Finance Committee Summary

Finance Committee discretionary agenda highlights for November 2, 2026

West Chicago Finance Committee Agenda Review — November 2, 2026

This table summarizes each Finance Committee agenda action, the money involved, and whether the action appears non-discretionary under the review rubric.

View the PDF text extraction table

Item	Short description	Money involved	Non-discretionary evaluation
2.A — October 5, 2026 minutes	Consider approval of the prior Finance Committee meeting record.	No direct City expenditure identified.	Likely non-discretionary / administrative: approval of meeting records, not a new policy choice.
5.A — property tax levy estimate	Recommend the Corporate and SSA #2 levy estimates to Council before final levy adoption scheduled for December 7.	Proposed Corporate levy $5,429,909; SSA #2 $14,081; each increases 4.9% over the 2025 extension. Staff estimates about $30 annually in the City share for an example $375,000 home.	Discretionary: the levy amount is a revenue-policy choice even though estimate/adoption timing is statutory. This is not a uniform 4.9% increase in every resident's entire tax bill.
5.B — Police Pension Fund	Recommend Council approval of the proposed 2027 contribution and receive/place on file the Annual Tax Levy Certification and Municipal Compliance Report.	Proposed contribution $3,804,137 from available General Fund revenues, not a separate pension property-tax levy. Private actuarial alternative $2,331,254 is not the staff request; IPOPIF annual requirement $2,109,005 is a different reported measure.	Likely non-discretionary / administrative-leaning: annual statutory reporting and follow-through on the previously agreed funding transition plan. Contribution-method discretion and actuarial risk remain; this is not a new discretionary benefit or automatic proof of full funding.
5.C — accounts receivable write-offs	Recommend Council approval of aged receivable write-offs while preserving legally enforceable collection rights where applicable.	Actions Proposed and category total: $47,043.68. Narrative separately says $43,219.18, an unresolved source conflict. Active-lien accounts are stated to be excluded.	Mixed, administrative-leaning: accounting cleanup of doubtful balances with judgment about recoverability and specific accounts; not necessarily debt forgiveness or a new cash payment. Resolve conflicting totals/detail before final approval.
5.D — draft 2027 budget	Review/discuss the draft, identify modifications and advance it to Council for consideration and public inspection.	Proposed General Fund revenue $26,515,200 and expenditures $26,515,189; approximately $3.4 million industrial-road bonds, $8.7 million IEPA loan proceeds, $2 million downtown-to-capital transfer, $75,000 new business incentives, $25,000 advertising, $50,000 incubator initiatives, $50,000 Community Park master-plan refresh and $200,000 underpass preliminary design. Proposed 5% water/sewer rate increase.	Discretionary: priorities, funding, rates and service levels remain subject to review. This motion is advancement and recommended modifications, not final adoption or separate approval of every budget line.
5.D.i — estimated 2026 surplus for use in 2027	Discuss the nested surplus topic in the context of the draft budget and reserve/allocation policies.	2026 estimated General Fund revenue $26,083,370 less estimated expenditures $24,108,184 equals $1,975,186 before any further adjustments. This arithmetic difference is not a certified transferable surplus. Policy text allocates audited surplus above 35%: 2026 surplus 80% Downtown Revitalization / 20% Community Park.	Discretionary planning within existing fiscal-policy constraints: deciding how eligible resources support 2027 priorities; no distinct dollar transfer motion or final audited surplus certification is supplied for this subitem.
5.E — staffing additions and internship pilot	Review/discuss six staffing additions and the internship pilot and provide direction on inclusion in the final budget.	Four part-time allocations $105,000; two full-time base salaries $215,000; internship pilot $5,000; combined $325,000 before applicable employer benefits, payroll taxes and retirement costs budgeted separately.	Discretionary: expansion of staffing/services and a new internship pilot. Budget direction is not immediate hiring approval; detailed job descriptions are to return December 7 for Finance consideration/approval as applicable, and final budget adoption is Council's action.
8 — reports from staff	Numbered informational reporting opportunity; no separately attached current staff report or defined motion under this heading.	No separate expenditure request identified.	Informational / administrative; do not invent a spending or policy action from an otherwise unspecified heading.

Detailed analysis of substantive topics

5.A — proposed property-tax levy estimates

The Finance Committee meets Monday, November 2, 2026 at 6:00 P.M. in City Council Chambers, 475 Main Street, West Chicago, Illinois 60185. These are pre-meeting proposals, not recorded approvals.

Packet pages 4–5 request a recommendation of a $5,429,909 Corporate levy and $14,081 SSA #2 levy to Council. The comparison table is visually important: the 2025 extended figures are $5,176,271.27 and $13,423.42, while the proposed 2026 levies are $5,429,909 and $14,081. Flattened text interleaves its headings, so do not reverse the columns.

Decision point: recommend the proposed revenue request or changes; later Council adoption and abatement remain separate.

Both proposed increases are 4.9%. Staff says no Truth in Taxation hearing is required because the applicable and aggregate increases are below 5%; that is the packet's conclusion, not an independent legal determination.
The $30 example concerns the City's portion of the bill for a $375,000 example home, not every taxing district or a guarantee for each property.
Staff explains that new construction expands the tax base, but the proposed Corporate increase also affects current taxpayers.
The County automatically levies GO debt service. The City plans to pay the March 2026 bonds using home-rule sales tax and abate the entire associated levy in 2027, rather than add that line to property-tax bills.
Estimate announcement must precede levy ordinance adoption by at least 20 days. The packet anticipates levy and abatement action December 7, 2026. This review reports proposed estimates, not an adopted levy ordinance; no ordinance number is supplied here.

5.B — pension contribution and annual compliance material

The summary on page 6 and October 8 certification letter on page 7 identify $3,804,137. Staff asks for Council approval of that contribution in 2027 and receipt/filing of the certification and compliance report. The City says it pays from available General Fund revenue and does not separately levy for pensions.

Decision point: recommend the proposed contribution and receive/file the annual reports while clarifying the contribution-year labeling and incomplete supporting attachment. The annual compliance filing and existing funding-plan implementation are administrative-leaning; the funding method is not devoid of policy judgment.

The compliance report covers the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. The actuarial attachment is valued January 1, 2026 on December 31, 2025 data and labels its contribution year January 1–December 31, 2026. This differs from staff's proposed 2027 payment description; preserve the distinction and seek clarification rather than relabeling the report.
Private actuarial funding metrics show actuarial assets $56,106,205, accrued liability $80,382,973 and unfunded liability $24,276,768, with 69.80% funded on the actuarial basis and 75.69% on the fair-value basis. IPOPIF's 73.23% funded ratio and $20,663,324 unfunded liability use a different basis; they are not interchangeable with the private actuarial figures.
The private report's $2,331,254 alternative contribution is specifically not its recommendation; it describes that method as deferring contributions. The compliance report separately lists IPOPIF's $2,109,005 annual requirement. Neither replaces staff's $3,804,137 request.
The private report uses a 6.50% expected investment-return assumption and warns that actual future experience may differ. Do not treat estimates as guarantees or describe the fund as fully funded.
The attachment ends on internal actuarial page 45 (PDF page 57), while its table of contents lists later assumptions, low-default-risk, plan-provision and glossary sections through page 62. Those later sections are not present in this linked packet. The archive preserves the full packet actually supplied, not an invented complete standalone actuarial report.

5.C — write-offs: requested total and unresolved inconsistencies

Pages 58–59 explain that removing uncollectible amounts avoids overstating financial assets and can redirect collection resources. An accounting write-off does not necessarily cancel the legal debt; lawful collection can continue or resume. Staff states that active liens are excluded and projects enough FY2026 surplus to absorb the adjustment while maintaining its stated 35% reserve policy and planned Community Park/Downtown transfers.

The requested $47,043.68 consists of false alarms $10,300.00; lot cutting $9,113.25; recording/general miscellaneous fees $20,912.04; general reimbursement $1,879.68; damaged property $340.00; engineering $1,179.28; employee reimbursement $844.43; and scavenger licensing $2,475.00. The categories sum to the requested total. These are receivables being written off, not a $47,043.68 new expenditure.

Decision point: recommend the specific accounting adjustment, subject to clear confirmation of the controlling amount and eligible accounts. Staff lists November 16, 2026 as the Council agenda date; no final approval is established.

Page 59 narrative says $43,219.18, but its table, Actions Proposed and page 60 summary say $47,043.68. Report the requested figure and flag the discrepancy.
Page 60's ending-balance figures do not consistently reconcile. For example, engineering shows $1,179.28 as the ending balance there, whereas its detail on page 67 shows $348,820.72 after a $1,179.28 write-off from $350,000. Recording/general-miscellaneous detail also does not support the summary's displayed $342,087.96 as a simple post-write-off balance. Do not reuse the summary's aggregate ending balance as validated fiscal capacity.
Page 63 includes lien-expiration dates in 2028 and 2029 among listed lot-cutting accounts despite the narrative exclusion of active liens. Page 64 includes a recording-fee lien expiring in 2030. Both schedules also separately list amounts excluded for active liens/litigation. The packet does not clearly reconcile all listed accounts to those exclusions; staff should clarify eligibility before approval. No assertion is made that a specific active lien will in fact be written off.
Some detail rows say “Pre -2029,” inconsistent with the narrative's 2009–2022 range. Preserve the source wording rather than silently correcting it.

5.D and 5.D.i — 2027 priorities, public review and surplus

The 144-page section at packet pages 69–212 includes staff's two-page summary and the proposed-budget book. Budget pages use their own internal numbering; for example, packet pages 74–75 are internal budget pages 1–2. They show 2027 proposed General Fund revenue $26,515,200 and expenditures $26,515,189, a near-balanced draft rather than the City's all-funds budget total.

Decision point: recommend modifications and advance the draft for Council/public review, including choices about available surplus and priorities. This is not final budget adoption or automatic approval of every line item.

Financing assumptions include the increased home-rule sales tax effective January 1, 2027, increased package liquor tax, a proposed 5% water/sewer rate increase as recommended October 19, approximately $3.4 million road bonds and approximately $8.7 million IEPA lead-service-line loan proceeds. Debt/loan proceeds are financing, not grants or free operating income.
Proposed economic/community allocations include a $2 million transfer from Downtown Revitalization to Capital for downtown modernization; $75,000 business incentives, $25,000 construction-impact advertising, $50,000 incubator initiatives, $50,000 Community Park planning and $200,000 underpass preliminary design. These are not a final award to a named business or approval to construct the full underpass restoration.
Budget policy at packet page 73 says maintain a minimum 25% of annual revenues and strive for 35%, while staff summaries characterize a 35% reserve policy. Preserve this wording difference. After the audit confirms balances, surplus exceeding 35% is allocated according to a schedule: 2025 surplus 100% Downtown / 0% Park; 2026 surplus 80% / 20%; 2027 surplus 75% / 25%.
Agenda 5.D.i explicitly calls for discussion of estimated 2026 surplus for the 2027 budget. The estimated revenue/expenditure difference is $1,975,186 from the two General Fund schedules, not an independently certified balance above the reserve threshold. No dedicated subitem memo sets a final transferable surplus or separate transfer authorization. Do not apply the 80/20 percentages to that arithmetic difference as though a transfer were approved.
Staff anticipates notice publication November 6 and a budget hearing/adoption December 7. It describes at least 10 days' availability for inspection and at least one week's hearing notice, with roughly 30 days of local review practice. The draft is to be available online and at City Hall and remains amendable. The budget cover says December 2026; that is a draft-book label, not evidence of adoption before this November meeting.

5.E — six staffing additions and a summer internship pilot

Pages 213–214 propose four part-time allocations, two full-time salaries and a separate internship pilot:

The four part-time allocations total $105,000, two full-time salaries $215,000 and the pilot $5,000: $325,000 combined allocations/base salaries, not an all-in employer cost. Benefits, payroll taxes and retirement are budgeted separately. The three proposed part-time City positions are anticipated below 1,000 annual hours, subject to IMRF rules; the social worker has a distinct shared-services arrangement.

Decision point: discuss the additions and provide direction on final-budget inclusion. Detailed job descriptions return to Finance December 7 for consideration and approval as applicable. No immediate hiring action, executed IGA or final Council budget adoption is established by this packet.

$30,000 part-time social-worker shared services with Warrenville and Winfield through an intergovernmental agreement; not represented as a new City-only full-time employee.
$25,000 part-time Police Records Clerk, especially FOIA search/review/redaction and statutory response capacity.
$25,000 part-time Administrative Assistant shared by Administration and Business & Community Relations.
$25,000 part-time Administrative Aide serving the Mayor and Council equitably across seven wards, coordinated through Administration.
$85,000 Management Analyst base salary in Administration, supporting HR modernization, cross-department projects and census preparation.
$130,000 Assistant Director of Business & Community Relations base salary, supporting communications, engagement and oversight, allowing the Director more economic-development capacity.
$5,000 pilot for up to two summer interns, separate from the six staffing additions.

Last generated: November 1, 2026 at 12:03 PM CST