Taxing Times Aren't Over Yet

"Breathes there a man with soul so tough that thinks his taxes not high enough?"  -- Anonymous

There are 26 separate line items on a Downers Grove property tax bill, covering most taxing bodies that provide services and assess levies to fill their annual budget coffers. They are summed into three main categories: county, local and education.

The 2010 tax year looks like it will be harsher than 2009, and public taxing bodies have responded in different ways. The following is not a complete list of Downers Grove taxing bodies, but should give you a heads-up with regard to what you can expect to see in your next year's tax bill.

Rather than use a hypothetical house, we'll use a real one—mine—and plug in the numbers. Despite being a small hovel of decreasing value, last year the tax bill on this home, which was assessed at $135,600, increased $215.64, to $6,020.58—a 3.7 percent increase.

Here's how your future tax bill might be shaping up. (Tax bills are always a year behind the current year, so 2009 represents this year's tax bill.)

DuPage County: $378.26 in 2009, representing 6.28 percent of the bill.

The County portion of your tax bill has gone down while the county levy has increased. How so? Two factors: growth, and new revenue sources. The county has been able to tap into growth to reduce individual tax bills, and tapped into the transportation tax to use for various budget purposes, while seeing a budget increase every year.

Pensions are listed separately so you can see that not only are you saving for your own retirement, but also chipping in $50.13 for county public employee pensions.

The DuPage County Airport Authority, despite running a business center, a golf course, dabbling in a high-tech business park and running an executive airport, also got $19.18 from this taxpayer.

Although the budget will again be larger, there is also a move to borrow $70,000,000 that, combined with transportation sales tax revenues and modest county growth, will probably result in any single tax bill remaining fairly flat.

Local: $1,506.87 in 2009, representing 25 percent of the bill.

This includes Downers Grove Township, the Village of Downers Grove, the Downers Grove Public Library, the Downers Grove Park District and the Downers Grove Sanitary District. Some individual highlights:

Village of Downers Grove: $879.18 in 2009, representing 14.6 percent of the bill.

The council on September 14 passed an amended ordinance that specified any shortfall in revenues would be made up with a hike in property taxes. Last year the village raised various taxes a total of $ 73.10. Included were taxes earmarked for the general fund, pension funds and the library fund, which is set independently of village council oversight but is incorporated into the village budget.

Last year was the easy year for hard budget. In fiscal year 2010 the nearly $500,000 shortfall was made up through property tax hikes. The shortfall is looking to be about the same for 2011, so it seems reasonable to expect a similar increase in the village portion, about $40.

The impact from any potential budget busters—police and fire employment contracts are up for renewal in 2011—will primarily start with the 2012 budget. The village has delayed some construction projects, strung out some others and has not borrowed additional monies, which would add to the village debt.

Last year's general fund budget hovered at $41 million and staff has attempted to keep the lid on costs wherever it can for 2011. Revenue shortfalls in sales tax revenue and other areas have been the budget buster.

The library's 2011 budget levy was set at $4.02 million, a decrease of more than $100,000 from the year earlier.

The village's 2011 budget is still being formulated, so any guess is just that—a guess. When all is said and done, expect the combined village portions of the bill to increase about $60.

Downer Grove Park District: $317.39 in 2009, representing 5.3 percent of the bill.

The park district mainly serves Downers Grove. The Southeast Association for Special Parks and Recreation independently sets its budget; the park district's portion is included in its own budget.

The 2010-2011 park district budget increased by $4.6 million over the previous budget, a dramatic 27 percent increase. That budget, however, see-saws more than those of most taxing bodies and last year was $3.1 million less than in 2008-09—a 15.6 percent decrease. The tax rate also decreased last year and in 2008 the levy dollar amount was flat.

The park board has discussed borrowing $6 million for various uses, which might smooth what appears to be a substantial one year increase in that tax line. Expect it to rise at any rate, probably close to $40 for next year's tax bill.

Education: $4,291.16 in the 2009 tax year, representing 71.3 percent of the bill.

Most Downers Grove residents pay taxes to Grade School District 58 and Community High School District 99. That analysis follows:

District 58: $2,112.98 in 2009, representing 35 percent of the tax bill.

District 58 serves as the elementary school system for the vast majority of the village, budgeting on a July-June school year basis. For 2010-11, the budget is expected to increase to $59.5 million, despite cost controlling measures.

District 58 has also borrowed money to fix roofs, and is sitting on $3 million that was borrowed but not yet spent. This money will be used for future "life safety" building maintenance projects that should help mitigate future budget and tax increases. Factors that could force higher taxes include the state's failure to pay District 58 back for what residents sent down to Springfield as taxes.

Based on the proposed budget, this bill would see about a $35 increase, which includes pensions.

District 99: $1,902.39 in 2009, representing 32 percent of the tax bill.

District 99 includes portions of several neighboring towns in addition to Downers Grove, which is why the tax bite is smaller per individual bill despite the budget being higher at $73.8 million. For 2011-2012, the proposed budget decreases by roughly $1 million.

District 99 went on a cost-cutting mission, increasing class sizes slightly, reducing or deferring capital projects, reducing heating and cooling costs, eliminating summer school busing, bailing on the Directions program, freezing some admininstrative salaries, and getting tough on suppliers where they could for no-increase supply contracts. This sharp cost-controlling should net a reduction of about $25 on next year's tax bill.

The total of all the pluses and minuses? I'm leaving out College of DuPage, which has gone on a spending binge of prodigious scale as it looks to become a world class…facility of its type? COD is the wild card that could tack another $40 on this bill, easy.

I'm looking for my 2010 tax bill to increase roughly $155, from $6,020.58 to $6,175. This would represent a 2.5 percent increase over the current tax bill.