The first disclaimer needed is that I have great respect and admiration for all elected officials. It is a hard job with little recognition. I appreciate and applaud all who volunteer and are elected to take on this job. Any policy or position differences are not personal.

The second disclaimer is throughout my tenure as Trustee I have voted for and against taxes and fees. It is not realistic to say you will never raise a fee or tax, there are circumstances where you have to responsibly raise a tax or fee.

It is no secret that I have been adamently opposed to several fee(s) or tax hikes lately. The following section is a high level overview of the events from my perspective. Please see official Village of Mundelein documents for exact information. Understanding why decisions were made as an elected official helps to understand some of how the decision process should look at all sides of an issue. This can be an important election factor.

One of them has been the 11% increase in the water bill last spring 2024. Trustees Lambert, Schwenk, and I opposed the 11% increase Mayor Lentz broke the tie and the increase passed. I can’t speak for the other Trustees but my opposition was partly based on the following: 6% of the increase was to cover the CLCJAWA (Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency) raise in price. That’s where we get our water from. I could have potentially supported that part of the raise had it been presented differently, it was the other added 5% that was in conflict. As a village we need to prepare for future growth, infrastructure etc. We could have still done that to a degree with an amount less than the additional 5% at that time.

Governor Pritzker proposed eliminating the 1% grocery tax last spring 2024. There was speculation that the removal might be effective July 1, 2024 at an estimated loss of 500K to Mundelein per year. The village of Mundelein proposed a 1/4% retail sales tax hike effective July 1, 2024 to replace it with an estimated generated revenue of 1.2 million per year. I opposed this as I felt we should wait to see what the State of Illinois was going to do prior to instituting a replacement tax. The village passed adding 1/4% to the retail sales tax effective July 1, 2024. I voted no as we should have waited to see what the state did first.

The State of Illinois did vote to remove the 1% grocery tax effective January 1, 2026. After the state vote, the village of Mundelein held a meeting to discuss how to handle the 1/4% retail sales tax collected from July 1, 2024 to January 1, 2026. The 1% state of Illinois grocery tax is still being collected during this time period. The Village opted to keep 1/4% retail sales tax in place. I voted against keeping the 1/4% retail sales tax in place (until January 1, 2026) as we were also collecting the 1% State of Illinois grocery tax this was meant to replace. To me this was double taxing.

The EAV tax levy (real estate), in the recent meeting three options were presented. Five of the Trustees supported option 1 with one of those trustees potentially willing to support option one or two, this is a majority and will pass. These options were the most expensive options presented resulting in real estate tax increases to the residents. I voted no to option 1, the largest increase.

There is a consistent argument from real estate taxing bodies that this is only (example $60 dollars a year, a dollar or two a week, on a 300k to 400k house a year). Every real estate taxing body says this like it’s no big deal. Well, when you have about 17 (give or take) real estate taxing bodies on your tax bill, it does become a big deal. Take an average of $60ish or so dollars a year for each taxing body, it adds up. Far more than what a household gets in a pay increase in a year. When your house is worth more than the median price, it does add up. If your job pay raise, pension, or a Social Security pay raise is between 2-3% a year or even 4-5% a year and your real estate taxes are a much higher % a year, it is a big deal. A person can only cut so much out of their budget year after year and may eventually hit a breaking point. Even if you rent, your rent may be increased by your landlord who as a property owner may get a real estate tax increase. Your raises for taxes doesn’t even cover the raises for utilities or retail goods. Add those all together and it’s far more than a few dollars a month and it is a big deal.

Government needs money to run and provide us (businesses/residents) the quality services we expect.

Residents/businesses expect quality government services. Governments need to provide that as economically as possible, without taxing people out of the homes they love. Hardships may be created when basic utilities become too expensive.

Elected officials need to balance the expectations of the residents/businesses with the needs of the village to get the job done as efficiently and economically as possible. Elected officials need to balance the budget, and find the revenue sources without always relying on real estate taxes to fill that gap. Balance is key. Balance between the needs of the village and the needs of the residents/businesses.

My concern is that the taxing and fee balance between village and the residential/business community is off and creating hardships. We need to look at alternative revenue sources to look for a better revenue/tax balance.