Niles trustees approved a property tax levy hike of 3.9 percent at a recent Village Board meeting.
Niles Finance Director Scot Neukirch said the increase in the levy represents roughly $186,000 of new annual revenue for the village. The money, he said, will be used toward Niles’ contribution to its police and fire pension funds.
Village staff originally recommended a 4.9 percent increase due to the underfunded condition of both pension funds, slow investment returns and increasing benefit obligations, according to village documents.
After speaking with residents, Mayor Andrew Przybylo said he recommended to Trustee George Alpogianis to make a motion to decrease the proposed levy by 1 percent.
In addition to Alpogianis, Trustees Danette Matyas, John Jekot and Dean Strzelecki voted in favor of the 3.9 percent increase while Trustee Joe LoVerde voted against it.
The levy increase will boost the average Niles resident’s property tax bill by $8 to $12, Neukirch said.
LoVerde said he wouldn’t support any property tax levy increase. He said the village should fund pension shortfalls with the money stored in reserves. Earlier this month, Neukirch said the village had about $15 million of uncommitted funds in reserve.
Though he cited concerns about potential losses of revenue as a result of decisions made at the state level, LoVerde said “when you’re sitting on substantial reserves it’s not fiscally responsible to raise property taxes on a what if this or what if that scenario.”
But Przybylo said funding levels for both police and fire pensions have dropped to 42 percent and 45 percent, respectively.
Cutting expenses rather than bringing in new revenue “won’t address the longterm complications of shorting those pension funds this year and the next year and the next year,” he said.
It’s also possible the village may lose a significant portion of revenue — up to $1.3 million — if state officials cut the share of Illinois income tax municipalities receive on an annual basis, Przybylo said.
Strezlecki said his decision to support the levy increase was personal because both he and his children, who recently purchased homes in the village, pay taxes.
Citing Chicago’s major property tax increase and that city’s massive pension shortfall, he said, “I don’t want Niles to kick the can down the road; I don’t want (my children) to have to pay for what happened in Chicago this year.”
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Przybylo said he believes the “politically expedient” thing to do would be not to raise taxes on residents and businesses.
“You have to do the right thing aside from the politics of it all, and that’s just what I’m trying to do up here,” he said.
LoVerde said he wasn’t voting no for any political gain.
“It’s not about politics, so I will stay by my vote,” he said.
Trustee Denise McCreery was absent from the meeting.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.