Arlington Heights District 25 outlines tentative $90.3 million levy as Cook County tax timetable shifts

Stacy, the district's finance presenter, told the Board of Education on Nov. 11 that the tentative tax levy for 2025 will be set to capture available CPI adjustment and anticipated new growth, and proposed a levy of $90,300,000 as the board’s maximum levy request for the limited funds. "I am proposing the levy of $90,300,000," Stacy said, explaining that the figure was intended to protect the district's cumulative taxing capacity even if part of the levy is later abated.

Stacy reviewed how the levy process and tax-cap formula interact: the levy amount requested by the district is converted into each taxpayer's bill through equalized assessed value and the state's tax-cap calculation. She emphasized that asking for the full levy amount preserves the district's ability to capture future increases and that abatement is a tool the board can use later to reduce the collected amount without permanently losing capacity.

The presentation explained the components that determine the levy: the CPI (2.9% for the 2025 levy), a modest projection of new growth (the district estimated around 0.6%), and bond/interest calculations tied to debt issuance timing. Stacy noted that a triennial reassessment year can amplify assessed-value changes and illustrated an example projection that an average $450,000 home could see about a $145 increase on the 2025 bill under certain EAV assumptions.

Board members also heard that Cook County had experienced a software-related printing delay for second-installment tax bills. Stacy said tax bills were expected to be printed and mailed by the county and due in mid-December; if receipts were delayed into January the district would face cash-flow stress in the fiscal year’s second half. She described two contingency approaches staff had considered: issuing tax anticipation warrants (short-term debt) to cover operating needs until tax receipts arrive, or liquidating short-term investments early (potentially sacrificing some future earnings but preserving principal). "We had talked about what our options are, whether we were gonna issue what's called tax anticipation warrants... or looking at investments that we have and selling that off early," Stacy told the board.

Stacy recommended maintaining a prudential fund-balance target in the 40–60% range across the district's operating funds to protect against delayed receipts and large seasonal obligations (for example, bond payments commonly due in December). She noted that the district tracks the three specific funds included in the state calculation and remains below the statutory threshold that would obligate a formal reserve-reduction plan.

What happens next: the board received the presentation as an information item and Stacy said she would bring a tax-levy action item for board consideration and a public-hearing posting next month after the Cook County recapture figures are released (typically by Nov. 15 but sometimes later). The board did not set a final levy at the Nov. 11 meeting; staff said they would return in December with the formal levy resolution and a public hearing notice if required.