Board member Mark Shervat led an extended public discussion about the district’s 2025–26 budget and the upcoming property-tax levy, asking for more granular department budget information and options that would reduce the tax burden on residents.

"I think it's important for District 428 to be 100% transparent," Shervat said. He asked administration to provide department-by-department explanations for large line-item increases and to estimate future staffing costs ahead of the levy decision. Shervat requested the board be presented with at least one levy scenario that would "hold the taxpayer harmless," and another option that would tie the district's levy increase to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Administration and other board members explained technical limits on producing homeowner-specific tax projections, noting that actual tax bills depend on township equalized assessed values (EAVs) and county multipliers, which are finalized later in the process. The business office said it would provide approximate scenarios showing how different levy choices could affect the average homeowner, and confirmed it will present multiple levy scenarios at the next board meeting, including a hold‑harmless option and a CPI-based option.

Board members discussed the tradeoffs between lowering the levy to provide immediate taxpayer relief and preserving long-term district revenue to support mandated services, insurance increases and capital needs. One board member noted that repeated under-levying can lead to lost state funding opportunities and create long-term budget instability.

What happens next: Administration will prepare levy-option scenarios for the board that include (at minimum) a hold-the-taxpayer-harmless option and a CPI-based option, plus analyses showing sensitivity to township EAV changes. The board requested department heads present possible budget reductions if the board chose a hold-harmless scenario.

Selected quote: Mark Shervat, board member: "I want an option that does hold the taxpayer harmless where you pay the same amount. The district, in the past when we've done this, has collected more money every single year we've done that."