Bunker Hill Village council adopts 2022 budget and sets $0.275000 tax rate

The Bunker Hill Village City Council adopted the city's 2022 budget and set the 2021 property tax rate during its Sept. 21, 2021 meeting, voting 5-0 on both measures.

City Administrator Karen Glynn presented the proposed 2022 budget, which had been filed Aug. 5, 2021, and described capital projects included in the plan: completion of a new water well to replace a 60-year-old failed well and a proposed detention project. The capital program is funded with cash and the issuance of debt for the well and the detention project, city staff said. Glynn also presented the utility and other fund budgets and noted that notices for the public hearings were posted; no members of the public spoke at the hearings.

After opening and immediately closing the public hearings with no public comments, the council approved Ordinance No. 21-556 adopting the annual budget for fiscal year 2022. The council also approved a maintenance and operations tax rate of $0.227338 per $100 of assessed value and a debt service tax rate of $0.047662 per $100, producing a combined rate of $0.275000 per $100. City minutes record that Ordinance No. 21-557 was adopted to assess, levy and collect ad valorem taxes for 2021 and subsequent years; the ordinance text notes the proposed rate exceeds the no-new-revenue tax rate and records an effective 4.14 percent increase in the tax rate. All roll-call votes on these items were 5-0.

The council and staff said the adopted revenue will support ongoing operations and prioritized capital work, most notably the replacement well and planned water/wastewater rehabilitation. Glynn said the city has received no public comments on the budget prior to the hearings.

The budget adoption takes the next administrative steps for the city's capital schedule and borrowing plan; staff will return with implementing documents and contracts as projects are bid and awarded.