At its third budget workshop on Tuesday, the Naperville City Council moved one step closer to approving the 2024 city budget.
Council members voted unanimously with a straw poll vote to support the proposed budget with amendments made during the workshop.
City staff will cancel the scheduled fourth budget workshop on Nov. 14. The dais will vote on the final budget on Dec. 5, and the tax levy on Dec. 19.
2024 preliminary budget
Next year’s budget was set at $613.7 million, a 1.7% increase from 2023, which is less than the current 3.7% rate of inflation, according to staff. The proposed budget does not require new revenue sources.
It includes $156.3 million toward the general fund and $150.4 million for the capital improvement program.
Revenues are expected to be at $593.3 million, which is a slight increase from 2023.
Staff reduced the original budget request by $34.3 million, cutting 15 proposed personnel requests and operating and capital expenses.
Lowest city property tax rate since 1969
Naperville officials anticipate the city’s property tax rate will be 0.6309 – the lowest it’s been in over half a century.
City staff detailed the owner of a median-value home ($433,000) would pay $842 in Naperville city property taxes, which is a $25 drop from last year.
“It’s important to note that the City of Naperville generally has a very minimal impact on a resident’s property tax bill,” said City Manager Doug Krieger. “The city’s portion represents about 10% of the entire bill. The other 90% are determined mostly by the school districts, but also (the) park district, county townships, and other entities.”
Capital improvements
The proposed budget includes more than $150 million for capital improvement projects in Naperville.
Planned road construction projects include improvements to the North Aurora Road underpass, Columbia Street reconstruction, and downtown streetscape.
The city will also replace water mains along River Road, Columbia Street, Sylvian Circle, and Washington Street.
Springbrook Water Reclamation Center will continue to receive improvements, a project that runs through 2030. Regulatory changes, an aging infrastructure, and increased demand forced the citied hand to improve Springbrook.
Property tax levy’s impact on Naper Settlement
The total 2023 levy across all property tax categories was $57.2 million, which was a 3.7% increase from last year. This was needed to pay police pension levies, and operating expenses for Naperville Public Library and Naper Settlement.
City staff recommended reallocating $1 million from the food and beverage tax revenue to Naper Settlement. Naperville’s Director of Finance Rachel Mayer said the tax is the largest of any special funds.
“The food and beverage fund continues growing year over year, and has risen well past pre-pandemic levels,” said Mayer.
Naper Settlement received funding in the proposed budget for a sitewide fiberoptic cabling upgrade, deferred maintenance projects, and a pick-up truck.
The dais voted to eliminate three expenditures for Naper Settlement. $92,000 for research and development, $100,000 for a grants coordinator, and another $100,000 for a preservation specialist.
Two proposed IT positions
The proposed budget includes the addition of a Network Administrator and a Senior GIS Analyst for a total of $250,000. The City of Naperville has 35 IT employees on the books, and Councilwoman Jennifer Bruzan Taylor pushed back on the inclusion of the two new positions in the 2024 budget.
“I thought the point of it is to streamline everything,” said Bruzan Taylor. “The argument is that we don’t need as many people, but it seems like we keep needing more and more. I’ve always been supportive in the past. This is actually my first time pushing back.”
Councilman Ian Holzhauer “felt comfortable” with new IT additions after seeing the numbers from neighboring cities.
“79 IT members in one city, 77 in another, 77 in another, 62, 41, 40, us at 35, another one was 30, another was 30, and then the lowest was 15,” said Holzhauer. “So this really answered my question, which was are we wildly out of line with peer communities? I don’t think so.”
The 2024 budget also calls for 18 new employees including six new police officers, three equipment officers for the public works department, a transportation manager, and two HR employees.
The full preliminary budget is available on the city’s website.
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