Decatur City Council votes to increase property tax by 6%

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Monday night, Decatur City Council voted to increase property taxes by 6% for 2025 property tax bills. Decatur property owners with the median average property value of $135,000 in 2024 would pay roughly an additional $10 in property taxes.

Council members were given three separate options for ordinances they could choose from: one for a 7% increase, one for a 6% increase, and one for a 5% increase. They assured community members that the increased property tax rate would be used to help sustain current programs. "I'm at 6% because I do not want to leave behind neighborhood revitalization that's been taken care of over the years. The money's no longer there, and I don't want to take a chance on leaving them behind."

The increased property tax would only account for 16% of residents' entire property tax bill. The other 84% of the property bill could increase or decrease depending on what other taxing bodies determine their levy. "It would be ideal if we could sit down as a council with every other taxing body in this county and say, what do you all really need? Because regardless of what we do tonight, whether it is a $14 increase on a homeowner or no increase from our standpoint, the other taxing bodies, we don't have any control over them," Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said.