June 25, 2025
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St. Charles homeowners face potential property tax hike

By David Petesch
The City of St. Charles has announced it is testing its sanitary sewer system to identify locations where storm water is entering the system. The testing is taking place on the east side of the city and is required by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

The City of St. Charles has announced it is testing its sanitary sewer system to identify locations where storm water is entering the system. The testing is taking place on the east side of the city and is required by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. (Graphic provided by the City of St. Charles)

St. Charles homeowners could see a 3% increase in their property tax bills after the city’s Government Operations Committee moved on Oct. 16 to recommend approval of a preliminary estimate of the city’s 2023 property tax levy.

The increase equates to about $24 annually, or about $2 per month for the owner of a home valued at $300,000, assuming there is no change to the home’s assessed value. The recomendation was passed in a 7-3 vote with committee members David Pietryla, Bryan Wirball and Ron Silkaitis voting no.

The actual tax levy ordinance will be presented for approval at the Dec. 4 City Council meeting after the official public hearing is held on that same evening.

If approved, the increase will be reflected in residents’ tax bills during the 2024 calendar year.

City Finance Director Bill Hannah presented the preliminary estimate to the committee members. Hannah said property taxes comprise about 23% of the city’s budgeted revenues for the general fund and the levy will provide funding for next year’s budget.

One reason for the increase is that the required city contributions to the police and firefighters’ pension funds will be increasing. Police pension contributions are increasing by $294,481, or 7.1%, and the firefighter pension contributions are increasing by $270,120, or 9.9%, for a total increase of $566,601 over last year.

The total amount of annual debt service on the city’s general obligation bonds for 2023 levy year is $9,852,931. This is a decrease of 3.1% from the prior year, and while it is included in the total tax levy, the city intends to abate the general obligation payments using other operations funds in 2024.

The general obligation debt payments combined with this year’s estimated property tax levy of $14,612,813, gives the total estimated 2023 tax levy of $24,465,744.

For more information on St. Charles real estate taxes visit the city’s finance department webpage. To view details of the 2023 tax levy, see the agenda item from the Oct. 16 Government Operations Committee meeting.

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