City Council meeting
Good evening I hope everyone is doing well and has been enjoying the nice weather we have been having over the last few weeks. Spring and summer are around the corner, and I can't wait for all the fun things we have planned for the next few months. The city council will be meeting tomorrow at 7 pm in the council chambers to discuss city business. Below are a few of the highlights. As always please click the link below to see the agenda and the packet for review.
Agenda
Packet
Continuation of Local Grocery Tax
Recent changes enacted by the State of Illinois will phase out the state-level grocery tax, with the phase-out period concluding on January 1, 2026. If municipalities do not take steps to maintain their local grocery tax structure by October 1, 2025, they will lose this revenue source entirely. This would mean a projected annual General Fund revenue loss of $1,431,149 for Des Plaines.
Replacing the grocery tax revenue with a property tax increase would shift the financial burden to residents and necessitate a 5.67% increase in the overall property tax levy.
By continuing the local grocery tax through Ordinance M-8-25, Des Plaines can preserve this revenue stream without introducing a new financial burden for residents. The ordinance aligns with actions taken by neighboring municipalities; a survey of northwest suburban communities reveals that 14 municipalities have passed or are considering maintaining a similar grocery tax. Some municipalities that have already implemented such measures include Palatine, Wheeling, and Hoffman Estates. The same grocery items currently taxed under the state’s grocery tax would continue to be taxed locally. No new items would be added to the tax base, meaning residents would not have an increased tax burden.
City Manager Compensation Increase
City Manager Wisniewski was appointed City Manager on April 1, 2024, after serving in the City’s Finance Department since 2007 and as Assistant City Manager/Finance Director since 2014. As part of the annual evaluation process, the City Council holds a meeting with the City Manager to discuss accomplishments from the prior year in alignment with the City Council’s strategic plan. The evaluation was held in an executive session on March 17, 2025.
Please see the attached link for the new compensation for the City Manager
City Manager Compensation
Elected Official Compensation Adjustments
At the request of Aldermen Lysakowski, Moylan, and Oskerka, we have prepared an
Ordinance for Council consideration at your April 7 regular meeting, amending the City Code to adjust the salaries of all City elected officials – the Mayor, the Aldermen, and the City Clerk.
As directed, under the Ordinance, the Mayor’s new annual salary will be $30,000.00, the
Aldermen’s new annual salaries will be $15,000.00, and the Clerk’s new annual salary will be $12,000.00. Under the proposed Ordinance, these salaries, once they take effect, will
automatically adjust annually by two percent. Further, once the new salaries take effect, the
existing provisions in the Code related to expense reimbursements for the Mayor and Aldermen will be terminated.
Under Illinois law, changes in compensation cannot take effect during the existing term of
any current elected official. Article VII, §9(b), of the Illinois Constitution; 65 ILCS 5/3.1-50-5, et seq. Further, salaries for elective offices must be fixed at least 180 days before a general election at which voting is held for those offices. 65 ILCS 5/3.1-50-10. Under these rules, the soonest the salary adjustments could go into effect for all elected officials so that the adjustments would commence for all elected officials at the same time is following the consolidated elections in 2029.
Please see page 424 of the packet for details related to this issue.
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