The Pekin City Council on Monday delayed making a decision on the city's property tax levy for the upcoming fiscal year.
A vote on the 2026-27 fiscal year levy was unanimously tabled until the council's Dec. 8 meeting so council members could further consider their voting options.
New council members Jake Fletcher and Peg Phillips, who were elected in April, said they were not ready to vote on the levy. It will be their first levy vote since taking office.
"A one-time meeting with staff and a bunch of 'what if's' does not educate me properly I don't have the information I need to make this decision, quite frankly," Fletcher said. "We had some numbers on papers that we’re going to be a couple million dollars short, ‘if this, if that.’
"Well, that’s a big thing. I’d like to know where we’re going to come up with that money, what are we going to cut? How are we going to get it? And you want me to make this decision tonight."
City staff is recommending the maximum 4.9% increase in the levy. That would help cut into the city's police and fire pension deficits, but fall short of covering the recommended and minimum contributions for the fiscal year, and slightly mitigate the effects of inflation.
Phillips said she wanted to hear other council members' opinions before she voted.
"This is my first time getting to vote on a levy, oh boy, and I really would like to hear where you’re at on whether you think the 4.9 [percent] is right, whether you think we ought to stick with the zero. What do you want to do?" she said.
Council member Dave Nutter summarized the levy conundrum the city is facing.
"If we keep the levy flat, 0%, don't raise it, that's going to cause one heck of a financial challenge for us," he said. "On the other hand, we can't keep adding, adding and adding onto the residents' financial burden."
Rick Hilst advocated for no increase, while John Abel said he supports the 4.9% raise.
"That would be the least challenging scenario," said Abel.
Tazewell County and Peoria County officials must receive Pekin's levy decision by the state-mandated Dec. 28 deadline, so the council putting off the levy vote for two weeks won't hurt the process.
If the 4.9% levy increase is adapted for the city, that would increase it from approximately $5 million to about $5.3 million.
The city also levies property taxes on behalf of the Pekin Public Library. The library board has recommended a nearly 4% levy increase to $1.8 million.
If the city's 4.9% levy increase and the library's nearly 4% levy increase are adopted, the owner of a home valued at $135,000 – the median home value in Pekin – would pay about $26 more in property taxes.
That could be lower if the city's total equalized assessed value rises more than 4.9% and if anticipated new construction is done during the 2026-27 fiscal year, which begins May 1, 2026.
