With little fanfare, the Naperville City Council adopted a $685.34 million budget for next year, nearly 6.8% more than the $641.15 million spent this year.
Naperville’s budget totals a little more than what had recommended by city staff due to changes in the capital improvement expenses and the last-minute addition of a mobile crisis intervention team (MCIT), a policing initiative focused on mental health crises.
Over the course of months-long deliberations, Munch described budget planning for next year as more challenging than usual.
Earlier this year, city staff were staring down a $6.5 million deficit caused by the elimination of the state grocery tax as well as a $4 million hole caused in part by skyrocketing health insurance costs and a decline of certain city revenue sources. The city has found ways to plug both but staff noted that this year’s budget calls for few new initiatives and personnel.
At the third and final city budget workshop in November, Councilman Ian Holzhauer proposed adding MCIT into the city budget, arguing that the service is essential for addressing mental health crises. The program had been part of the 2025 city budget but was put on hold because of the uncertainty surrounding the grocery tax and contract negotiations with the police and firefighters.
The council voted 7-2 to add the $1.17 million MCIT program to the budget, which includes funding for six full-time dedicated officers, a K-9, and additional equipment and training. Council members Nate Wilson and Josh McBroom voted against the addition, arguing that it was a financially risky move.
MCIT will be funded as a recurring expenditure in the city’s general fund, although there will be some one-time expenses for the program coming out of the city’s capital projects fund.
Salaries and benefits for the full MCIT program cost $854,589. Equipment will cost $58,600 and training $18,585. Purchasing the K-9 will be about $10,000 and vehicles for the program will cost $230,700.
“For the general fund to support the MCIT program, the corporate (city services) portion of the property tax levy will need to increase by 9.0% to $10,079,751,” Munch said in a memo. The city’s property tax rate remains lower than in previous years, he said.
The new tax rate with the six officers is 0.5595, an increase from the prior projected rate of 0.5506 but still lower than the current rate of 0.5960. A median-valued home in Naperville is about $580,000, which means adding the full six officers will create a tax bill increase of $16 next year.
The council will hold a hearing and adopt property tax levies for next year’s budget at its Dec. 16 meeting.
One Naperville resident spoke against adding the MCIT program at Tuesday’s public hearing, arguing that the city should avoid raising property taxes and find places to cut in the budget. He pointed to cities like Syracuse, New York, and Eugene, Oregon, as examples of similarly sized cities that have reduced spending.
“Additionally, a well-known source of mental health crises or domestic disputes is financial stress and rather than getting to the heart of any medical mental health issues, this planned solution was to contribute to family’s financial stress,” the resident said. “People cannot continually be nickel and dimed, especially in an age of inflation.”
On the other side, another Naperville resident submitted a written comment in support for the program.
“Naperville’s commitment to safety and public service is well known across the state and country, which contributes to our consistent rankings as a desirable community to live in and a safe community to live in,” wrote Rhonda Ansier. “It is of utmost importance that we continue to grow and evolve with the increased knowledge and understanding of how to serve our most vulnerable.”
Munch also wrote in his memo that the fire department’s capital expenses budget decreased by $400,000, public works was down by $500,000 and the library by $60,000. These adjustments were made for various reasons, including funding that was no longer needed or renovations that were delayed.
SECA grant funding
In addition to the budget approval, the council also voted 6-3 to raise the funding cap for the Special Events and Community Arts (SECA) program from $2.14 million to $2.51 million. Money for SECA is collected through the city’s 1% food and beverage tax. The cap was raised to fulfill a funding request from nonprofit community television station NCTV17 while also keeping up with inflation.
As people continue to cut the cord on cable, reducing NCTV17’s income, the station has been forced to find new revenue sources. While it already receives some funding from the city, the station asked for an additional $200,000 from the city this year. In order to meet the request and maintain a balanced budget, staff suggested raising the SECA cap.
Mayor Scott Wehrli, McBroom and Wilson voted against the new cap. They previously cited issues ranging from the station becoming too reliant on city funding to broader concerns over raising the SECA funding cap.
cstein@chicagotribune.com