Manteno sets tax levy

MANTENO — Manteno tweaked its tax levy from the previous year, but residents will see a minimal increase on the village's portion of their property tax bill.

At Monday's board meeting village Administrator Chris LaRocque said the Fiscal Year 2026's rate will be set at 2.5% which is an increase from this past year's 1.75%. That increase will give the village a tax levy of $2,023,500.

"Obviously, our expenses for the village go up every year, so this is a very small portion of that increase that covers our expenses," LaRocque said. "It's a necessary evil."

The tax levy is an increase of $50,000 from Fiscal Year 2025. FY2026 runs from May 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026. Taxes are collected in arrears.

"Basically, our rate that we're levying for increases is right in line with the inflation rate," Trustee Joel Gesky said.

In the breakdown of the tax levy, the biggest expenses are $525,000 for police pension and $512,000 for police protection. There's $460,000 expense for corporate (general fund) and $154,000 for liability insurance. Copies of the total tax levy are available at village hall.

"That gets spread over all the properties in the village, so it's pennies on the dollar," LaRocque said.

Mayor Tim Nugent pointed out the homeowners can file for a rebate on the village's portion of their tax bill each year.

PREVIOUS YEAR'S REBATE

Nugent reported that there were 2,292 residential parcels eligible for tax rebates, and the village received 1,692 applications for the rebate. The village doled out rebates totaling $1,076,492.

There were 49 applications that were denied for various reasons. Most were denied because the residents had not lived in the house the entire year, as required.

"Everyone should have received their tax rebates in the last [week]," Nugent said. "There was some batch that went out a week or 10 days ago, and then another batch went out last week. … If you had applied and were accepted and hadn't got it, you might want to check back later this week."