Sycamore approves 1% grocery tax: ‘Our job is to do what’s best for the city,’ mayor says

Sycamore has joined DeKalb, Genoa and Sandwich by also enacting a 1% grocery tax, which will replace the expiring state tax on most grocery items come January.

The Sycamore City Council approved the new local tax in a 6-1 vote Monday. Fourth Ward Alderman Ben Bumpus was the only alderperson to vote against the measure. First Ward Alderwoman Alicia Cosky was absent.

Sycamore Mayor Steve Braser, who can only cast tie-breaking votes, said the decision by Gov. JB Pritzker to end the 1% state grocery tax – which generates tax revenue the state distributes to cities – “is almost like an unfunded mandate.”

“It’s something that’s been in our budget for 40 years, and they hit us with this less than a year ago, that they were going to take it away,” Braser said.

Pritzker’s decision also allowed cities to implement their own grocery tax when the state’s grocery tax ends. Sycamore City Manager Michael Hall said the city’s annual revenue would be reduced by an estimated $720,000 if a replacement tax weren’t established.

Hall said a state official told him and city finance director Kristian Dominguez that the state would not charge a 3% administrative fee for the city’s grocery tax, which city officials had previously believed would happen.

The estimated $720,000 city officials believe will be generated with the grocery tax amounts to about 3% of the city’s $26.6 million budget. Sycamore received $719,726 from the state for the 1% grocery tax in 2024, according to city-provided numbers.

Hall said the city has used the state grocery tax revenue to pay for core city services and the salaries of police and fire department personnel.

First Ward Alderman Alan Bauer said he views grocery tax revenue as a “fundamental budget item,” and estimates it funds six full-time city employees. Bauer, who voted for the grocery tax, said he believes not implementing the tax could mean officials would need to cut city services.

“You have to decide what you want to do,” Bauer said. “The other option to the budget is to increase your revenue. This is a solution to increase the revenue, or replace the revenue the state has taken away.”

Bauer said implementing a utility tax, or increasing the city’s hotel and motel tax, could be ways to tackle the lost revenue, but wondered if it would impact the city’s tourism. He said he thinks a city tax on groceries would be the least painful tax for city residents.

Bumpus disagreed with Bauer and argued that a grocery tax is the worst kind of tax. He said he believes grocery taxes hurt poor residents the most because they have the tightest budgets and, like everyone else, need to buy food to survive.

“A grocery tax is a regressive tax, and it has been proven to create more of an impact to lower-income households because we all go to the store and we all have basic needs,” Bumpus said.

The tax would be applied to unprepared foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, uncooked meats, dairy products, and packaged foods that are sold in Sycamore. It would also be applied to staple groceries such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta and other not ready-to-eat items.

State and local sales taxes are not charged on items purchased with SNAP benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Second Ward Alderman Chuck Stowe, who voted for the grocery tax, said he thinks property taxes are the most regressive tax.

Braser told Bumpus the city could repeal the tax if officials found a way to balance the budget despite losing the revenue the tax would bring in – or if the state reimplemented the grocery tax.

“We’re not saying that we couldn’t do it [repeal the city grocery tax] next year, or the year afterwards,” Braser said. “We could, but we have to find another source of revenue. So to do it flat right now puts us in a terrible bind.”

He also said the city could “maybe” find a way to balance the budget with no grocery tax revenue without substantially cutting city services or personnel, but doesn’t think it could be done by the end of September.

Braser said he believes getting rid of a grocery tax altogether would require such as potentially laying off police officers and firefighters, and not donating to the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation or the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce.

Bumpus said he agreed that losing employees would be “awful.”

Bauer said he had not heard other solutions to the revenue loss that comes with not implementing the grocery tax, but Bumpus said he had ideas that weren’t being communicated to the Council.

“I met with Michael [Hall] and I laid out, suggested solutions, some of which are similar to what the mayor shared a moment ago,” Bumpus said. “I have laid out solutions.”

Bauer said he did not “know about them.”

Third Ward alderwoman Nancy Copple, who voted in favor of the tax, said she’s against any decision that would require reducing city personnel.

“[In] 2017, when I started as alderman, we were short-staffed,” Copple said. “And now we finally are getting the staff, great staff, oh my gosh ... We got a good bunch of people, and I can’t say goodbye to anybody.”

Before the vote, Bumpus said he’d heard from a dozen city residents about the proposed tax. Other members of the City Council said they hadn’t heard many gripes outside of social media.

Two Sycamore residents, Adam Benn and Mike Villalta, came to Monday’s meeting to say they opposed the grocery tax.

Villalta played an audio clip of Pritzker during his public comments. In the soundbite, Pritzker said he “thinks it’s not proper to be taxing food.” Villalta then asked if council members think it’s in their best interest to charge people to consume food.

“Please do the right things and don’t charge people just for living,” Villalta said.

Adam Benn, who ran an incomplete campaign for Sycamore mayor in 2021, said he thinks more people would shop in Sycamore if the grocery tax isn’t implemented.

“Why don’t we offer more in Sycamore like it says right outside the building, and that we say here, and we are doing in the city, and not raise that tax?” Benn said.

Benn said he supports Bumpus and Barnes being on the City Council, but bemoaned the council’s decision-making process.

“I know a lot of things are kind of decided beforehand, and you know it’s just going to happen, but you know you still have a voice tonight before it has to be done,” Benn said. “I don’t think you guys should do it.”

The city had until Oct. 1 to decide to implement the grocery tax.

Braser said he doesn’t think the grocery tax will deter people from grocery shopping in Sycamore. He said he spoke to two general managers of Sycamore grocery stores who weren’t aware of the change in sales tax policy.

Third Ward Alderman Marvin Barnes, who was elected into office in April and voted in favor of the tax, said he doesn’t support new taxes but views this as a change in the tax’s ownership.

He also argued Pritzker was using the grocery tax as “a political football,” but Braser said he doubts that’s the case.

“I don’t think that’s fair for us to say that that’s what he’s doing,” Braser said. “Our job here is to be nonpartisan and not go with political beliefs, and do what’s best for the city of Sycamore.”