The Joliet City Council on Tuesday approved increasing its gas tax officials say will only amount to an increase of $5 to $10 per year for drivers.
Kevin Sing, finance director for the city of Joliet, said the proposed budget of $662 million in 2025, up from $643 million this year, calls for an increase in the city fuel tax rate from the current 4 cents to 5 cents for passenger vehicles. Fuel Tax rate in Bolingbrook is 9 cents and in Plainfield is 6 cents for passenger vehicles.
Tax on diesel fuel, which is used by semis, could also increase from 4 cents to 11 cents. Nearby Channahon’s diesel fuel tax is 10 cents.
Prior to the vote, State Sen. Rachel Ventura (D-43rd District) urged the board to vote against the gas tax increase.
“Our constituents cannot afford this,” said Ventura, whose district includes Joliet, Lockport, Romeoville and Bolingbrook. “My constituents in Joliet are your constituents.”
Though she voted for the proposal, councilwoman Jan Quillman said she wants to see the money go toward road repairs and not just the vehicle replacement program.
“I am just against taxing everybody all the time,” she said.
“Although the budget was approved earlier this month, city officials had to separately vote on the city’s fuel tax rate hike proposal as a separate item at Tuesday’s meeting,” said Sing.
Sing told the council that the property tax levy will also increase by 6.5 percent to generate an additional $3 million for the coffers. He explained that current property owners in Joliet will pay 1 percent toward the tax levy. If the assessment stays the same, property tax owners in the city could see an increase of their property taxes by 1 percent. The remaining 5.5 percent property tax levy increase will be financed through new developments, according to Sing.
The general fund, which is used in the City of Joliet to cover day-to-day expenses like hiring new employees, buying vehicles and paying for infrastructure road projects, is proposed to increase from $221 million this year to $236 million next year.
In other news, the Joliet City Council also adopted a resolution authorizing the creation of a business continuity grant program for businesses on Chicago Street.
Series of construction projects in downtown, which started with the sidewalk vault repairs and water main replacement in 2023, will continue with development of the City Square project and Chicago Street modernization next year.
To help businesses inconvenienced by the ongoing construction, City Manager Beth Beatty said the grant will provide financial help to those in need of recovery from Webster to Jefferson streets. Per the resolution, the city allocated $250,000 from the general fund to establish the business continuity grant.
The city grants will offer up to 50 percent of the revenue a business loses due to construction impacts, with a maximum payout of $100,000 per business location per year.
