Naperville City Council Budget Workshop II - 2027 Operating Budget (October 27, 2026)

The Naperville City Council met on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, for the second of three 2027 budget workshops. No final actions were taken. Staff reviewed the proposed 2027 operating budget, a 9.375 FTE staffing package, agency budgets for Naper Settlement and Naperville Public Library, and downtown parking options. The proposed 2027 budget totals $724 million, a 5.6% increase over 2026, with $677 million in projected revenues; the city property tax rate is again projected to decline from its 50-year low.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Bill Simon, president of Naperville Preservation Inc., expressed support for increasing historic preservation staffing to at least a half-time position and for obtaining national preservation training, citing national statistics of 116,000 new jobs, $6.8 billion in rehabilitation investment, and $1.8 billion in government tax receipts. He mentioned a $15,000 consultant proposal as an alternative.
• Steve Rubin, representing downtown advisory and neighborhood organizations, expressed support for building the Nichols Library parking deck, arguing downtown restaurants are funding roughly two-thirds of the project and that about 160,000 square feet of additional downtown development is expected. He called the $90,000-per-space estimate unreasonable and urged a growth mindset.
• Katie Wood, Downtown Naperville Alliance, expressed support for the Nichols Library deck, citing about 325 downtown businesses, $300 million in annual sales, $22 million in sales tax revenue, $7-8 million in property tax revenue, 3,500 parking spaces, and 9.5 million annual visits, with 65% of visitors from out of town. She said option C's 30-space surface lot is disappointing after nearly 20 years of restaurant-funded parking contributions.
• Chris Mason, chef/owner of Allegory, expressed support for constructing the Nichols Library Parking Deck, noting more than 9 million visitors and 65% nonresident visitors, and noting downtown restaurants have contributed $15 million to the food and beverage fund since 2008. He asked the city to honor the commitment to use those funds for parking.
• Mary Lou Worley, a resident, questioned the proposed 9.375 FTEs plus an indirectly funded FTE for the Riverwalk South extension, the $6.8 million construction estimate, the city's 100% reimbursement of added park district costs, and whether the Riverwalk extension is a want rather than a need. She urged the council to balance taxpayer spending.

Discussion Items

2027 Budget Overview

• The 2027 recommended budget is $724 million, up 5.6% from 2026, including $703 million in expenses and $21 million in transfers. Total revenues are projected at $677 million, up 3.1%. Charges for services remain the largest revenue source, with public utilities generating about 44%, or nearly $300 million.
• General fund revenues are estimated at about $181 million excluding interfund transfers, a 4.8% increase. State-shared taxes are up $3.7 million, grocery tax is projected at $7.2 million, and property tax is forecast to rise $2 million as equalized assessed value grows.
• General fund expenses increase 4.5% excluding transfers; personnel is the main driver. The budget assumes a 3% COLA and 1% merit pool for non-union staff, plus $413,000 for the next phase of compensation-study adjustments.
• Health insurance premiums are budgeted to rise 6.7% and dental premiums 4.8%; employer medical contributions are $16.2 million, a 5.3% increase. Pension contributions exceed $25 million: $11.4 million for police, up 4.5%; $9.3 million for fire, up 1.7%; and about $5 million for IMRF. The IMRF rate drops from 7.8% to 6.29%. The 2025 audit reported police and fire pensions 95% funded.

Proposed Staffing

• Departments requested 20 FTEs; the proposed budget includes 9.375 FTEs: 5.375 in the general fund, 3 in the water utility fund, and 1 in the electric utility fund. Utility-funded positions would be paid by ratepayers, not property tax.
• Proposed general fund positions include a senior traffic engineer ($160,000), code enforcement officer ($146,000 plus $40,000 vehicle), DRT project manager ($150,000), forestry field supervisor ($141,000 plus $74,000 vehicle), assistant city attorney for FOIA, and conversion of a part-time fire communications specialist to full-time ($67,000 net).
• Staff said the code enforcement team has four employees for 153,000 residents, below the 6-7.5 officers benchmarked for a city of that size. Forestry requests have increased 37% since 2021. FOIA requests are increasingly complex, driven by body-worn camera footage and AI-assisted requesters.
• A council member cited a slide figure of $140,000 for the FOIA attorney position, while the budget figure discussed was $90,584 in salary and benefits; the transcript does not show staff explicitly reconciling the two figures.
• Council discussion included skepticism about adding an attorney for FOIA, with one council member urging AI-based tools and saying technology should be the answer from here. The city attorney said Naperville has explored software options and is pursuing legislative reform.
• Council members also noted historic preservation currently receives only 15% of one assistant planner's time, and several members asked staff to examine whether historic preservation staffing should be increased. The city manager said preservation has not risen to the level of reallocating resources, but staff could evaluate it after the budget process.
• One council member said he generally opposes recurring general fund obligations but supported the traffic, code enforcement, DRT, and forestry investments, while expressing dislike for the FOIA position and questioning the fire communications role. Fire and communications staff explained the fire communications position would support public information, emergency management, and public education, following the police department's embedded-communicator model.

Other Operating Fund Requests

• Downtown Naperville Alliance marketing funding totals just over $520,000, a 2% increase, plus a proposed $100,000 general fund supplement for marketing in the Jefferson Avenue and Main Street construction area. Precedent includes $50,000 in 2022 and $100,000 in 2024.
• Neighborhood Development Partnership requests $1.4 million, a 3.3% increase, including a $550,000 economic development grant. The SECA-funded restaurant marketing grant remains flat at $185,000.
• NCTV funding is $918,000, an increase of $3,000, with declining PEG cable revenue offset by general fund support.

Naper Settlement

• Naper Settlement presented a balanced 2027 operating budget, a projected 13.5% increase in earned operating revenue, and a property tax levy request of $4,094,549, a 2.5% increase. Operating expenses rise 2.9%, driven by personnel, with no new positions requested.
• Highlights included the Inventing Agriculture exhibit, the 250th anniversary exhibit, Camp Naper at 110% capacity, and grants supporting intergenerational programs, teacher institutes, and free or reduced-cost field trips for about 4,600 students.
• The Heritage Society requested $145,000 for a facility condition assessment and feasibility study of more than 30 historic buildings. The board chair said there is no plan to move buildings, but the assessment is needed because the structures have never been comprehensively evaluated. The request had passed the Naperville Settlement Museum Board by 5-1. One council member said she voted no on the museum board and would support the $50,000 site assessment portion, but not the full $145,000 feasibility study at this time.

Naperville Public Library

• The library is requesting an 8% increase to its property tax levy, with a proposed 8.1% expense increase. Property taxes fund 96% of the library budget.
• Survey results showed 97% of respondents rated the library excellent/good; 81% of Naperville households have a library card; the library sees about 1.2 million visits per year.
• Planned changes include consistent Sunday hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. year-round, adding about 300 open hours annually, and a new internship program for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
• Capital work includes HVAC replacement at the 95th Street Library, with 60% from the city capital fund and 40% from a $550,000 state DCEO grant secured by State Representative Janet Yang Rohr. The library director said parking at Nichols Library remains the number one complaint from patrons.

Downtown Parking Options

• Staff presented three options:
  • Option A: complete the remaining downtown streetscape by 2031, then build the Nichols deck by 2032; total cost $62.4 million.
  • Option B: advance the Nichols deck to completion by 2030 and delay streetscape to 2033; total cost $62.2 million, relying on prior concept design.
  • Option C: replace the deck with a surface lot west of the library, adding about 30 spaces by 2028, with about $50,000 in engineering and $500,000 construction, and a total streetscape-and-surface-lot investment of $25.3 million. The deck would add about 500 spaces.
• Several council members said they could not make a decision until the downtown parking study data is released in November. One council member leaned toward the surface lot, noting the loss of about 130 existing library parking spaces during deck construction would be hard on downtown businesses. A downtown business representative acknowledged that two years of lost spaces would be difficult and would require creative mitigation.
• Another council member asked for historical garage occupancy data to inform the decision. The mayor noted the parking fund is restricted and the food-and-beverage tax that funds it sunsets in 2033, with more than $20 million potentially needing to be used only for parking.
• No straw poll was taken on parking.

Key Outcomes

• No binding votes were taken at the workshop.
• A nonbinding straw poll showed support for the following proposed positions: senior traffic engineer; code enforcement officer; DRT project manager (9 hands); assistant city attorney for FOIA (9 hands); full-time fire communications specialist (8 hands); electric system controller (8 hands); two wastewater treatment operators (9 hands); and water utility supervisor (9 hands).
• The forestry field supervisor position was deferred to Budget Workshop III for additional information after council discussion about whether the $200,000 might be better spent accelerating tree trimming. Staff agreed to provide more details.
• The downtown parking decision was deferred until the parking study and historical usage data are available; staff may bring back a placeholder option and a decision in January 2027.
• Staff will bring follow-up material on the Naper Settlement feasibility study, including whether the settlement buildings could be included in the city's broader facility condition assessment.
• Next steps: Budget Workshop III on November 10, 2026; the 2027 budget public hearing and vote on December 1, 2026; and the property tax levy approval at the last council meeting in December 2026.