Under Wheaton’s newly approved 2026 budget, the city will borrow money to fund a police station remodel and the complete replacement of a fire station.

The city plans to take out bonds to finance a large-scale renovation of the police department headquarters off Liberty Drive and the rebuilding of aging Fire Station No. 39 on the existing site along President Street. Preliminary estimates for both projects total roughly more than $21 million.

The city anticipates a bond issue in fall 2026, Finance Director Robert Lehnhardt said during a December public hearing.

Overall, total revenues across all funds are projected at $160.8 million. Total expenditures for 2026 are estimated at $153.1 million.

There are no reductions in services or programs reflected in the 2026 budget, Lehnhardt said. In terms of personnel, three full-time positions were eliminated.

Specifically, a police services representative position was eliminated and replaced with one part-time position, and two full-time library positions were eliminated and replaced with a part-time position, Lehnhardt wrote in a letter attached to the draft budget.

On the revenue side, city council members have approved a property tax levy increase of 3%. Revenues also reflect an increase in the local sales tax rate from 1% to 1.25% set to take effect July 1, 2026, as well as an increase in the natural gas use utility tax from 3 cents per therm to 5 cents per therm. Combined, the increases are estimated to bring in an additional $1.9 million in revenue.

Mayor Phil Suess has said the city is “confronted with some very significant capital improvements that we’re going to fund through bonding, and we need to be able to cover the cost of that bonding.”

The city last increased the local sales tax rate more than 15 years ago. The city has had no increase in the property tax levy for six years through this past year.

The council also considered whether to create a new revenue source with a food and beverage tax. However, Suess voiced concerns with such a tax and said he’s “really not comfortable singling out one particular industry.”

“I do think we should be looking at a contribution from the property tax just because of the volatility associated with the sales tax,” he said.

The goal is to “at least get the police station moving” in 2026, City Manager Michael Dzugan has said. That facility was constructed 35 years ago. The fire station was originally built in the early 1970s.

The general fund — the city’s largest operating fund — is projected to be balanced, Lehnhardt wrote, with $58.2 million in revenues for 2026 and $58.2 million in expenditures.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20260105/news/new-wheaton-budget-includes-debt-for-fire-police-station-projects/