Suzanne Willis, DeKalb County Board Chair | DeKalb County
Suzanne Willis, DeKalb County Board Chair | DeKalb County
DeKalb County Finance & Administration Committee met Nov. 29.
Here is the agenda provided by the committee:
1. Roll Call
2. Approval of Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes
a. Minutes from November 1, 2023
4. Public Comments
Any member of the public may address the Committee for up to 3 minutes on any topic of their choosing. There will be no yielding of time to other members of the public and agenda time for public comments is limited to 30 minutes in total.
5. Public Hearing
A Public Hearing to obtain public comment and consider the proposed property tax levy and Fiscal Year 2024 Budget for the DeKalb County Government. Detailed information regarding the proposed property tax levy can be found in Ordinance O2023-27. The full proposed FY24 budget document can be found on the County’s website at: https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FY2024-Budget-Recommendation 09062023.pdf
6. Ordinances
a. Ordinance O2023-27—An Ordinance of the County of DeKalb Providing for Tax Levies.
The County’s annual property tax levy must be adopted by the end of the calendar year. DeKalb County is subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), commonly referred to as “tax caps”. PTELL restricts extension limitation for the year to the lesser of 5% or the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index during the twelve-month calendar year preceding the levy year. For 2023-24 extensions, the County’s cap has been established at 5%.
It is recommended for the 2023-24 levy year that the County does not levy to the cap and rather only pick-up equalized assessed valuation (EAV) that is the result of new construction while working to reduce the tax burden on existing taxpayers.
The starting point when considering the property tax levy is to understand the County’s equalized assessed valuation (EAV) for the coming year. Estimated EAV figures are still not finalized, however the figures are coming together and can provide an idea of what the County’s levy will mean to property taxpayers. DeKalb County’s final rate setting EAV in 2022-23 was $2,653,858,975. An overall assessment factor of approximately 6.04% has been applied to properties within DeKalb County unless they were individually re-assessed by their respective Township Assessor. Based on the best information available to the County Supervisor of Assessments, estimates for the County’s EAV for 2023-24 is $2,948,122,624 (+11.09%), which includes $133,970,567 in estimated new construction.
With the average existing property values expected to increase by 6.04%, the starting point for setting the levy aims at reducing the rate above that rate (while still levying approximately $203,000 that will be used in conjunction with other sources to cover potential FY24 losses at the DCRNC). The rate reduction ends up beginning 6.58% (from 0.97079 to 0.90692). When the rate reduction exceeds the increase in property value, the result is less taxes paid to the County. That rate is then applied to new construction, which is where new dollars are generated to support County services.
The table below outlines last year’s levy and the proposed 2023-24 levy:
| 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |||
| Total | Existing | New | Total | |
| County Levy | 25,763,416 | 25,522,108 | 1,215,006 | 26,737,114 |
| Percent Change Levy | - | - | - | 3.78% |
| EAV | $2,653,858,975 | $2,814,152,057 | $133,970,567 | $2,948,122,624 |
| Percent Change EAV | - | 6.04% | 4.72% | 11.09% |
| Rate | 0.97079 | 0.90692 | 0.90692 | 0.90692 |
The proposed levy would see an increase in the average EAV of 6.04% for existing tax payers and 4.72% of new EAV. The County’s tax rate is expected to decrease by 6.58% to $0.92692. Since the actual EAV for 2023-24 will not be known until the final tax extension is published next spring, the actual County tax rate, determined by dividing the County levy by the EAV, will be uncertain. If the actual EAV published next spring is not as high as the projected level, the final County rate may be slightly higher than expectations discussed below.
The proposed levy would mean that, on average, existing property owners would expect to see their property values increase and their rate decrease by roughly the same percentage. Property owners should see their portion of the tax bill going to the County decrease slightly in 2024 from where it was in 2023. The chart below shows the estimated change in the County tax bill for a $200,000 home in 2022 (payable in 2023) and the same home in 2023 (payable in 2024) which is now valued at an estimated $212,080 based on the average increase in EAV (6.04%):
| 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |
| Market Value | 200,000 | 212,080 |
| Property EAV (1/3) | 66,667 | 70,693 |
| County Tax Rate | 0.97079 | 0.90692 |
| County Tax Bill | $647.19 | $641.13 |
| Difference | ($6.06) |
| 2022-23
Levy | Percentage | 2023-24
Levy | Percentage | |
| General* | 17,464,650 | 67.79% | 18,102,522 | 67.46% |
| FICA | 10,000 | 0.04% | 10,000 | 0.04% |
| IMRF | 10,000 | 0.04% | 10,000 | 0.04% |
| Tort & Liability | 10,000 | 0.04% | 10,000 | 0.04% |
| PBC Lease | 124,530 | 0.48% | 129,586 | 0.48% |
| Highway | 3,719,210 | 14.44% | 3,870,210 | 14.59% |
| Health | 427,555 | 1.66% | 444,914 | 1.68% |
| Senior Services | 461,265 | 1.79% | 479,992 | 1.81% |
| Veterans Assistance | 555,312 | 2.16% | 577,858 | 2.18% |
| Mental Health | 2,980,894 | 11.57% | 3,101,918 | 11.69% |
| Total | 25,763,416 | 100.00% | 26,737,000 | 100.00% |
*203,000 from the General Fund Levy will be transferred to the DCRNC to help fund potential losses in FY24.
O2023-27 establishes the property tax levies for property tax year 2023, to be collected in FY2024.
b. Ordinance O2023-28—An Ordinance Establishing the Annual Appropriation and Budget.
This Ordinance establishes the annual appropriation and budget for the FY2024 budget year. The proposed FY2024 Budget includes the amendments to the Preliminary FY2024 Budget that were approved by the County Board on November 15th, 2023.
7. Resolutions
a. Resolution R2023-118— A Resolution Authorizing the Procurement of a Bobcat L28 Small Articulated Loader from C.S.R. Bobcat Inc. of DeKalb, Illinois, in the Amount of $44,734.39.
Consistent with the DeKalb County Procurement Policy, the Facilities Management Office (FMO) has solicited bids for a Bobcat L28 Small Articulated Loader. The specifications for the bid listed a number of required pieces of equipment that should be submitted as part of the bid. The Facilities Management Office received two bids. One bid that was submitted did not meet the required bid specifications.
C.S.R. Bobcat Inc. submitted a bid of $44,734.39 after trade-in of a Bobcat 753 ($10,000). Being that their bid met the specifications, Staff is recommending that the bid be awarded to C.S.R. Bobcat Inc. of DeKalb, Illinois.
The funding for this purchase comes from the Asset Replacement Fund. FMO Director Jim Scheffers will be available to answer any questions.
8. Old Business
9. New Business
10. Adjournment
https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/packet-fin-11292023.pdf
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