Oak Park homeowners would pay about $20.58 more per year for library services under a budget the library board plans to approve Wednesday.
The Oak Park Public Library Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on its $13.4 million fiscal year 2027 budget at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the main library, 834 Lake St. The meeting agenda shows the budget as an action item with 30 minutes allotted.
The plan calls for a 4% property tax levy increase, setting the levy at $12.46 million. That would raise the per-household cost of library service from $512.51 to $533.09, according to a budget memo from Director of Finance and Human Resources Billy Treece dated Oct. 22.
Staff had earlier presented two scenarios. Draft 2a proposed a 4% levy increase that covered operations but left a capital deficit. Draft 2b modeled a 5% increase paired with staffing and capital cuts to eliminate the deficit entirely. At the board's Sept. 23 meeting, trustees directed staff to build the final budget around the 4% figure, according to meeting minutes.
The resulting Draft 3 projects a $67,900 operating surplus. But after $325,000 in capital spending, the overall budget carries a $257,100 deficit. Treece's memo notes that figure represents a 64.3% reduction from the current year's $720,000 deficit.
Capital spending drops sharply. The FY2027 capital budget of $325,000 is down 54.9% from FY2026's $720,000. Building improvements fall from $575,000 to $235,000, with a $50,000 interior painting project at the Dole Branch deferred.
On the revenue side, total revenue would rise 4.9% to $13.12 million. Property taxes account for 95% of that total. The budget also includes $50,000 in gifts from the Friends of the Oak Park Public Library, double the current year's budgeted amount. That money funds specific items including $13,000 to archivally frame nine Margaret Burroughs prints and $6,000 for Barbara Ballinger Lecture programming.
Compensation, the library's largest expense category, rises 5.4% to $9.69 million. The budget fully funds 3.9% average market equity adjustments for staff and covers increased healthcare and pension costs. Employee health benefits alone jump 19.1%, from $1.36 million to $1.63 million.
The library also lost about $60,000 in interest income because of delayed property tax disbursements, according to Finance Committee minutes from Sept. 11. Second-installment tax bills arrived two months late, pushing the payment deadline from Aug. 1 to Oct. 1.
If adopted, the levy resolution goes to the Village of Oak Park for inclusion in the village's tax levy ordinance, which the Village Board approves in December before sending it to the Cook County Treasurer. The Oct. 28 meeting is open to the public in person and via Zoom.
