DuPage County approves $5 million reduction in property tax levy

DuPage property owners will see a one-time reduction in taxes they pay to the county government.

County board members have agreed to abate $5 million in property taxes. The tax abatement will save the owner of a $365,000 home – the median in DuPage – $13.86 on average.

That owner now pays about $193 in property taxes to the county. After the abatement on next year’s tax bills, that figure will drop to about $179. That represents about a 7% reduction to the county portion of the property tax bill next year.

Board member Jim Zay led the charge for property tax relief as the county stands to reap a $40 million budget surplus by the end of fiscal 2022. Zay and other Republicans put the abatement proposal to a vote Oct. 25. The full board approved it without any discussion.

“The county has received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds and increases in sales tax revenue while our residents are dealing with rising costs due to inflation and declines in the stock market,” Zay said in a statement. “We need to provide any help we can to our residents.”

Sales tax revenue – a primary source of the unusually large surplus – grew by $21.4 million, or 19.6%, when compared to original budget estimates.

A state-imposed property tax cap limits most local governments to levy increases of 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.

But a 7% growth in the inflation rate from December 2020 to December 2021 means local governments can boost their property tax haul to the maximum level this year, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.

However, in his final budget address, county board chairman Dan Cronin last month proposed accounting only for new construction growth in the next levy “to equalize the burden on us all.”

The resolution passed by the board last week states there is sufficient corporate fund revenues and reserve balances to abate $5 million from the corporate fund portion of the county’s tax levy.

The county board is set to take a final vote on the 2023 budget on Nov. 22. The county’s new fiscal year starts Dec. 1.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20221026/dupage-county-approves-5-million-reduction-in-property-tax-levy