By Stephen Nelson
While the local property tax for residents of Frankfort is not going down, at least it is not increasing. For the second year in a row, the village board passed a levy at its Monday, December 2, meeting that keeps the current tax rate on property owners virtually unchanged. This is welcome news following a decision two years ago to increase the village portion of property tax by 4.9 percent, which was just under the amount that would have required sending the levy request to a referendum for voter approval.
At its October 9, meeting, the Committee of the Whole reviewed the proposed 2024 Tax Levy for the Village of Frankfort. Finance Director Jenni Booth presented preliminary Equalized Assessed Valuation figures from the Will County Assessor’s office, indicating overall growth of approximately 12.5 percent (11 percent for existing property and 1.5 percent for new growth). The county estimated new property values at $17,972,098 and reported a Consumer Price Index increase of 3.4 percent. It was the consensus of the committee to forward a recommendation to the village board to request the 2024 Tax Levy in the amount of $3,892,232. This amount incorporates the CPI increase and new property values, resulting in a total increase of $179,115. Based on preliminary values, the proposed tax rate would be .2942, which is .0217 below the 2023 capped rate of .3159.