DuPage County Finalizes 2017 Budget, Keeps Property Tax Rates Flat

The DuPage County Board approved next year’s budget on Tuesday, making 2017 the ninth year in a row that the budget will not raise property taxes, the county announced in a release.

Aside from the lack of property tax increases, 2017’s final budget of $433.8 million is $10.6 million less than last year’s approved budget of $444.4 million.

“For the last six years of my administration, we have made a commitment to live within our means while offering the highest level of service to our residents,” Dan Cronin, the County Board’s chairman, said in the release. “The residents of DuPage County tell us frequently that they appreciate our efforts to provide local government services in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.”

Under Cronin’s leadership, the county has slashed millions of dollars from the county budget, the release states. Since he took office in 2010, more than $43.9 million have been cut from the county’s budget while managing to leave financial room for capital projects like stormwater management, drainage and road construction.

A handful of other special projects were taken into account when mapping out next year’s budget, the release states, including setting aside $100,000 to continue fighting against heroin use and abuse in the county and an additional $50,000 to establish a program — the “Clean and Lien” program — that will remove, repair or demolish abandoned buildings on foreclosed properties. Once property repairs are made, the land will be put up for sale or used for development.

Paul Fichtner, the chairman of the County Board’s Finance Committee, said in the release that the property tax levy will stay stagnant at $66.9 million.

“Our fiscally conservative approach to budgeting has allowed us to keep property taxes flat for the last nine years,” he said. “While we have faced an uncertain budget scenario at the state level, our continuous efforts to find savings and innovate locally have served DuPage residents well.”

A full copy of the 2017 county budget can be found here. The new budget officially takes effect Dec. 1.

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