Elgin’s Tax Rate Could Rise 26.3% in Just Two Years
By Stephanie Lippke 8/4/26
Tonight, the Elgin City Council will hold the first reading of the proposed 2026 tax rate. This is not the final vote, but it is the first official step toward adopting the rate. The Council can still lower it, but residents need to speak up before the process moves forward.
The proposed rate is $0.719777 per $100 of taxable value. That is 16.22% higher than last year’s rate. After last year’s 8.64% increase, the City tax rate would be about 26.3% higher than it was two years ago.
The graphic shows where much of the new spending may go. Departments have requested about 16 new full-time positions and four part-time positions. The City is also considering a compensation plan that could add about $650,000 to yearly payroll costs.
Other requests include about $1.5 million in financed Police vehicles, a $400,000 radio project, new Police positions and equipment, Public Works vehicles and machinery, street resurfacing, Parks employees, Library positions, Municipal Court staff, an IT technician, a records clerk and Building Maintenance employees and vans.
Some of these requests may be needed. However, taxpayers should ask whether everything must be approved in one year. New employees, raises, benefits, maintenance and loan payments are not just one-time costs. They must be paid again in future budgets.
The City is also using about $641,433 in unused taxing authority from earlier years. This is not money sitting in a bank account. It means the City previously charged less than the maximum amount allowed and is now adding that unused taxing power to this year’s proposed rate. State law allows it, but the Council does not have to use all of it.
At the same time, the City is studying higher water and sewer rates. Those utility increases have not been approved, but residents could soon face higher property taxes, water bills and sewer bills at the same time.
Residents should contact their council members and ask them to reject the full proposed rate, reduce or delay lower-priority spending, avoid using all the unused taxing authority and provide a clear list showing the full cost of every new position, vehicle and program.
Tonight’s vote is not the end of the process. But it is the time to start paying attention. Once the Council moves the maximum rate forward, it becomes harder to bring it back down.
