Swansea trustees hear public concerns over tax levy; finance committee forwards revised levy to board

Swansea trustees held a special public hearing and committee review on a proposed property-tax levy, hearing a string of public comments urging the board to tap reserves and to explain line-by-line why a tax increase is needed. After discussion, the finance committee voted to forward a revised levy proposal to the full board.

Residents at the hearing raised concerns about large reserve balances and transparency. “If somebody needs to be held responsible for that, that’s really critical to follow,” said Timothy, a Swansea resident, who asked whether reserves had exceeded ordinance limits and suggested using excess funds to avoid a levy increase. Brian Dudley and others also urged a financial audit and questioned whether the public notice estimate (roughly $380,000) could instead be covered by existing reserves.

Finance officials explained the mechanics behind the proposed levy and what it would fund. A finance official said Swansea’s portion of a typical property tax bill is small relative to other taxing districts — “about 8% of your tax bill” on average — but recommended continuing levies for ongoing liabilities such as pension and tort insurance that are driven by actuarial reports. Officials cited several line-item increases (IMRF, police pension, insurance, auditing) that together produced a near 6.78% levy increase, equivalent in staff calculations to about $176,816 in additional revenue. The administration also proposed a $150,000 corporate-fund allocation to pay for a new economic-development position; trustees discussed taking that $150,000 from reserves for one year while evaluating effectiveness.

Trustees pressed for clarity about when reserve balances rose and whether past practice violated the village ordinance. One trustee who had raised the reserve issue previously said the accumulation of about $6,000,000 in reserves “may have violated our code far before I ever became a trustee” and asked for a forensic review to determine when thresholds were crossed and who is accountable. Mayor and trustees agreed to form a small group of administrators, finance leaders and trustees to review those questions before final board action.

The finance committee ultimately moved to forward the revised levy package to the full board, with staff recommending reinstatement of the standard 2% buffer used to offset nonpayment; committee discussion quoted the new total levy package at approximately $2,782,521.90. The motion carried and the levy will return to the full board for final consideration and formal readings.

What’s next: The levy ordinance was listed for first reading and the revised proposal will appear to the board for final vote on the ordinance establishing tax levies for corporate purposes. Trustees said they will pursue an internal review of reserve accumulation and consider whether a limited, one-year use of reserves for the corporate fund is appropriate.