Hinsdale Village Board Approves Property Tax Levy for 2010

The Hinsdale Village Board Tuesday night approved a $9.5 million property tax levy for the fiscal year beginning May 1, 2010 and ending April 30, 2011.

The new levy represents an increase of 3.7 percent over the 2009 figure. Under the provisions of Illinois law, the village is not required to hold a public hearing on the tax levy, since the increase from the previous year is less than 5 percent.

One of the difficulties the village board encountered in trying to establish a new tax levy was the uncertainty over how much Hinsdale will have to contribute to its pension funds for police and firefighters. Analysis by state officials showed the minimum contributions the village would need to make to the funds were $777,470 for police and $882,024 for firefighters. However, independent actuarial studies carried out by the fund administrators showed significantly higher required contributions -- $999,446 for police and $1.26 million for firefighters.

For the fiscal year ending April 30, the police pension fund had total assets of $17.8 million. There were 26 Police Department employees who contributed a total of $233,876 to the fund. The fund had 20 recipients who received a total of $904,393 during the fiscal year.

The pension fund for firefighters showed total assets of $12.8 million for the fiscal year ending April 30. There were 24 department employees who contributed a total of $181,536 to the fund. The fund had 21 recipients who received a total of $808,495 during the fiscal year.

The board chose to use the state figures in determining its tax levy request, but the village budget includes about $100,000 in each fund for unforeseen expenses.

The levy is part of a $33.4 million village budget for the fiscal year.

The board approved the tax levy unanimously as part of a lengthy consent agenda, which also included approving making payments of principal and interest totaling just under $1 million on three village debts related to water and sewer service and the library.

The board also approved a grant application seeking $60,375 to help defray the cost of upgrading electrical service to Katherine Legge Memorial Park. The main electrical feed for the park currently is mounted on a pole and enters the administration building on the second floor landing. This does not meet code requirements, and the Parks and Recreation Department wants to have the service relocated underground. The estimated cost of the project is $80,000.