Lombard’s 2027 budget heads to a Nov. 5 hearing

Lombard’s proposed budget for 2027 goes to a public hearing at the Village Board’s meeting on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. The board’s Finance and Administration Committee was asked Monday night, Oct. 26, to review the plan and the village’s proposed 2026 property tax levy and send a recommendation to the board. Minutes of that meeting had not been posted as of Wednesday morning.

Across all of its funds, the village expects $131.94 million in revenue and $151.30 million in spending in 2027, according to the finance department’s presentation to the committee. The $19.36 million gap is mostly planned spending from savings set aside for big projects, the village says, including about $9.7 million from the Construction Fund, about $5.7 million from the water and sewer capital reserve, and about $6.5 million from the Building Reserve. The presentation says the difference is not a recurring operating deficit.

The General Fund, which pays for day-to-day services such as police, fire and public works, is balanced at $50.0 million in revenue and $50.0 million in spending. Its expenses rise about $2.68 million, or 5.66%, from this year. Wages account for $1.32 million of that increase, health insurance for $702,000, and the transfers to the police and fire pension funds for $278,000 and $247,000. Wages and benefits together make up 77% of General Fund operating costs.

Sales tax remains the village’s biggest source of money, budgeted at $15.42 million for 2027. State income tax is budgeted at $7.71 million and the village’s Places for Eating tax at $4.55 million. Together those three make up 55.4% of General Fund revenue, the presentation says.

The proposed 2026 property tax levy, which is collected in 2027, is $12,895,174. That is $453,282, or 3.64%, more than this year’s levy, and it is the full increase the state tax cap allows. In a memo to the committee, Finance Director Timothy Sexton wrote that 2.88% of the increase falls on existing properties and 0.76% would come from new construction. He estimated the existing-property share at about $19 a year on a $386,000 home and about $27 a year on a $550,000 home. The village’s share is less than 8% of a typical property tax bill, according to the presentation.

The village’s tax rate would still go down. Because Lombard’s total assessed value is projected to grow 7.30%, faster than the levy, the village rate is expected to drop from 0.5621 to about 0.5429 per $100 of equalized assessed value, the memo says. Since the increase is under 5%, state law does not require a separate Truth in Taxation hearing.

Pensions drive most of the levy. The police and firefighters’ pension levies together total $8,059,703, about 62.5% of the village levy, and both are set each year by an independent actuary. The liability insurance levy rises 9.35% to $3,100,460. Because those special levies are growing faster than the overall levy, the general corporate levy shrinks by 47%, to $529,711.

Last year the board took a different path. On Nov. 6, 2025, trustees voted 5 to 1 to limit the levy increase to new growth only, so there was no increase in the village’s portion of the bill for existing homeowners, according to the village’s budget page. Sexton’s memo notes that under the tax cap, each year’s levy becomes the base for the next one. Skipping this year’s existing-property increase of about $358,500 could mean about $4.1 million less revenue over 10 years, he estimated, depending on future inflation and growth.

The board will also talk about what to do with any extra money. At a special meeting on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. in the Lorraine G. Gerhardt Community Room, village staff will present a proposed Core Service Level Enhancement Fund. The fund would start with $453,280, equal to the proposed levy increase, taken from a projected 2026 surplus of $2.5 million. Examples staff listed for discussion include raising downtown snow and ice control from $40,000 to $200,000, a $300,000 storm response fund, more money for sidewalk repairs and seasonal plantings, and doubling support for the DuPage Senior Citizens Council from $25,000 to $50,000. The presentation says the fund does not need to be decided before the budget is approved.

Water and sewer bills are set to rise on Jan. 1 under the five-year schedule of 4% average increases the board approved after a 2024 rate study. The usage rate goes up 69 cents to $18.90 per 1,000 gallons, and the fixed charge on each bill goes up 63 cents to $12.85. A household using 4,000 gallons a month, which the village says describes about 73% of its customers, would pay $88.45 a month instead of $85.06, or $40.68 more a year.

The budget also carries the first year of the village’s 10-year capital plan. Projects planned for 2027 total $39.53 million, led by $12.31 million for street construction and maintenance and $11.12 million for water system improvements. The full 10-year plan totals $209.34 million.

After the Nov. 5 hearing and first reading, the board is scheduled to take a second reading and adopt the budget and tax levy on Nov. 19. The proposed budget and capital plan are posted on the village’s budget page, and residents can speak during public participation at either meeting.