City property tax revenue to remain at 2008 level

On Monday, December 17th, the St. Charles City Council approved the 2012 preliminary property tax levy. This action was taken after presentation of the levy at a public hearing in November and consideration of ordinances to establish the levy at the December 3rd Government Operations Committee meeting.

Each year, the City establishes a preliminary levy that represents the maximum amount that is expected to be necessary to support city operations and payments of principal and interest on bonds that have been previously issued. Then, in March of the subsequent year, the levy is reduced to reflect what is actually needed. This final amount is typically much lower than the preliminary amount as bond payments are paid from other revenues of the City.

The chart included with this article shows the preliminary levy amount and the final levy amount for the past 5 years.

For 2012, the proposed tax levy to support city operations (the total amount of property tax revenue to be collected) is the same amount as last year. Again, the total amount of property tax revenue to be collected from residents and businesses will not increase. If the City Council approves this amount in March, this means that the City's tax levy will be essentially the same for the fifth straight year. 

This year, the total value of all property in St. Charles decreased by 5.2%. If your property value declines by 5.2% or more, you will pay less to the City than you did this year. If your property value decreased by 5.2% or less (or if it increased), you will pay more to the City than you did this year.

If you have any questions about the property tax levy, please contact the City's Finance Department for further information.