Elmhurst Eyes Tax Hikes, Budget Cuts

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst officials are proposing a budget for next year that includes a property tax increase and spending cuts.

One issue is that health insurance costs are expected to spike by $1 million next year. That's driven by "extraordinary" claims and increased use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, City Manager Jim Grabowski told aldermen at a meeting Monday.

Another problem is that the city's pension contributions are set to rise by more than $600,000.

During the pandemic, the city received nearly $9 million in stimulus payments from the federal government, with that money required to be spent by 2024.

The city's used that money to maintain a required balance in its coffers – equivalent to 25 percent to 33 percent of its annual operating spending. For a time, the balance was way above that range, officials said.

The city has been spending down that balance to reach 25 percent.

Under the city's budget proposal, the owners of a $500,000 house would see their property taxes rise by $56 to $748 next year.

In the budget summary, the city said its property taxes are the third lowest among DuPage County's towns. In 2024, the owner of the average $500,000 home in all DuPage County towns paid a $1,578 municipal property tax. (That includes fire districts in towns where they are separate taxing bodies.)

Alderman Michael Bram, who has served on the City Council for all but two years since 2001, said he has seen budget presentations before that involve tough choices. But this one stood out, he said.

"I am nervous now because there seems to be significant concern and changes to the budget because of the health insurance and other items you have mentioned," he said.

Alderwoman Emily Bastedo questioned whether the city increased spending when it got the federal money, even though it knew the outside cash wouldn't last forever.

In response, Christina Coyle, the city's finance director, said the city was drawing down its high account balance in the years before the pandemic. Without the federal money, she said, the city would have had the tough conversation in 2021, rather than 2025.

Mayor Scott Levin said the city has increased property taxes just once since 2010, outside state-mandated hikes for pensions.

"We may have to increase property taxes, and we may have to increase other kinds of revenue sources," the mayor said. "That's a reality. We don't have to decide tonight. If there's a tax increase, we have to decide by Christmas."