Oak Park’s village board discussed the proposed 2027 operating budget and estimated 7.94% direct property tax levy hike and voted to approve the estimations for a Truth in Taxation hearing. The action took place at a Nov. 4 village board meeting.
The board’s approval for the estimates is not an approval for the actual levy, and continued discussions will continue with the finance committee and full board through December before a decision is reached. President Vicki Scaman said at the meeting that the initial proposed tax levy is usually higher than what is actually adopted each year.
Multiple board members have shared they want to review every opportunity for savings.
“I would love to find a way to reduce it from 8%, and that is the work of the Finance Committee and of this board to try to do that and be as responsible and efficient with our taxpayer resources as possible,” said Trustee Derek Eder.
Chief Financial Officer Kevin Bueso presented more contextual information on village finances at the meeting. Here are some of the highlights:
Village revenue sources and alternatives to be explored
The preliminary 2025 revenue results show the lowest revenue since 2021 at about $69.1 million. This is about $7.2 million lower than the original revenue budget of about $76.3 million.
Some revenues performed above budget such as state income tax, real estate transfer tax, and sales and use taxes, but other revenue sources fell behind. The seven largest revenue shortfalls were from ambulance charges, interest revenue, replacement tax, natural gas taxes, cable and telecom, vehicle tax and building permits. These seven groups combined were about $7.3 million below their 2025 amended budget.
“When we don’t have $7.3 million of non-property tax revenue that we budgeted for, we have got to find that money somewhere, which is typically a combination of reducing spending and increasing revenue somewhere else in your municipality, that ends up being property taxes,” said Trustee Cory Wesley.
According to Bueso, one of the main drivers of the deficit in 2025 was an overstatement of ambulance billing revenues in 2024 of about $2.5 million that is being corrected. He said this will be discussed in more detail with auditors in December.
Bueso said that as people move towards more sustainable energy options like solar and natural gas is less prevalent in homes, that tax drops. Similarly, cable and telecom revenues drop as more people move to streaming services, which are not taxed.
The presentation shared revenue practices from other communities in Illinois as examples of possible options the village could consider but are not included in the proposed 2027 budget at this time. The presentation was not requesting any action from the board but was shared just as examples.
Evanston created a 5% tax on streaming and digital entertainment in 2020 which applies to subscriptions and rental access to video, audio and online games. Evanston also has a car rental tax, rideshare tax, and in-person amusement tax on venues with capacity over 1,501.
Red-light camera revenues were also discussed. Oak Park has never installed such cameras even as nearby municipalities such as Berwyn, Des Plaines and River Forest use that camera revenue towards community improvement needs. The Oak Park Vision Zero Plan recommends red-light camera revenues be used for transportation safety and street improvements.
“Red light cameras do create compliance with red lights, and that’s a good thing for pedestrian safety, and it helps generate revenue that can go directly to some of the capital projects that the residents most talk about wanting, including paving projects,” said Trustee Brian Straw. “I think that this seems like a net good, and I would love to see that come forward.”
2025 budget shortfalls and reduced reserves
The 2025 preliminary results for expenses are about $70.3 million which created an almost $1.3 million deficit for the general fund, the first between 2019 and 2025.
Although there is a spending gap, the overall expenditures were still under budget and kept the deficit smaller than it might have been.
“The only reason why we’re not seeing a larger deficit in 2025 is because department spending actually stayed well below budgeted amounts. So, in 2025 we closed the year at 88% of our budgeting in the general fund,” said Bueso. “Had we been fully staffed, had we implemented all the initiatives, that deficit would probably look at more like $5, $6 million.”
General fund reserves have also shrunk since 2024 with transfers to make up the shortfall, a half million ARPA adjustment, and planned capital transfers in 2026. The reserves were $42.4 million at the end of 2024, they were reduced to about $37.7 million in 2025, and the 2026 estimate is about $21.8 million
The 2027 proposed budget includes a use of about $1.7 million in reserves to fund one-time initiatives and external agency costs.
Trustee Jim Taglia expressed concerns about the decreasing reserves and the use of the general fund as a cushion in a time when revenues may be stagnant and expenditures are projected to increase. He said this will be discussed in more depth at a finance committee meeting.
“We’re at the point at which, according to our proposed policy, that we would then start taking action. I’d like to avoid that because action will come next year if we don’t take it this year,” said Taglia.
Estimated home value impacts of a 7.94% levy hike
Bueso broke down the proposed village direct levy and 2026 Equalized Assessed Value impacts further with estimated impacts for three different home values.
For a 2025 home value of $237,250, the 2026 proposal would raise the annual village portion of property taxes by $107. A $450,000 home would experience a $203 increase. A home value of $643,140 would have an increase of $290.
Historical double-digit levies and other taxing bodies levy weight in comparison to village levy
Oak Park is no stranger to high annual levy increases, and there have been multiple double-digit levies across multiple taxing bodies over the past two decades.
The presentation reported village historical increases of 10.82% in 2008 and 13.77% in 2016. School District 97 increased levies by 14.45% in 2010 and 27.33% in 2016. The highest levy increase was from the Forest Preserve in 2022 at 45.71%.
Wesley discussed the importance of understanding the different weight each taxing body holds in the overall property tax levy for context.
“We throw these numbers around. Nobody really knows what they mean … When D97 increases their levy one point, that’s a million dollars. When we increase our levy one point, it’s not a million dollars. We got to do that three times in order to match their one point,” said Wesley.
Next steps for the proposed budget and levy process
Further explanations and discussion on proposed department operating budgets with the finance committee will take place on Nov. 5 and 11. The Truth in Taxation proposed levy presentation will be held on Nov. 17.
The presentation of the proposed 2027 operating budget is planned for Dec. 1 with a full-board budget decision set for Dec. 8.
“I would invite anybody though who’s interested in in hearing the discussion of the village board as we move forward and review on a deeper level to join us at the finance committee meetings,” said Scaman.
The proposed 2027 operating budget can be reviewed online.