O’Fallon City Council sets tax levy, freezes water rates for approval

The O’Fallon City Council has advanced the 2020 tax levy — which will generate $6,896,500 in property tax revenue — for final approval at the Dec. 21 meeting.

“We are working to keep the tax rate near the 2010 tax rate,” Mayor Herb Roach said.

St. Clair County is projecting the rate-setting Equalized Assessed Value (EAV), as the base for the next year’s estimate, to be $730,149,159.

The projected EAV was reduced an additional $2 million to account for Board of Review petitions that typically result assessed values reductions.

The county is also expecting to apply a 1.029% multiplier for O’Fallon Township and a 1.0255% multiplier for Caseyville Township, thereby increasing the EAV by $7,498,632, according to Budget Director Sandy Evans.

The proposed tax levy represents an increase of $76,864 for the city and $16,315 for the library. Based on the current EAV estimate, staff tried to keep the rate comparable to last year’s rate at 0.9375.

Therefore, the city’s estimated rate setting EAV for the 2020 Tax Levy is $735,647,791, which is currently lower than the 2019 final rate setting EAV.

After speaking with the Assessor’s Office, the Board of Review has only placed about 50-60% of new parcels on the tax rolls. As a result, the city was expecting the EAV to be higher than the current estimate, Evans said.

The annual tax levy must be filed with St. Clair County by the last Tuesday in December, which is Dec. 29 this year.

A tax bill is based on two factors, the equalized assessed value (EAV) of property, and the money amount the local taxing districts need to operate during the coming year. Most property is assessed at 33 1/3% of its fair market value.

The tax levy is based on dollar amount and not the rate. Therefore, if the estimated EAV is higher than projected, then the tax levy rate will be lower. If the EAV is lower, then the tax levy rate will be higher.

Because of the impact of the minimum wage increase and police pension requirements, the requested levy amount is higher for some funds but staff was able to keep the rate similar to last year’s by reducing the general fund amount by $230,000 and requesting less than what is needed for social security because of current reserves, Evans said.

In O’Fallon, the current disabled veteran exemption totals $72,095,093, which is a 9% increase from the previous year. There is $224 million in DAV exemptions county-wide and O’Fallon makes up 32% of that.

Freeze on Water and Sewer Rates

In other action, the council approved first readings of two ordinances that will continue the freeze on water and sewer rates through September 2021.

The final approval Dec. 21 will rescind the previous ordinances on water and sewer rates and replace it with the new plan. O’Fallon supplies water to the city, Fairview Heights and outside the corporate limits.

This should produce about $500,000 in annual savings for users. When combined with the previous freeze, it will result in over $1 million in annual savings, Roach said.

This is the second freeze on rates in the past three years. The ordinances eliminate the automatic Consumer Price Index adjustment scheduled for January 2021. The CPI scheduled to go into effect is a 2.9% increase and was already deferred in October. The automatic CPI adjustment will resume in October 2021 and continue annually.

By eliminating the CPI, the water revenue could be reduced by $320,000 and the sewer revenue by $200,000. But the city can still operate the water and sewer systems and will use reserve funds for the Capital Improvement Plan.

Sunrise Center

Ajay Kalra of Ramp Sunrise LLC has applied for a planned use for Suite 101 of 1333 Central Park Drive, which is at the southeast corner of the signalized intersection at Hartman Lane.

The existing 8,200 square foot restaurant space has been vacant for seven years. Kalra would like to split the space into two, add a drive-thru lane and an outdoor patio area plus obtain a pour liquor license for on-site consumption, both indoor and on the proposed patio. The property is part of a 21,600 square foot retail center.

The staff recommended hours be limited to 11 p.m. closing time and the restaurants should be quick service types with limited seating. The request will be up for final approval Dec. 21.

Annexation Agreement

The city has annexed 8752 Oak Hill School Road in Lebanon — a 5.3-acre parcel of land — which is owned by Rhonda R. and Kenneth W. Bouas. It was zoned agricultural but is now a rural residential district.

The city has hired Thouvenot, Wade & Moerchen Inc. for engineering services expected to cost $35,800 to design the 2021 Resurfacing Program FY22 Pavement Management Program. The design is expected to be completed this winter with construction in the summer of 2021.

After three years of implementing the pavement management program, the city has been able to increase the average Pavement Condition Index of the asphalt and concrete streets from 79 to 82, by primarily resurfacing existing asphalt streets. Now the concrete streets need to be addressed. This contract would design a patching and asphalt resurfacing plan for the oldest phases of the Winding Creek Subdivision.

Special Event Permit

First Baptist Church of O’Fallon was granted a special event permit for Christmas in Tow, a parade with six lighted trailers and music, from 6-7:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, and Saturday, Dec. 19. No people will be on the floats nor will candy be thrown out.

Community Development Director Justin Randall said if the vehicles follow the rules of the road and no gatherings are reported, the event would meet the current state mitigation requirements.

Mayor Appointed to Fireman’s Pension Board

Roach is one of nine trustees selected to oversee the administration and investments of the new statewide consolidated Fireman’s Pension Fund. He is the only representative south of Peoria and the only mayor to serve. The retirement fund is $6.4 billion.

“I want to thank my fellow mayors for electing me for this great honor. I join a team with the duty of harbor, protect, and invest the assets under our care, mindful of the fiduciary duty we have to firefighters, retirees, and their dependents. I will bring my experience as mayor of O’Fallon and 35 years of private corporate experience to help manage this important pension fund,” Roach said.

The Illinois Firefighters Pension Fund consolidated more than 650 downstate and suburban public safety pension funds.

Surplus Property

The city declared surplus items ready for sale or disposal, including vehicles, lawn care equipment, children’s tables and chairs, a piano, and print cartridges. All items will be listed on the internet at https://www.govdeals.com/ and sold to highest bidder or failing that disposed of properly.