Some Hesitation On Elmhurst Tax Hike Proposal

ELMHURST, IL – The head of an Elmhurst City Council committee said Monday a proposal to raise local taxes to pay for a new police station was drafted with a "conservative lens."

Meanwhile, the public safety committee's other two members had plenty of questions.

Last month, the council's finance committee approved a plan to pay for a $48 million police station. It would be on the same site, with the current one set to be torn down.

As part of the plan, the city would raise the hotel tax by a percentage point, bringing in $2.5 million for the project. It would also sell its building at 180 Park Ave. for an estimated nearly $5 million.

Officials said the city's income could pay for about $20 million of the project as existing debt rolls off the books.

The rest would be raised through property taxes. Under the plan, the owner of a median-valued house of about $500,000 would pay an average increase of $53 over two decades.

"The finance committee looked at this through a conservative lens," said Alderman Mike Brennan, chairman of the public safety committee.

Brennan noted other options such as remodeling and expanding the existing station, which would cost an estimated $40 million.

"Our police station does not have good bones," he said. "Why would we spend $40 million and not get a good outcome?"

Alderman Jacob Hill asked why the city did not include the sale of other properties in the plan.

In reply, the city's top finance official, Christina Coyle, said the other sites did not measure up. For instance, she said Elmhurst has a line of credit on the Arcade Building at 113 N. Addison Ave., which the city bought for $2.3 million in 2019. It would not generate much money, she said.

As for the city's reservoir property, Coyle said, the preparation to sell it eliminates any benefit.

Mayor Scott Levin said the city has many "scrap" properties with little value. The building on Park Avenue, he said, was the only city-owned site that made sense.

Alderman Guido Nardini said he had some "real trust issues" with the numbers.

"It's hard to take any of the numbers at face value because I'm out of my element," he said.

He described the projected hotel tax income as a "back-of-the-envelope kind of thing."

Levin, for his part, praised the city's finance staff for doing a "remarkably thorough job" with the numbers for the plan.

Brennan said he concluded the same thing after reviewing the finance committee's report.

"I'm very thankful for the work," he said.

Brennan said it was likely the city would get more than its "conservative" estimate for the Park Avenue property.

City officials hope to get the engineering for the new police station done this year, with construction starting in 2026.

"If we don't start engineering this year, nothing's getting cheaper," Brennan said. "The cost of the project has almost doubled with us waiting." (The city started looking at a new police station before the pandemic.)

In his questioning, Hill said he believed it was his duty to ask about any possible way to reduce the burden on property taxpayers.

"I'm trying to cross every option off," said Hill, calling his questions "exasperating."

Committee members said they would resume the debate in a couple of weeks.

In November, the city launched a campaign to convince the public that it needed a new police station. While the 35-year-old station looks nice on the outside, officials said, it has numerous problems.

The city released videos in which the police chief explains the issues.