Council adopts tax levy for 2015-16 fiscal year

Forest Park residents will see a slight increase on the village portion of their property tax bills next year following adoption of the annual tax levy by the Village Council Monday.

The levy calls for $5,223,175 to be raised in property taxes for the fiscal year from May 1, 2015, to April 30, 2016, an increase over the $5,168,275 requested for the fiscal year from May 1, 2014, to April 30, 2015.

Village Administrator Tim Gillian explained that the impact on residents’ property tax bills will be minimal once the $41,000 difference is spread across the village.

He also noted that the village portion of the average village homeowner’s property tax bill is not as significant as the portions for education, specifically Forest Park District 91 and Proviso High School District 200.

The village council also approved the annual tax levy for the Forest Park Public Library, which falls under the auspices of the village but is governed separately. The library levy for 2015-16 is $1,787,708, a slight increase over the levy for 2014-15 of $1,781,090. That has an even lower impact on residents’ property tax bills.

In addition, the council on Monday passed two additional levy-related ordinances, one directing the Cook County clerk to calculate separate limiting rates for the village and for the library and the other directing the Cook County clerk to reduce the corporate fund portion of the village’s levy if the overall amount requested needs to be reduced.

The village and the library are both subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, which limits property tax levy increases to 5 percent or the consumer price index increase, whichever is lower. This year, the tax cap is 0.08 percent, which is the consumer price index.

In the village’s levy request, $1,142,675 goes for the Office of Public Affairs, which includes $1,040,000 for the police department, and $3,115,500 for the Office of Accounts and Finance, which includes $1,130,000 for the fire department.

The property tax levy accounts for about 25 percent of the village’s revenue.