Property taxes could go up as much as 5.5% by the end of the village’s fiscal year.
At the Dec. 15 council meeting, commissioners unanimously approved the annual tax levy ordinance. Last month, the council established an estimated property tax levy at the same amount for the 2025 fiscal year, which runs May 1 through April 30, 2026.
The village-approved levy will now be submitted to the Cook County Clerk, though it’s likely that the clerk won’t approve the full increase, and is used to calculate future property taxes. Last year, the village approved a 5% tax levy increase, and the clerk established a 3.5% increase.
The 5.5% approved levy would bring in over $10 million for both the village and the Forest Park Public Library — with over $7.7 million going to the village and over $2.5 million to the library.
About 74% of the village’s levy is restricted funds, including those for pensions, which are still short of the state statutory minimum contribution.
Also at the Dec. 15 council meeting, commissioners OK’d requesting that the clerk calculate separate limiting rates for the village and the library. Ahead of the meeting, commissioners held a public hearing for any resident feedback on the levy, though there was none.
In 2021, a law was signed that allows a taxing district’s levy to increase annually to recapture aggregate refunds from the past year.
