The Aurora City Council on Tuesday night approved a $560 million city budget for 2024.
The budget includes funding for new Aurora Fire Department personnel for a new medic unit, one new police lieutenant and seven new officers for the Aurora Police Department.
It also includes capital expenditures for the year, including the rest of the new Public Works building on the far East Side, RiverEdge Park expansion and improvements, the beginning expenses for three new fire stations and several road projects.
The city anticipates passing a $44 million bond issue for the capital projects, most of which – about $41 million – will go toward finishing the Public Works building.
The budget shows $490 million in spending based on about that much estimated revenue for the year, and another $70 million in carryovers from 2023 and past budget years.
The budget anticipates $234 million in revenue to the general fund, the city’s main operating fund, about a 4.5% increase. Most of the general fund – about 85% – is paid for with money besides property taxes. That includes what are called consumptive taxes, such as food and beverage taxes, sales taxes and gas tax, as well as personal property replacement tax from the state, as well as state-funded income tax.
Chris Minick, the city’s chief financial officer, said Aurora’s consumptive taxes are strong, which he said is somewhat due to economic development, which helps create more revenue from those taxes.
About 78% of the general fund goes to fund fire, police, public works and public properties.
Aldermen voted 11-1 for the budget, with the lone vote against it being from Ald. John Laesch, at large.
While Laesch did not specify why he voted no, he did ask questions about the bond issues, both the $44 million bond issue for the capital projects and the potential bond issue to fund the $50 million incentive the city anticipates paying toward the Hollywood Casino-Aurora project.
City officials agreed to the incentive as part of a development agreement with the casino’s parent company, Penn Entertainment, to build a $360 million casino resort at Farnsworth Avenue and Bilter Road.
The city is in the midst of developing a tax increment financing district for the property designed to pay back the bonds.
Minick said both bond issues are not technically included in the 2024 budget because bond issues are typically done as budget amendments during the budget year. That’s because officials don’t know the exact amount of the issues until they are sold.
Laesch also questioned hiring more full-time staff in the communications department for Aurora Community Television, saying he was concerned about “creating state-run television.”
Aldermen are expected to vote Dec. 12 on the property tax levy that supports the budget.
The levy is proposed to increase, from about $85.4 million to about $87.37 million, with the 2.25% increase attributable to payments to the public safety pension fund of about $835,000 to the police pension fund, and about $1.4 million to the fire pension fund.
City officials are estimating big increases in the city’s overall assessed value – which will not be known for sure until the spring of 2024 – but they are estimating the tax rate will drop from $1.77 for each $100 of assessed value to $1.70, a 4% decrease. Minick said using those figures a house with a market value of $300,000 would see about a $44 increase a year in city property tax.
Aldermen also are expected to vote Dec. 12 on an abatement of a portion of the tax levy, done every year so taxpayers do not pay the brunt of the city’s general obligation bond service.
It means taxpayers will pay for about $4 million worth of the debt service, but about $12.3 million will be abated.
