Elmhurst D-205 Board Rejects Tax Cut

ELMHURST, IL — The Elmhurst School District 205 board on Tuesday voted down a property tax cut. It would have been done by dipping into the district's bank accounts to cover some of its debt payments.

Board member Jim Collins was the only vote for the tax decrease. Two board members, Karen Stuefen and Courtenae Trautmann, were absent. Earlier this month, Stuefen spoke out in favor of the cut.

Tuesday's vote took place after heated discussions during previous meetings.

Under the plan, the district would have reduced the tax levy for debt by $650,000, which the district's operating budget would cover. The owner of a $500,000 house would have seen a cut of $35, with a total tax bill of $7,222.

Collins again spoke in favor of the cut. He said the public was generous in 2019 when it approved the district's $168 million in debt for school projects.

"Over the past dozen years, we have accumulated $38 million in extra funds," Collins said. "It's only fair to the taxpayer that as we have extra funds, we return some of them to the taxpayer."

He noted the board approved a $3.1 million tax cut last year.

"Frankly, it got very little attention," he said. "The spirit of our discussion was that we were going to do this several years in a row."

Member Chris Kocinski said he mostly agreed with Collins. But he said he would like clarification on costs of upcoming projects related to the $168 million in debt. He said he was willing to take a "fresh look" at a tax cut next year.

Others opposed to the tax cut did not speak at Tuesday's meeting. But they previously expressed concerns about the district's finances. They noted more than $17 million in overruns in school construction, which are attributed to the expanded scope of some projects and cost hikes in materials and labor.

The other members also disputed the idea that the board indicated it would give tax cuts for a number of years. Last month, member Trautmann called such an assertion "misleading."

The district's top finance official recommended against a tax cut this year.