The Crystal Lake City Council unanimously approved a flat property tax levy at its meeting Tuesday.

The city’s general operations – including city administration, police, community development, and public works – will continue to be supported primarily through sales and income tax revenues, according to council documents.

The city’s tax levy primarily provides funding for its pension obligations, as well as its fire rescue and library operations.

The levy approved Tuesday totaled about $17.7 million, which is the same amount approved last year.

The city’s contributions to the police pension fund are increasing by $240,000, for a total of $2.93 million, and another increase of $142,000 is going to the firefighter’s pension fund, for a total of $2.02 million. To absorb those increases, the levy for other employee pension costs was decreased by $382,000.

“The city was fortunate to experience a one-year drop in the employer contribution rate for [Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund] in 2019, as well as experienced savings from vacant positions,” city staff said in the council documents.

The levy for the Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department will stay at $6.85 million. Other levies in Crystal Lake’s property tax extension remaining flat include the school crossing guard fund and the Crystal Lake Library Board’s.

Because Crystal Lake’s tax base is expected to grow, the city’s property tax rate is expected to fall by 4%, which city staff said would give property owners some financial relief on their tax bills.

The city of Crystal Lake is one of many taxing bodies that appear on a property owner’s tax bill. Crystal Lake receives about 11% of the annual property tax bill amount, city staff said.

Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47 makes up about 39% of property owners’ tax bills, Community High School District 155 about 26%, McHenry County 8% and the park district 5%, according to council documents. Other agencies make up the remaining 11%.

At the meeting, Crystal Lake Mayor Haig Halelblian thanked city staff for keeping the tax levy the same.

“You should be very proud of yourself,” he said. “It’s a great way to run a business and a great way to run a city. Thank you.”