Wilmette is financially strong but a property tax increase is in the offing to help pay for millions of dollars in public safety pensions contributions and capital projects, officials said.
Village staff have been working on the 2024 budget for months, said Village Manager Mike Braiman. He said the financial document includes a 2.94% increase in the village’s portion of the property tax bill. That’s the smallest property tax increase in the village in 25 years and will add $88 to the average property tax bill in the north suburb, Braiman said.
“The Village Board always tasks staff with the goal of keeping our property tax increases as low as we possibly can while still providing the level of service our residents expect,” he said. “It’s a combination of public safety pension obligations, debt service from pervious bond issuances for capital projects and funding daily operations and road programs.”
Wilmette has benefited from people moving from Chicago to the village in recent years, the end of COVID-19 related economic woes and state laws allowing it to collect sales tax from online sales, Braiman said.
“It’s helpful because we have such significant infrastructure and pension needs that being able to capture those dollars is critical to providing services,” he said.
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There isn’t a water, sewer or stormwater rate increase in the 2024 proposed budget and it includes considerable investment in the village’s 150-year-old infrastructure, Braiman said.
“We’ve worked really hard to limit the increases to our water rate and our sewer rate,” he said. “We’ve been able to hold those rates steady for quite some time now.”
Wilmette’s 2024 budget rings in at $100 million and over the next 10 years the village is projecting it will spend nearly $265 million on capital improvement in addition to nearly $100 million invested in the village’s separate sewer system. And like most municipalities, Wilmette commits millions of dollars every year to its public safety pensions for police and fire protection.
“State wide municipalities are grappling with this challenge,” Braiman said. “It’s just really difficult to keep up with those obligations. But we’re absolutely committed to fulfilling those obligations to our employees and trying our best to do it in a way that limits the impact to our taxpayers.”
The village is holding a 2024 Budget Workshop at Village Hall on Nov. 8. The Village Board is scheduled to give preliminary approval of the financial document on Nov. 14 and a public hearing and final board vote are scheduled for Nov. 28 at Village Hall.
“We know we provide a high level of service to our residents but it’s never going to be good enough for our expectations,” Braiman said. “We want to keep pressing forward. Being creative. Being innovative to improve quality of life for our residents and improve the services we offer. We’re excited about those initiatives.”
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.