Libertyville’s Village Board unanimously approved the community’s property tax levy for the upcoming budget year, which will increase the taxes of an average $500,000 home in Libertyville by $18, village documents state.
At a public hearing on Nov. 24 for the levy, no residents spoke.
Officials said in November that the increase was necessary to help offset the rising costs of both the fire and police pensions, which is about $181,000. With the new rate, the levy will increase a total of about $196,000, which Libertyville Financial Director Nicholas Mostardo said in November was the only option being considered that covered the pension changes completely.
Like many other municipalities, officials said the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic hit Libertyville’s revenues hard, and forced them to amend their budget mid-way through the year. The village’s previous fiscal year also closed on April 30, which was just a few weeks into the pandemic. Because of this, the rate of return on a series of investments tied to the pensions, described like a “snapshot” of the portfolio at the time, was lower than anticipated, officials said.
A lower rate of return meant the village was on the hook to make up the difference.
At a finance committee meeting last month, village trustees considered three options for the levy. Of the two not chosen, one would have increased the average home’s annual tax bill by $7, resulting in about a $110,000 increase to the total levy. The other would have resulted in a $2 decrease, but still would have added about $44,000 to the levy. With either of these options, the village would have needed to reallocate money from its other funds to cover the remaining difference, officials have said in the past.
Despite the increase, Libertyville still remains one of the lowest tax rates in the area, with only Gurnee lower, village documents from Nov. 10 state.