Mokena's Tax Bill Could Rise by 'Minimal' Amount, Officials Say

Watch video of the Mokena tax levy announcement here

All information from Finance Director Barbara Damron unless otherwise sourced. Figures reflect staff recommendations and will not be official pending approval at a future board meeting.

The Total:

• The village is asking for a total $1,659,157 levy.
• This is the amount of the property tax bill the village will ask for. It is typically a small portion of the tax bill compared to school districts, the largest recipient of property tax money. Other governments including fire, park, forest preserve and library districts get smaller amounts than villages.
• On average, Will County villages got 8.29 percent of the 2010 levy, according to the Will County Treasurer's Office. School districts got 67.45 percent of the levy.

The Increase:

• This is an increase of $60,325 or 3.77 percent over the 2010 levy.
• In the past 10 years, the average yearly hike has added about $85,000 to the levy or 7.87 percent, so this is a comparatively smaller hike, Damron said.

The Total:

• This will mean a tax rate of about 21 cents per $100 of a home's Equalized Assessed Value (EAV).

The Increase:

• This is an increase of about 1 cent per $100 of the home's EAV. The 2010 village tax rate is .2026.
• Damron expects the effect on the average Mokena homeowner to be "minimal," in part because declining home values will cancel out any rise in the tax rate. In short, homeowners can expect to pay a higher percentage of a smaller amount.
• "Basically, the EAVs for 2011 are decreasing by approximately 4 percent, so that's why the increase would not be that much. It's going to be minimal," Damron said.