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Antioch trustees weigh replacing $900,000 grocery tax with a 1% local sales tax as capital shortfall looms
Summary
At a Village of Antioch roundtable, trustees and staff debated funding options after the loss of local grocery tax revenue, hearing finance staff warn a 1% non-home-rule retail sales tax would cover much of a $12 million five-year capital need while opponents said added sales taxes would burden residents and businesses.
Mayor Gertner convened a Village of Antioch roundtable to discuss how to fill a looming budget gap after the state-level change that reduced local grocery-tax revenue, saying the meeting would be a planning session rather than a vote. Finance staff laid out scenarios showing the lost grocery tax at roughly $800,000–$900,000 annually and the non-home-rule 1% retail sales tax producing an estimated $1.6 million per year (about $8 million over five years), which would cover the bulk of roughly $12 million in capital needs identified in the village’s forecast.
The finance director warned trustees that without additional revenue the village would face “serious cuts” to core infrastructure and services. “If you do not pass [the 1% retail tax], you still have $12 million in expenditures that you do not have a revenue source to cover,” the finance director said, urging trustees to consider the trade-offs between austerity and new revenue.
Trustees expressed divided views. Trustee Brent (participating remotely) said he could support replacing the grocery tax but warned that adding a new general sales tax could push shoppers and big-ticket purchases outside Antioch. “People are taxed out of their minds right now,” he said, urging caution about raising sales taxes that affect all customers, not only residents.
Other board members argued a locally raised sales tax shifts more of the cost to visitors and nonresidents who shop in Antioch, and that visible capital improvements would help justify an increase. “If the cost of things are going up, I can either pay it through property tax or sales tax,” a trustee said, urging the board to show residents how funds would be spent on roads, water and parks.
Trustees asked staff to prepare detailed scenarios comparing (a) a grocery-tax replacement only, (b) a 1% non-home-rule retail tax, and (c) combinations or hybrids for further public discussion. The mayor set a target timetable: staff should present options and scenarios so the board could consider a vote by early July if the board chooses to move forward.
No motion or vote was taken at the roundtable. The finance director cautioned that, absent new revenue, staff would need to identify large reductions in this year’s and future budgets to match the village’s capital obligations. The board agreed to continue the discussion in follow-up meetings and to do outreach to other municipalities and stakeholders to understand options and community impacts.
