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Finance committee recommends policy updates: 2.9% levy increase, abatement, fee review and administrative surplus disposal
Summary
Staff recommended multiple updates to budget policies as part of the 2026 kickoff, including a recommended 2.9% property-tax levy increase tied to CPI, continued abatement of two water bonds, a planned fee-and-fine review, use of insurance-pool reserves for premiums and safety work, and administrative disposal of low-value surplus property.
Staff presented a set of recommended policy changes tied to the 2026 budget kickoff and asked the committee for guidance. "We would recommend that we would be increasing the property tax levy by that 2.9," a staff member said, referring to the Department of Revenue’s announced CPI limit for the levy year. The committee discussed continuing the village’s practice of abating the taxes on two water bonds issued in 2020 and 2023 and paying that debt service from water funds instead of a property-tax levy.
On fees and fines, staff said they are surveying surrounding communities and will present recommendations on which charges could be adjusted to shift some revenue burden away from property taxes. "That will be coming before you within a month or so," staff said.
Staff also proposed drawing down reserves held in the village’s insurance pools (IRMA for property/casualty and IPBC for medical/dental) to offset premium increases and reimburse safety-related work on village facilities. "We do have healthy reserves in both of those pools, primarily reserved for large claims," staff said; committee members asked staff to analyze the financial impact of changing the village’s $50,000 per-claim deductible.
Separately, staff proposed clarifying the donation and sponsorship policy to include discounts in the definition of donations and to keep a running list of Public Safety Foundation contributions for committee review. Finally, to streamline low-value disposals that were taking up space during the Second Floor renovation, staff recommended allowing the village manager to dispose administratively of surplus property with market value under $1,000 and to present an annual report of such disposals to the committee.
The committee provided feedback and asked staff to return with draft language and financial analyses; no formal change to policy was adopted at the meeting.
