Geneva City Council will consider taking a procedural step toward a possible property tax cap override Sept. 15, less than a week after city officials presented a proposed 2027 budget built around a 3% increase in the property tax levy.
The proposed budget remains below the city’s current state-calculated tax levy limit, but Acting City Manager Taylor Youngs told council Sept. 9 that the margin is narrow enough that she recommends keeping an override available as the budget changes during the review process.
The Sept. 15 resolution would not override the tax cap or increase property taxes. It would schedule an Oct. 7 public hearing on a local law that would give council the ability to exceed the cap if the final budget requires it.
According to the agenda materials, adoption of the local law would ultimately require a two-thirds vote of council. The resolution setting the hearing requires only a simple majority.
The decision comes as council begins working through a proposed $33.97 million budget covering the general, water and sewer funds. The general fund totals approximately $23.18 million, with spending increasing by less than 1% from 2026.
Youngs has proposed a property tax levy of approximately $9.55 million, an increase of about $278,000, or 3%, over 2026.
Debate over 0%, 2% and 3% levy options
The proposed increase prompted one of the most significant exchanges during council’s Sept. 9 special meeting.
Councilor Kane said council had previously asked staff to show what a 0% levy increase would look like and questioned why the formal proposal instead came back at 3%. He said residents needed to be able to see the differences between the various options.
Youngs responded that an earlier budget presentation had already demonstrated what a 0% increase would require and said she interpreted subsequent council discussions as permission to develop a budget above that level.
She also said preparing a second complete budget built around a 0% increase would be impractical because of the amount of work involved.
Mayor Jim Cecere suggested council approach the debate in increments of roughly $95,000 for each percentage point in the levy. If council wants to lower the proposed increase, he said members will have to identify spending they want removed or revenue they want increased.
Councilor Peter Gillotte also noted that reducing the levy is not simply an exercise in changing numbers. Youngs said the budget is close to the point where meaningful additional reductions could require cuts to positions or services, although some equipment purchases could also be reconsidered depending on how they are funded.
Balanced budget, but longer-term concerns remain
The Sept. 9 discussion also highlighted the difference between balancing the proposed 2027 budget and resolving the city’s longer-term financial problems.
When Councilor Petropoulos asked about a previously discussed deficit, Youngs noted that the proposed budget itself is balanced.
Cecere cautioned against interpreting that as the elimination of the city’s longer-term structural imbalance. He said Geneva still faces a long-term structural deficit and described the proposed budget as another step toward narrowing it.
The mayor also requested projections showing future fund balance levels and potential pay-as-you-go contributions that could eventually allow the city to fund more capital projects without borrowing.
The proposed capital plan is designed to move Geneva closer to council’s adopted goal of reducing the general fund debt-to-revenue ratio to approximately 60%. Youngs said the ratio is projected to fall from about 71.7% in 2027 to 60.7% by 2031.
That debt strategy has also required the city to delay or leave unfunded some capital projects and departmental requests.
Public hearing moved earlier
Council also agreed Sept. 9 to move the formal public hearing on the proposed budget to Sept. 23 after several members said they wanted residents involved earlier in the process.
Councilors said public feedback during the previous budget cycle came relatively late, limiting its usefulness while decisions were still being made.
The city must ultimately adopt its 2027 budget by Oct. 31.
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