Over the following six weeks, DuPage County voters will resolve whether or not to boost property taxes to assist the Forest Conservation District keep and broaden the property it owns.
Thursday marked the beginning of early voting for the November normal election in DuPage, and along with nationwide and native races, DuPage voting will embody a referendum by the county’s Forest Preserve District calling for a tax improve to strengthen its funding.
If accepted, the measure would permit the Forest Preserve District to increase for 2024 a property tax levy that’s 0.0350% increased than what state tax limits permit. For property house owners, the rise would translate to a further $11.67 in taxes for each $100,000 of dwelling worth, the district says.
As a consequence, the district would obtain about $17 million extra in annual income, Executive Director Karie Friling stated.
The further funding will permit the district to buy extra land within the coming years, full quite a few tasks and keep its present degree of programming and companies, Friling stated. Without the requested tax improve, these objectives can’t be met and a discount in operations could also be needed, the district says.
The district has recognized 250 acres of land all through the county that it want to buy over the following ten years with the extra funds. This is a precedence as a result of they wish to protect as a lot open house as doable within the county earlier than it’s developed, officers stated.
“DuPage County could be very developed, however we all know there are nonetheless some vacant parcels of land that haven’t been developed,” Friling stated. “We know as a district that if we do not act, (that land) shall be misplaced eternally.”
When requested the place the district plans to buy, Friling stated they are going to preserve these areas “confidential at the moment.”
Another precedence for the district is the completion of its 2019 Master Plan. Of the 32 capital tasks listed within the plan, solely about half have been accomplished, Friling stated. Ongoing tasks embody prairie and rangeland restoration at Naperville’s 1,829-acre Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve.
An improve in income may even make sure the district is ready to proceed offering the companies it gives “to make sure clear air, clear water and nice outside,” Friling stated.
In normal, the district’s working finances is topic to the state’s property tax extension limitation regulation. According to PTELL, taxing entities are restricted to an annual improve in property tax extensions of 5% or the earlier yr’s Consumer Price Index, whichever is decrease.
With this restrict, the district would have the ability to improve the tax for 2024 over the earlier yr by a most of three.4%, Filing stated. The referendum, if accepted, would primarily remove the cap charge, Friling stated.
Since 2020, the district has expanded to a flat charge, leading to an annual property tax levy of roughly $51.3 million over the previous 4 years. When requested why the district had kept away from imposing the state tax cap in recent times to bolster its income, Friling stated it was a operate of the district wanting to stay prudent as residents recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
But because the district appeared forward, wants and priorities modified. Visitor numbers, for instance, have seen a rise through the pandemic as folks flocked outside. Today the district averages round 5.5 million guests per yr. Before COVID, common annual guests had been round 3 million. The district additionally faces rising prices, Friling stated.
If the district’s referendum passes, Friling stated, “We’re fairly assured … that it’ll maintain us for an additional decade or two,” which is able to forestall the district from “repeatedly coming again to the taxpayers for extra money.”
Until October nineteenth early in-person voting shall be accessible in DuPage County from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to midday Saturdays at a handful of areas, together with the Naperville Municipal Center at 400 S. Eagle St.
