Morris tax levy increases, but rate remains the same

The Morris City Council capped 2023 by addressing several statutorily required matters before the calendar turned the page to the new year.

Councilmen at their last business meeting of the year on Dec. 18 adopted an ordinance, setting the city’s official 2023 levy at $3.14 million. The figure represents a net increase of $570,016 from the 2022 levy.

As is the case with all Illinois municipalities, Morris officials were required to adopt an ordinance for the levy and assessment of taxes and forward the certified figure on to the county clerk by Dec. 26.

The rate of Morris’ levy increase, which was beyond the 5% levy cap in year-over-year comparisons, prompted a public hearing through the Illinois Truth in Taxation Act at the Dec. 18 meeting.

In an interview with the Morris Herald News, City Clerk Lori Werden explained why the levy is increasing – and what it means for the city’s line item on property owners’ tax bills.

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there that we are raising property taxes,” Werden said. “But this is not a property tax increase. Our rate is staying the same.”

Through the complexities of state law, equalized assed valuation, or EAV, figures and the local tax base, Morris was able to go beyond the 5% levy cap because of the rate of net new construction.

“We’re putting the same rate on file as we did last year, which will be less because of our abatements with P&G,” Werden said.

P&G, in this case, refers to Proctor & Gamble, which has opened north of Morris on Airport Road. Werden pointed to positive economic development projects within the city, such as Proctor & Gamble’s expansion, as the basis for the levy increase.

“Our EAV went up over $100 million,” she said. “This is why our truth in taxation even came about. We’re obviously levying more because of our EAV going up. But we are still able to maintain our same rate. That was primarily due to commercial and industrial growth.”

While commercial and industrial EAV growth was recorded in yearly comparisons, Werden said the same was not true of the city’s residential tax base, where EAV figures decreased.

Werden said she and other city officials have been trying to articulate that the levy figure adopted actually is the outgrowth of recent initiatives.

“We’re open for business, and (the levy increase) is us recapturing that,” she said. “The infrastructure is not cheap. This is just a matter of us recouping what we’ve already outlaid, getting these developers to come here. Otherwise, it would be falling on the backs of residents.”

Paid leave ordinance adopted

On Dec. 18, the Morris City Council also adopted an ordinance that formalizes the municipality’s participation in the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, which went into effect Jan. 1.

In last year’s legislative session, Senate Bill 0208 passed through the General Assembly and received Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature. The law, which impacts nearly all employees across the state, stipulates employers must offer at least 40 hours of paid leave annually.