In an attempt to soften the blow on Public Works and present a tax levy on time to city staff, the City Council Committee of the Whole moved to establish a “wall” of property tax revenue totaling $4.6 million at its meeting MondayOct. 26 night.

The proposed increase would bring the total levy to $5.3 million, higher than the $4.7 million total levy recommended by Mayor Pete DiCianni’s Finance Task Force.

City Manager Tom Borchert calculated that the higher rate, plus a five cent increase in a local motor fuel tax, would add $500,000 in revenue toward Public Works, which some aldermen argued was threatened by “draconian cuts” and layoffs recommended from the Finance Task Force.

“I believe that cutting Public Works rips at the living heart of Elmhurst ... if we postpone vital maintenance of our town, it will inevitably lead to sharply dropping home values,” 2nd Ward Alderman Norm Leader said. “If we cut too much, then Elmhurst will become a shabby, unkempt, slightly disreputable place of crumbling roads, curbs and sidewalks; where falling branches and winter snow and ice must linger because of the shortage of manpower and equipment.”

Borchert said his proposed levy would require only about $1.8 million in cuts, compared to the $2.3 million outlined in the Finance Task Force report.

He also was a proponent of the motor fuel tax as a user fee like a toll.

“If you buy gas you’re using the roads, and if you’re using the roads, you’re beating up the roads, and if you’re beating up the roads, you should pay to keep them up,” he said. “Frankly I believe an additional $2.3 million in cuts for next year’s budget would be very difficult to deliver and maintain the quality of the Elmhurst community.”

Still, not all aldermen were convinced. First Ward Alderman Diane Gutenkauf was concerned that the proposed property tax wall would indeed become the levy, presumably one of the largest in city history.

“The levy in fact goes from $258 more on a $400,000 home to $277, which is on top of what people are already paying,” she said. “The task report, frankly it can be a shell game.”

Gutenkauf was also skeptical of doing line-by-line cuts, and advocated ordering a certain percentage of cuts to city department heads, and letting them decide what to cut.

“If we go back and say ‘we’re cutting 10 percent,’ they’re going to find it,” she said. “I’m not comfortable going ‘I found this budget line in your budget and I don’t like it so take it out.’ ... I don’t want to micromanage these guys.”

A truth in taxation public hearing will be held Monday, Nov. 16. Should the City require a levy to pass next year’s budget, another tax levy public hearing may be held Dec. 7, with levy approval targeted for Dec. 21.