Aldermen approve amended resolution giving city cap on amount property tax levy can be increased

QUINCY — The Quincy City Council passed an amended resolution during its Monday night meeting that could increase the Quincy Public Library’s levy request to 15 cents per $100 of equalized assessed value (EAV) and increase the aggregate property tax levy by 24.49 percent.

That decision also means the City Council must have a public hearing on Dec. 9 because the increase in the 2024 property tax rate exceeds five percent.

Comptroller Sheri Ray presented five tax levy options to aldermen on Monday night, with options ranging from a 4.96 percent increase to a 24.49 percent increase in the aggregate tax levy.  Her proposal suggested aldermen increase the aggregate tax levy by 15.98 percent by setting the library tax rate at 9.5 cents per $100 of EAV (which would raise approximately $800,000). Her proposal also kept flat a $1.65 million subsidy from the city’s general fund.

“We fully expect a lesser option will be settled upon at the end of this process, but we also provide the council the broadest range as we consider our options over the next three weeks until adoption on Dec. 23,” Ray wrote.

Her suggestion would have raised taxes by $10.54 on a $100,000 home, $23.40 on a $200,000 home and $36.26 on a $300,000 home.

However, alderman Jeff Bergman (R-2) offered another proposal. He suggested setting the library tax rate at 15 cents per $100 of EAV — the minimum rate required by state statute — for a levy of $1.302 million while reducing the subsidy from the general fund.

“The way it works right now with the public when they get their property tax bill, there’s a section that’s broken down for police and fire pensions and for the library, and the library is at around 9 or 9½ percent,” Bergman said. “But that’s not the true dollar amount that the taxpayer is paying for that library. We also subsidize the library out of the general fund. If we really want to have truth in taxation and be clear to the public as far as what their responsibility is, my thought is we levy at the higher rates … and reduce the total dollar amount that we would be liable for out of the general fund.

“At the end of the day, what that does is it gives more clarity to the taxpayers when they open their property tax bill and shows them a better true cost of the library. Right now, they’re only seeing about half that cost. The other half, if not more, is actually hidden from the general fund by the city. (Taxpayers) don’t see that. So as far as clarity for the taxpayers, in my mind, yes, it’s going to create a tax increase this year, but in my mind, we should rip the band-aid off this one time.”

While the amended resolution caps the maximum amount of tax money the city can collect, aldermen can still vote to buy down the tax rate by using excess city funds.

“If three weeks from now, we have a discussion and we decide we don’t want to (set the library tax levy at 15 cents) and just go back to (Ray’s proposal of 9.5 cents), then we can go lower,” Bergman said. “But if we do (Ray’s proposal) tonight, and then a couple of weeks later down the road, several of us change our mind and think, ‘Well, maybe the (15-cent tax levy) is the way to go,’ then it’s too late. It kind of pigeonholes us as far as what we can do three weeks from now (when the city votes Dec. 23 to adopt its property tax rate).”

Other sources of funding are not yet established. Ray wrote in her proposal that EAV growth is expected to be 7.54 percent, but the Adams County assessor’s office has not yet calculated that figure. Personal property replacement taxes are expected to be at $5 million (4 percent below the city’s current Fiscal Year 2024 projection of $5.2 million). The city wants to continue pension funding at 104 percent of the actuarial required contribution.

Kelly Mays (R-4) wasn’t sure this was the best time to vote for a tax increase.

“Everything costs a lot of money right now. No one has a lot of extra money,” she said. “Taxes are already having to go up, not just for the city in general, and the EAV has gone up. So that means even if we didn’t do anything last year, we lowered our levy, and taxes still went up almost 5 percent. I just want to put out there that it’s something to think about, that this would be a very large increase. It’s probably not the best time to do that.”

“Just to clarify, the amendment that’s on the table now is not to set the tax levy rate tonight, but it’s to give the council the largest flexibility as to what you want to do as we further talk in subsequent meetings about the revenues and start getting into the budget discussions,” Mayor Mike Troup said.

“At the end of the day, it’s the same amount of money,” Bergman said. “It’s just a matter of how we pay for it, and it’s about clarity for the public and the taxpayers.”

Aldermen voted 11-1 to amend the resolution, then voted 11-1 to adopt the amended resolution.

Aldermen also approved a Truth in Taxation resolution for the Quincy Historic Business District Special Service Area. The Historic Quincy Business District determined that the money to be raised by taxation is $116,500. Because the increase in the tax levy is only 4.69 percent, a public hearing is not necessary.