Glen Carbon Board OKs Preliminary Version Of Tax Levy, Abates 2004 Educational Impact Fee Ordinance

By Charlie Feldman

cfeldman@timestribunenews.com

At its Tuesday, November 9 meeting, the Glen Carbon Village Board approved a preliminary version of next year’s tax levy, heard a presentation on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 and voted a final no to charging developers educational impact fees that were originally assessed to pay for building new schools for a housing boom that didn’t last.

The preliminary tax levy is in the amount of $3,082,607, the maximum amount that the final version can be when the board votes on it at its December 14 meeting. “It will likely be lower, but it cannot go higher,” said village finance director Scott Borror. That reflects a 4.9 percent increase in comparison to Tax Year 2020, too low to make a public hearing necessary.

Borror gave a presentation on the proposed budget for next fiscal year. The general fund is balanced at $45,985 without new tax or revenue sources. The total of all funds would be $26,953,665. The net of transfers would be 6.9 percent lower than in fiscal year 2021. There would be a $9.5 million capital budget for street, water and sewer line projects and 4.5 new positions. A public hearing on the proposed budget will be on the same agenda as the vote that will establish it at the December 14 village board meeting. Copies are available for viewing at Village Hall and on the village website.

The board also passed an ordinance abating a 2004 ordinance requiring educational facilities impact fees to be assessed against new home construction on lots within future residential subdivisions located within Glen Carbon. The original ordinance was passed to assist Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 in its anticipated need for additional elementary school buildings as new families moved into new housing units. The boom did not last as projected. This fee has been abated yearly since 2019. Now it is eliminated. The fees will cease on January 1, 2022.

Trustee Nekisha Omotola gave a presentation about what she learned at the recent Illinois Municipal League conference.

In other action the board approved:

• a bid to upgrade the current weather siren system for $78,600.
• a professional services agreement with Cunningham, Vogel & Rost, P.C. for services relating to the review, rewriting and reorganization of the Glen Carbon municipal code including zoning, subdivision and flood control regulations.
• a preventive service agreement with Eaton UPS for a battery backup system in the police dispatch station. This would provide 126 hours of uninterrupted power to the dispatch station separate of the building generator in case of a power failure. This was budgeted for in FY21.
• permission to file necessary paperwork and intervene in eight property tax appeal residential complaints, one from a residence and the rest from commercial entities. They are appealing the Equalized Assessed Values placed by the Madison County assessor. All are in excess of $10,000 – some are in excess of one million dollars. They want them substantially reduced. The village will be working in conjunction with the Edwardsville School District to contest these objections and will split the cost with the district to hire appraisers to back up their argument.

The next Village Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 23 at 7 p.m. at Village Hall.