Aurora finance committee approves bond-abatement and property tax levy, forwards 2026 budget after debate

The Aurora Finance Committee on Nov. 20 voted unanimously to abate most general-obligation bond levies for 2025 and approved the citys 2025 property tax levy, then voted 5-0 to forward the proposed 2026 budget to the Committee of the Whole for further review.

Stacy Peterson, the citys chief financial officer, told aldermen the abatement item (25-0874) would remove $14,905,998.86 from property-tax bills for 2025 while leaving approximately $12,000,691.92 on the levy for debt service. On the property-tax levy (25-0875), Peterson said the levy consists of three main componentscity operations (about $47 million), pension costs and debt serviceand that the debt-service levy rose to cover ongoing public-facility projects.

Peterson estimated the citys tax rate would rise by about 0.0603 (final rates are set by county assessors in spring) and described the assumptions behind the projections, including a projected 7.89% blended increase in equalized assessed valuation (EAV) and a $3 million late change to the 2026 revenue forecast to account for expected casino receipts. She also said new data centers will come online incrementally, likely producing electricity-tax revenue over multiple years.

The budget overview showed $680.8 million in budgeted expenditures for 2026 (including carryovers) against $537.3 million in revenues, with the gap largely filled by prior-year carryovers and financing sources. Peterson said the proposed budget includes organizational changes and staffing reductions, with 135 positions reduced in total (54 seasonal/cadet/intern positions and 81 full/part-time positions; 31 vacant positions and 32 through attrition).

Much of the meeting focused on whether the city should reallocate funds within the proposed budget. Alderman Karl Franco proposed using money from the Transformation Fund to provide up to $1.42 million to the Aurora Civic/Arts Alliance (ACA) to cover a failing boiler and chiller at the Paramount and to extend Stolp Island Theater programming. The administration and ACA negotiators said they had reached a separate $2 million agreement with ACA during the budget process and emphasized ACAs budget had been approved by its board. Shannon Cameron, chief of staff, said parts of ACAs reported shortfall represented non-cash depreciation and that ACA carried cash reserves of roughly $1.7 million.

Other aldermen urged precision before changing the $2 million agreement, asking for the ACA treasurer or representatives to present exact line-item needs. Several members expressed concern for downtown restaurants that rely on Paramount programming, with Alderman Patty Smith warning the city had already lost $1 million in the BOLD series and that further cuts could hurt downtown businesses.

Public-safety spending was a separate thread. Franco also proposed redirecting roughly $389,000 to the Aurora Police Department to restore a cadet program, a crime analyst and a traffic secretary; Police Chief Matt Thomas outlined priorities (restoring training, cadet pipeline and select sworn positions) and said the department could use partial funding while prioritizing sworn recruitment and training.

Fire Chief Dave McCabe addressed concerns about possible "browning out" (temporarily taking out of service) two ladder trucks if staffing declines. McCabe described browning as a staffing-flexibility response to attrition and overtime budgeting rather than a permanent closure, and said the department would keep vehicles in service when staffing permitted.

Chairman Ted Mesiakos concluded the session by calling for a motion to forward the budget to Committee of the Whole; the motion passed 5-0. The committee also approved the abatement ordinance, the property-tax levy ordinance and a Special Service Area extension for SSA 90 (Plum Street & Howard) by unanimous votes during the meeting. The budget will go to the Committee of the Whole Dec. 2, a public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 9, and the city council will consider the tax levy Dec. 16.

The committee adjourned at 4:57 p.m.