Aurora’s 2022 tax budget, approved by city council Monday night, includes a $1.8 million spending increase for law enforcement compared with 2019, when the city spent $7.6 million.
Most of that increase ($1,590,952) is for staffing, according to budget documents provided to The Portager.
In 2020, spending for law enforcement dropped to what Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin called an “artificially low” $7.2 million because of the pandemic, when law enforcement kept staffing to a minimum. The city also used $672,000 of federal Covid-relief money to offset police and fire salaries in 2020.
But ahead of the current fiscal year, police spending was already back up: Law enforcement funding estimated for the 2021 and 2022 budgets is $9.2 and $9.4 million, respectively.
Aurora anticipates the retirement of at least three police officers in 2021 and two more in 2022, which Womer Benjamin said “carries some significant retirement payouts.”
Hiring, outfitting and training officers to replace them will also result in increased salary expenses because the old and new officers’ shifts will overlap, she said. This comes in addition to the increases to wages and benefits under new collective bargaining agreements, which can “cost somewhere around $350,000 to $400,000 a year,” Womer Benjamin said. “So it adds up quickly.”
Police Chief Brian Byard did not return calls requesting comment.
The tax budget is a procedural document the county uses to set the tax rate and doesn’t necessarily reflect the budget the mayor will present to council in December, Aurora Finance Director Tim Clymer said. “It’s us taking our best guess at what the next year will look like.”
Typically, Womer Benjamin begins meeting with council members in August and September to talk about the budget, weigh what’s important to them, and take their initiatives into account, Clymer said.
If constituents have comments or concerns about the budget, they should reach out to their representatives in August. However, because this is an election year, Womer Benjamin may not be the one to set the budget, Clymer said. Four council seats are also up for election then.
Council is also considering putting a renewal levy for an existing 0.9-mill property tax on the ballot, which would raise $563,499 annually over the course of five years for general construction, reconstruction, resurfacing, and repairing of streets, roads, and bridges.
Although the tax is for 0.9 mills, property valuations in the city have increased significantly since the levy was originally passed over a decade ago.
“As you have new construction going up, that same fixed dollar amount gets spread to new homes too — so really, residents’ taxes are going down each year on that levy,” Clymer said.
Council will hold a public hearing on the levy on July 19 at 7 p.m. If passed, it will be placed on the November ballot.
Lyndsey Brennan is a Portager general assignment reporter. She is completing her master's degree in journalism at Kent State and is an alumna of the Dow Jones News Fund internship program. Contact her at [email protected].