Letter: Sycamore taxpayers’ limit has been reached

I want to express my thanks and appreciation to the staff and administration of DeKalb County, City of Sycamore and Sycamore Park District.

At the end of 2023, these individuals and entities stepped up to place some controls on the seemingly ever-increasing real estate tax burden in our community. The tax levies these entities approved will, on average, leave the real estate tax dollars they receive from existing resident’s constant. Our tax payments to these entities will not increase.

The Sycamore School district made a different decision and increased what it will collect from local taxpayers by a projected $2,350,000 in 2021. This is following an increase of $2,500,000, which occurred in 2023.

Consistently, on an annual basis, the school district’s increase in property taxes exceeds increases from all other taxing bodies combined. There is a cumulative effect to all of this that has become crushing. Once a property tax increase goes into place it is almost never reversed.

Over the years I have been involved in many not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities. In working with these bodies, one thing that became apparent to me was that whatever money these entities received they spent. In most circumstances they spent the money wisely. If they received more, they spent more; if less was received, they spent less.

Taxpayers do not have a bottomless pit of money. There is a limit to what we can handle, and this limit has been reached.

Ted Strack

Sycamore