The Normal Town Council heard positive results from an annual audit presentation and extended the town's data center moratorium during its Monday night meeting.
Andrew Huhn, town finance director, presented an overview of financial trends for the 2025-26 fiscal year, adding context in comparison with previous years.
Assessed property values continued to increase in tax year 2025, but while the prior two years saw 20.1% and 17.1% increases, respectively, 2025 showed an 8.6% increase. Before 2022, when commercial property values began increasing, those increases had only been as high as 2.5% since 2017.
The community property tax rate for Normal was $7.77 per $100 of assessed value. By comparison, Bloomington’s was at $7.87. Both Bloomington and Normal were lower than other similarly-sized municipalities in Central Illinois, including Springfield, Champaign, Peoria, Galesburg and the highest of the group, Urbana, at $10.11, according to the town.
Normal also was lowest among that group of municipalities in unemployment, with a rate of 4.4%.
Huhn said the town's water system is in need of increased funding. In the coming budget cycle, the town will discuss rate hikes because there is not enough money being moved from the operating fund to the capital fund. He said the town cannot afford to do so under the current rate structure.
“I don’t mean to imply we have an alarmist emergency,” said Huhn. “But we do foresee issues in the future that require rate increases.”
The operating fund receives ratepayer revenue and covers payroll, chemical, contractual and operating costs. The capital fund pays for needs like rehabilitation, water lines and well development.
Well development and replacement and elevated tanks are becoming larger expenses, making it harder to limit spending on water, said City Manager Pam Reece.
The other fund Huhn said needed more money was the sewer fund. All other funds were in good shape.
“We have significant needs in the capital fund for sewer that we have not reflected in the budget for this year, that we need to address as part of our five-year budget plan for this next budget process,” said Huhn.
Still, Huhn added, both water and sewer, in addition to the general fund, were in good standing for reserves as the previous fiscal year closed.
Anthony Cervini, principal at the Sikich, LLP accounting firm, presented on the town’s annual financial audit. The town then moved to accept the audited financial statements and various required reports.
“We’ve issued a clean, unmodified opinion,” said Sikich, explaining that status is the highest for an audit of this nature.
Data centers
Also Monday, the council approved extending the data center moratorium for another six months, through May 31, 2027. Andy Byars was the only council member to vote against the measure, but he did not speak during council discussion.
The holdup continues to be the at the state level. In a memo to the council, Brian Day, assistant city manager, explained if the town is going to act on rules for any data center proposals, state regulation must come first. He echoed those comments during Monday’s meeting.
“At this point, we don't want to go in and craft a bunch of regulations and deal with a bunch of issues, and then three months from now, the General Assembly comes in with something entirely different, which puts us back to square one,” said Day.
Mayor Chris Koos said he expects the town also will continue monitoring discussions being held in the City of Bloomington on data centers.
“In situations like this, the two communities should very closely mirror each other,” said Koos.
Trail extension
The town also approved a resolution of financial commitment and acknowledgement of support for a grant application for Constitution Trail extensions in northwest Normal. Project completion would benefit pedestrians and bicyclists along Parkside and West Raab Road that would benefit students at Normal West High School and Heartland Community College.
The 2026 Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program [ITEP] grant, if awarded, would provide up to 80% reimbursement of the project, up to $5 million. The town would provide a 20% match, as well as any spending beyond $5 million. Under the arrangement, the town would pay about $1.56 million of the $6.1 million project.
The trail extension would go from the intersection of Gregory Street and Parkside Road and head north, then east until reaching the Heartland campus. The intersection of Raab and Parkside roads would then become a roundabout to allow for safer crossing for those on the trail.
Contracts
The council approved a $99,431 proposal from Firmitas LLC for Camelback Bridge king-post truss assembly. The trusses were salvaged for reuse when Camelback was reconstructed in 2001, helping the bridge maintain its historic status in Bloomington.
After that reconstruction, the trusses were only for aesthetics and did not carry any bridge loads. The trusses were removed in 2020 after the north side truss failed. The approved project would replicate and reinstall the trusses.
The council also approved a $125,380 contract with Otto Baum for parking garage work. The work will address the damaged facade above the west bus entry at Uptown Station, replace failing concrete and repair or replace the brick facade at the College Avenue Garage and apply a waterproof membrane over the electrical equipment at the Marriott parking garage.
Work is scheduled to begin in the fall, with some temperature-sensitive tasks being completed in the spring.
Water table exhibit
Alongside an expansion of exhibition space at the Children’s Discovery Museum, the town council approved a $709,300 contract for a new water table exhibit.
Boss Display, which designed the current water table exhibit at the museum, will design a new exhibit with final design and fabrication continuing throughout 2027.
Reece said the Children’s Discovery Museum Foundation, with support from the Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District provided the $2 million in monetary support for the water table project, which includes additional infrastructure improvements to the museum to support the exhibit.
