Oak Park's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget includes a 7.94% increase in the village's direct property tax levy.
The Finance Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, in Council Chambers at Village Hall, 123 Madison St., for the first of three sessions reviewing the spending plan. Thursday's session covers budgets for the Village Manager's Office, Village Clerk, Law and Human Resources departments, according to the meeting agenda.
The proposed budget puts General Fund expenditures at $86,268,212 against $84,568,213 in revenues. The $1.7 million gap would come from reserves set aside for one-time costs, according to budget legislation prepared by Deputy CFO Louis Hall-Makarewicz and reviewed by Chief Financial Officer Kevin Bueso.
The levy would rise to $43,058,924, up $3,166,117 from the prior year's $39,892,807. The corporate portion for general operations would climb 6.32%. Debt service would jump 26.09%, while police and fire pension levies would each rise about 4%.
That increase applies only to the village's share of property tax bills. Oak Park collects roughly 15.09 cents of every dollar residents pay in property taxes. Schools, the Park District, Cook County and other overlapping governments collect the rest.
The budget proposal notes the increase comes after years of slower levy growth. The village's direct levy grew 14.08% between 2020 and 2025, while the national Consumer Price Index rose 24.41% over the same period.
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars are expected to be fully spent by the end of 2026. To offset that loss, the village is reassigning roughly $6.95 million in operating revenues to the General Fund.
The largest piece is about $6.2 million in Home Rule Sales Tax. The rest comes from local gasoline tax, cannabis tax and infrastructure maintenance fees.
The budget also proposes making the non-emergency crisis response program E.C.H.O. permanent and expanding a mental health partnership with Thrive Counseling Center.
Design and construction of a new police headquarters would begin. Five temporary positions, including two public health positions and three E.C.H.O. staff, would become permanent. Total budgeted positions would rise to 414.20, up 5.20 from the current year.
Village Manager Kevin J. Jackson approved the budget proposal for committee review.
Two more Finance Committee sessions follow on Nov. 5 and Nov. 11. The Board of Trustees holds a Truth in Taxation hearing Nov. 17, with a second budget presentation Dec. 1 and final adoption scheduled for Dec. 8. Residents can comment in person or virtually by contacting the Village Clerk's Office at 708-358-5670 or [email protected] before 5 p.m. on the day of each meeting.
