Monee Village Board Approves Draft FY 2027 Budget, Suspends Property Tax Rebate

Monee Village Board Meeting | April 15, 2026

Article Summary: The Monee Village Board voted to suspend its annual residential property tax rebate for the upcoming fiscal year to maintain a balanced budget amid rising infrastructure and public safety costs. The draft Fiscal Year 2027 budget was subsequently approved for public review in a 5-1 vote.

Monee FY 2027 Budget Key Points:

• The Board voted 4-2 to place the residential tax rebate on a hiatus, citing Ordinance 20006, which legally requires a budget surplus to issue the funds.

• Village officials highlighted the urgent need for a new police station, noting the current building costs over $100,000 annually just to keep operational.

• The village has absorbed massive commercial growth; the arrival of Amazon brought 6,000 daily workers to the town of 5,150, increasing police calls by 400% and necessitating a force expansion from 13 to 26 officers.

• Former Finance Chair David Holston cautioned that village reserves have dropped from $15 million to $2.1 million following cash payments for major infrastructure projects like the water tower and public works building.

The Monee Village Board on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, voted to suspend the village’s annual residential property tax rebate program in order to balance the draft Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

The decision came during a special budget meeting where trustees grappled with balancing the financial relief residents have come to expect against the skyrocketing costs of maintaining a rapidly growing municipality.

The debate centered heavily on the legality and fiscal responsibility of issuing a rebate without a true budget surplus. According to village officials, Ordinance 20006 explicitly requires a budget surplus to issue the residential tax relief. Because the village’s rapid expansion has necessitated heavy infrastructure and personnel investments, that surplus does not exist this year.

“It’s a moving number, that dollar amount of who would apply for the residential tax relief. We would put $600,000 in not knowing how many applications,” a village official explained. “We have an ordinance that requires a surplus in order to give a residential tax relief… nor do we have a surplus to do that. So that is emergency operating expenses. We would be taking money from the emergency line item to handle residential tax relief.”

The village has experienced unprecedented growth, most notably from the Amazon fulfillment center. While the village’s residential population hovers around 5,150, officials noted the daily influx of workers brings the daytime population to between 15,000 and 20,000.

When Amazon moved in, it effectively brought a second city of 6,000 people to Monee. This placed a “stranglehold” on the police department, increasing police calls by 400% and crash accident reports by 200%. To cope, the village was forced to double its police force from 13 full-time officers to 26.

Now, the village faces the impending need for a new police department building, as the current facility is decaying and costs over $100,000 annually just to keep running.

Despite the financial realities, Trustee John Henson strongly opposed doing away with the rebate, arguing that many residents still desperately need the financial relief to cover basic necessities.

“There are still a good number of people in this town that that rebate check doesn’t represent a chance to go out for a nice dinner,” Henson said. “I think there are some people that get that check and that check is a chance to have Christmas under the tree for their kids, to maybe keep the cable bill going another month, keeping the electric on another month.”

Trustee Doug Horne countered, questioning the fiscal logic of issuing a rebate while the village faces borrowing needs. “How do you express or explain to a bank that we have to take a loan while we’re giving money away?” Horne asked, noting that the resulting interest rates would ultimately fall back onto the taxpayers.

Trustee Heidi Gonzalez pointed out that the village already absorbs numerous costs to protect residents’ wallets, including roughly $30,000 in credit card and bank fees, absorbing increases in water costs without raising the water bill, and eliminating vehicle and pet license stickers entirely. Furthermore, the village has not raised its portion of the property tax levy in over five years.

During public comment, former trustee and finance chair David Holston supported the hiatus, urging the Board to rebuild its cash reserves, which he noted dropped from $15 million to $2.1 million after the village responsibly paid cash for a new water tower and Department of Public Works building. Holston also alleged the village headcount had swelled from 35 to 98 employees since 2018, though village officials later corrected the record, stating the actual headcount is “almost half of that.”

The Board ultimately voted 4-2 to abide by Ordinance 20006 and place the tax rebate on hiatus for the fiscal year, with Trustees Henson and Scott Youdris voting no.

Following the rebate decision, the Board voted 5-1 to approve the draft FY 2027 budget for public review, with Trustee Henson casting the lone dissenting vote due to his opposition to the rebate cut.