The budget for East Moline will probably not change very much next year. Monday night, the city council discussed spending 45.5 million dollars in 2021, an increase of about four and-a-half per cent.
City Administrator Doug Maxeiner says that includes a deficit of nearly four million dollars, something he and the council will try to reduce as much as possible before the new fiscal year begins in January.
"We are providing municipal services to our community at a great rate or a greater volume than what we can pay for based on our revenues."
And he estimates the pandemic will reduce revenue for the city next year by more than 900,000 dollars.
The proposed property tax rate for the new year would go up by about one penny, and mean the owner of a 150,000 dollar home would pay an additional four and-a-half dollars in taxes to the city.
"It's primarily going towards increased police and fire pensions. Those costs are growing far greater than anything else we have right now so a larger share of the property taxes are going towards those purposes."
Each year in Illinois, local governments are required to submit their proposed tax levies to their counties by the end of December.
