Naperville may hire nine new full-time employees to bolster holistic police work, improve public works maintenance and assist with upcoming capital improvement projects as part of its proposed 2025 budget.
The Naperville City Council reviewed the tentative spending plan at a Tuesday night workshop meeting.
City staff presented a $641.88 million budget for next year, 3.3% more than the city’s amended 2024 budget. It includes a $166.43 million general fund, which is 6.4% — a little more than $10 million — higher than what had been allocated this year.
The tentative budget also includes a hefty $179.38 million capital improvement fund program, which council members reviewed at a workshop meeting last month.
The bump in general fund spending is driven, in part, by staff requests for several additions to the city’s payroll, including four new positions in the Naperville Police Department and one in public works.
The police department wants to hire three officers and one sergeant to establish a new Mobile Crisis Intervention Team dedicated to addressing mental health and social service calls.
Every year police officers respond to thousands of such calls stemming from domestic situations, mental health crises, missing people, substance use problems and individuals with developmental disabilities, according to staff.
Using beat officers to tackle these requests reduces the number of police available to handle calls for service, conduct proactive patrols and engage in community policing. Creating a specialized unit will allow crisis work to continue while freeing up beat officers to focus on everyday policing, staff said.
Establishing the team will cost an estimated $721,000, with $495,000 earmarked for salaries and benefits, $45,000 for new equipment and $181,000 for two additional patrol vehicles.
Though factored into the 2025 spending plan, they will move forward with the new unit only if staff is able to find new revenue to replace the money it stands to lose when the state’s 1% sales tax on groceries is eliminated.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s provision to sunset the tax starting Jan. 1, 2026, is part of the state’s 2025 spending plan approved earlier this summer. For Naperville, the tax cut could translate into a more than $6 million hit to the city’s annual revenue stream, staff said.
If new money can be found to cover the pending loss within the first half of next year, the police will be able to launch the new unit by July 1, 2025, staff said.
In public works, a restoration inspector will be added at a cost of $127,000 in salary and benefits if approved by the council. The position would help monitor and manage public works contractors and contract agreements.
Next year’s public works budget also allocates an additional $440,000 for contractual forestry services to help with tree trimming and dead tree removal around the city.
Increased services are needed because the city’s tree canopy has had significant growth over the past decade and public works employees are struggling to keep up with timely maintenance, staff said.
Four new hires also are proposed for the city’s electric and water utilities. Money for the positions, which are needed for several big projects the city needs to tackle in coming years, would come from utility fund revenue, which is not part of the general fund.
For the electric utility, projects discussed at the city’s September budget workshop include moving the city’s remaining overhead electric lines underground, an anticipated 10-year venture. For the water utility, ongoing work to replace old water mains and needed upgrades at Springbrook Water Reclamation Center are among kept capital improvement priorities.
The electric utility wants to hire a technology project manager and two electric engineers for a total cost of $476,000. The water utility is seeking a water reclamation manager to support work at Springbrook for a cost of $140,000.
Water and electricity rate hikes planned for the new year, adding about $17 a month to the average residential utility bill, will help fund the new positions and capital improvements, staff said.
Recommended changes will be go to the council for a vote at its Nov. 5 meeting.
Beyond rates and hires, other highlights of the 2025 spending plan include a $400,000 increase in credit card fees, $500,000 set aside for potential adjustments to city wage structures and a 6.9% increase in employee health insurance costs.
Staff briefly reviewed property tax levy requests from Naper Settlement and Naperville Public Library, which are factored into the city’s overall annual budget and levy. Naper Settlement is requesting a flat levy for 2025 while the library is seeking a 4.6% increase in property tax returns over this year, according to staff’s presentation.
Something that won’t be receiving extra funding in 2025 is NCTV17. Despite the nonprofit community television station going before council to plead for additional financial support earlier this year, the proposed 2025 budget does not allocate any new funding.
According to City Manager Doug Krieger, NCTV17 ended up receiving grant money that will allow the station to stabilize struggling operations.
A final budget review meeting is scheduled for Nov. 12 before the council votes on the 2025 budget and property tax levy in December.
