Wilmette village trustees passed their $16.07 million 2014 property tax levy with little fanfare on Dec. 9, approving a document that will bring in roughly 21 percent of all revenue the village collects next year.
The village levy revenue will also finance about 41 percent of village spending that doesn’t include water and sewer funds, bond issues or grants, Finance Director Melinda Molloy stated in her report.
The village expects to incur expenses of $79.27 million in 2015, an amount financed also by non-property tax revenue, water and sewer fees, bond proceeds and other non-tax sources. Trustees passed the budget at their Nov. 25 meeting.
As they have since beginning their 2015 budget process, board and staff members pointed out that the levy features the lowest increase – 3.35 percent – in 16 years.
One person, Vista Drive resident Louis Cahn, spoke at the board’s levy hearing and asked if the board had a balanced budget. Village President Bob Bielinski told him the budget was balanced. He also said a large part of the board’s costs are personnel-driven: “you need people. You can’t have a computer drive a plow or an ambulance.”
“As a service organization, we are driven by our head count.”
As approved, the levy includes $3.35 million to pay down existing village bond debt, with the rest of the levy going to operating $6.02 million for the police pension fund and $6.33 million for the fire pension fund, as well as appropriations for several smaller funds.
The levy must be filed with Cook County before the end of this month.