CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - The City of Champaign Township will be hosting two upcoming information sessions on the topic of the upcoming ballot referendum asking voters to raise the Township’s property tax levy.
The first info session will be held on October 11 at 12:30 p.m. at the Champaign Public Library at 200 W. Green St., in Champaign in the Robeson Pavilion rooms A & B.
The second info session will be on October 12 at 11:00 a.m. at the Douglass Branch of the Champaign Public Library meeting room.
If voters approve the levy referendum, it will produce an additional $4,000,000 in revenues annually which will mainly be used to fund the Township’s low barrier homeless shelter, Strides.
Strides is the only low barrier year-round homeless shelter in Champaign County. It is currently funded by federal covid relief funds from ARPA and those funds will run out by the summer of 2025.
The increase in revenue will also allow the Township to increase staffing levels to add to the safety and effectiveness of the shelter and fund street outreach and programs to help shelter guests in acquiring permanent housing.
Additional revenue from the levy increase will also be used to expand the Township’s General Assistance program for individuals applying for Social Security disability and the Rental Assistance program for residents behind on rent or homeless individuals seeking assistance with move in costs.
This increase would also fund additional staffing in the Township Assessor’s office to ensure they can properly and fairly provide accurate property assessments.
“This additional funding is greatly needed to ensure that the Township can maintain this vital community safety net, the Strides homeless shelter,” Kyle Patterson, City of Champaign Township Supervisor, said. “With out Strides, over 70 residents of our community will not have a safe place to sleep at night. What we are providing is a lifeline for some of our community’s most vulnerable members.”
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