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Normal Tax Levy To Rise Nearly 7 Percent

Staff
/
WGLT
Faced with rising pension contribution requirements and falling state revenue, Normal may turn to a property tax increase and budget cuts to balance its budget.

The proposed tax levy for the Town of Normal could go up close to 7 percent. Town staff said in documents prepared for Monday's council meeting that most of the $841,000 increase would go to rises in pension costs.

That's something the town does not control. Levies for general town operations and for the library would be unchanged. The general fund levy has remained the same for more than a decade, staff said.

The town finance department estimated property values will not increase much at all next year, only 0.5 percent. If that happened, the tax rate would have to rise more than 6 percent to generate the extra tax dollars.

The owner of a $165,000 home would pay an extra $44 in taxes, if the council approves the levy next month.

The total levy would be nearly $19.6 million, though the town would decline to collect about $6 million of that as sales tax and other revenue support much of the town's bond debt payments.

The town will need to conduct a public hearing over the levy because the law requires one in cases of increases of more than 5 percent.

The town's share of area property taxes is less than 17 percent of the total bill. The largest chunk of property tax money goes to schools.

Editor's note: GLT General Manager R.C. McBride is a member of the Normal Town Council.

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WGLT Senior Reporter Charlie Schlenker has spent more than three award-winning decades in radio. He lives in Normal with his family.
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