation rate. That will remain in place in Monee unless officials take action to eliminate it under home-rule power.
Although Monee now can take any action not specifically forbidden by the state, it probably won’t eliminate the cap, Skinger said. “We want to keep it exactly where it was,” he said.
Village attorney Joseph Perozzi said Monee formally became a home-rule community last Wednesday.
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Kochel and Bob Skurla, Chicago Southland Development Corporation executive director, had said home rule would help the village deal with population- and annexation-related growth.
Skurla, who had discussed the pros and cons of home rule with residents at village-sponsored meetings before the vote, admits that expanded home-rule power could mean increased opportunities for abuse, but reminded residents they could end home rule with another vote.