Ogle County budget set to be OK’d Nov. 21

OREGON – Taxpayers in Ogle County could see a drop of about 1.8 cents per $100 on their property tax bills next year, if the proposed county budget is passed Nov. 21.

The Ogle County Board Finance Committee is recommending a property tax rate of 69.4 cents per $100 of equalized assessed value for fiscal 2024. The 2023 rate was 71.2 cents per $100 of EAV.

Ogle County’s estimated equalized assessed value – one-third of the value of all the property in the county – rose to $1,971,000,736.

The proposed 2023 property tax levy is $13,687,067. That’s an increase of $478,987 over the amount levied in 2022.

Proposed appropriations to more than 80 funds total $55,011,211, which includes the nearly $13.68 million in property taxes.

“So the appropriation’s slightly less than last year, and a slight increase on the levy,” Finance Committee Chairman Jeff Billeter said during the board’s Oct. 30 budget hearing.

The county’s largest fund is the General Fund, to which the Finance Committee is proposing an appropriation of $18,118,406, which is a 4.2% increase from fiscal 2023. The revenue, which includes $5.15 million of property tax levy, is expected to match the appropriation, Billeter said.

“The total General Fund expense total is $18,118,406, which – not coincidentally – means we’re going to have a balanced budget going into 2024,” Billeter said. “That was the goal of the committee and it appears that we’ve achieved that.”

Some of the other funds that will receive part of their revenue from property tax levy dollars include the County Highway Fund ($1.9 million), IMRF Fund ($1,325,000), Mental Health Fund ($1,060,643), County Bridge Fund ($950,000), Federal Aid Matching Fund ($950,000), Social Security Fund ($900,000), Insurance Premium Levy Fund ($675,000), War Veterans Fund ($336,344), Senior Social Services ($276,000), Co-Operative Extension Fund ($130,000) and the TB Care and Treatment Fund ($34,080).

“There may be some final tweaking of the budget moving forward,” Billeter said.

The Ogle County Board next meets at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 21 on the third floor of the Ogle County Courthouse, 105 S. Fifth St., Oregon.

The proposed budget can be viewed here: bit.ly/3f9Uuvd, or by visiting OgleCountyIL.gov and looking under the “County” tab on the top of the webpage and clicking on “Transparency.”