Western Springs Seeks $451K More From Taxpayers

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs is poised to seek $451,000 more from the village's property taxpayers next year, for a total of $8.7 million.

This year, the village made up 12 percent of the local property tax bill, with schools taking up nearly three-quarters.

Compared to nearby towns, Western Springs' portion of the tax bill is far greater.

Burr Ridge and Darien's parts of their tax bills are 1.6 percent and 4 percent, respectively. But Western Springs runs a fire department while Burr Ridge and Darien do not.

Hinsdale and Elmhurst, which have fire departments, take up 6 and 7 percent of their property tax bills, respectively. La Grange, also with a fire department, makes up 11 percent of the tax bill, slightly under Western Springs' percentage.

The difference between Western Springs and the other towns is that Western Springs has relatively few businesses. The village says 95 percent of the town is residential.

Buildings housing businesses are typically more valuable than houses for property tax purposes. And retailers pay sales taxes, which help reduce the property tax burden.

Under Western Springs' proposed tax levy, the owner of a $650,000 house would see an $88 increase to next year's property tax bill. That would bring the total village tax bill to nearly $1,700, officials said.

If local schools' property tax levies go up by the legal maximum of 5 percent, then the owner of the $650,000 house would pay $460 more next year, based on current numbers. This year's property tax bill for the $650,000 house was about $13,000.

Public bodies are allowed to increase their levies by 5 percent this year because of higher inflation in recent times. Usually, the legal limit is considerably lower than 5 percent.

The Village Board is set to vote on the proposed levy later this month.