The Galesburg City Council discussed a utility tax increase of 5 percent at their last meeting.
The cost increase would come to just under 100 dollars a year, or about seven or eight dollars extra a month for each resident.
7th Ward Alderman Jeremy Karlin says this increase would give Galesburg an extra 2.3 million dollars per year in revenue for their general fund.
Karlin says about three years ago, the city bought it’s own electricity through an aggregation program that saved residents a significant amount of money.
Karlin tells the WGIL Evening News that even with this increase, residents will still be saving a good amount of money.
“What would happen here, would be a utility tax on both gas and electric,” says Karlin. “I think what we would find is that we would still have a savings from that aggregation. This tax is not going to eat it up.”
Karlin says there are three areas in mind that this 2.3 million dollars could be applied to: Storm water issues, capital projects, and a bond for 11 million dollars.
Karlin says there are no definite plan as to what the bond will be used for, but has an idea of restoring the armory for the community center.
Residents have so far been hesitant about a tax raise, but Karlin says he thinks residents realize that some parts of the area need improvement, and that will cost money.
