Will County board votes to hold estimated aggregate levy at 0%

The Will County Board on Oct. 16 voted to adopt an estimated annual aggregate levy of 0% for the 2025 levy year after a motion to amend a staff proposal for a 2% levy passed on a roll call.

The amendment to set the estimate at 0% was made by County Board Member Dan Butler and seconded on the floor; after debate the board approved the amendment and then approved the estimate-as-amended. The state's attorney reminded the board that this vote establishes an estimated aggregate levy required by law and is an early procedural step in the levy process: “this is only step 1 in the process,” the office said, and noted the estimate is required to determine whether the final levy would exceed PTELL thresholds that trigger additional procedures.

Why it matters: adopting a 0% estimate signals the board's intention not to raise the county portion of property taxes this year; members who supported the amendment framed it as relief for residents facing higher costs of living. Members who opposed the change warned it will force reductions in county operations or drain county reserves and discretionary funds.

Discussion highlights

- "Let's not raise the taxes this year." County Board Member Dan Butler proposed the amendment to set the estimated levy at 0%, saying the county should give residents a break.

- Dale Vitello, Will County Supervisor of Assessments, explained the timing effects of property-value changes on levy rates: "The assessments are based upon a 3 year average'... they lag behind," he said, underscoring that valuation changes do not immediately translate into levy-rate movement.

- The county executive cautioned that several funds and obligations could be strained by a 0% levy, saying the corporate fund would face a substantial hit and that tort and workers' compensation obligations could be underfunded. The county executive estimated that a 0% levy would require roughly a $7,000,000 reduction in the corporate fund to cover other obligations that remain legally required.

- Other board members asked for written detail showing where any cuts would be made; finance staff provided a back-of-the-envelope estimate that eliminating the 2% increase would reduce available levy proceeds by a few million dollars (estimates discussed during the meeting ranged around $2.5M'$4M for a 0.5% vs 2% comparison and roughly $3M as an order-of-magnitude for a 0% outcome). Those numbers were presented as estimates and board members noted they were approximate.

Formal actions and outcome

- Motion to amend the county's estimated aggregate levy to 0%: moved by Member Butler, seconded by Member Pretzel; motion carried on roll call with 12 in the affirmative.

- Motion to adopt the Will County estimate of annual aggregate levy as amended (0%): moved by Member Newquist, seconded by Member Reavis; motion carried on roll call with 12 in the affirmative.

What this vote does and does not do

The state's attorney and staff emphasized the distinction between this estimate and the final levy. Passing the estimate does not by itself increase taxes or change final allocations; it is an early required step in the statutory levy calendar and is intended to inform whether the final levy will exceed PTELL (the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law) thresholds that can trigger additional notices or procedures.

Next steps

Finance staff will incorporate the board's direction into the subsequent budget and levy work leading to the final levy adoption process later in the statutory schedule.