Wilmette Financial Picture ’25: More permits, home values boost revenue; record number of water main breaks push expenses

Village officials presented a detailed breakdown of Wilmette’s financial performance through the first five months of this year, highlighting what has thus far been a glossy economic result for the town.

Melinda Molloy, the village’s finance director, walked trustees through the financial report on June 24, focusing her presentation on an analysis of Wilmette’s revenues and expenditures through the month of May.

Village revenues are up

Revenues are performing better than Wilmette officials expected in the first five months of 2025, Molloy told trustees, noting that the village is up approximately $1.7 million in its general fund and more than $200,000 in its water fund.

A key reason for the uptick thus far is permitting revenues, she said, adding that Wilmette is up $869,000 compared to budget estimates. The permitting revenue total includes six one-time permits that totaled more than $450,000, village documents show.

“That tells us our residents and our businesses are investing in their properties still,” Molloy said.

Additionally, per Molloy, Wilmette has seen strong performances in income tax, home rule sales tax and investment income thus far.

Home values continue to rise

An added area that officials also celebrated was the early returns on the real estate transfer tax.

Revenues through May were up $150,000 compared to 2024. Total real estate transactions are up 10%, an increase of 17 transactions from last year to date.

The average sale price continues to soar, as Molloy noted that figure has now reached $1.18 million, which represents a 3.3% uptick from last year.

“We had expected transactions were going to continue to decline as they have for the past two years — we had projected prices to be up, but they’re up slightly from where we even estimated, so the real estate transfer tax is performing well,” Molloy said.

Spending a bit more

Wilmette is spending slightly ahead of where it expected to be through the first five months of the year, Assistant Village Manager Erik Hallgren said.

The village is on track compared to budget estimates in the sewer and stormwater funds thus far but is pacing ahead in the general and water funds.

The general fund increase is driven by several of the village’s capital expenditures, where it’s spending slightly earlier than officials had anticipated. Officials expect that to “level off over time,” Hallgren noted.

Record number of water main breaks

Water fund expenses are up close to 3%, largely related to contractual services for water main breaks, officials said.

Village Manager Michael Braiman told trustees that Wilmette saw a record number of water main breaks last winter season, leading to a significant increase in investments from the village.

There were a total of 73 water main breaks last season, well exceeding the average of 43 per winter.

Wilmette’s engineering and public works departments attributed the record-setting year to three primary factors: drought conditions, below normal temperatures and a lack of snow accumulation. But officials committed to “digging into” the issue more as the year progresses.

Wilmette to consider adding grocery tax

Wilmette officials will begin discussions later this month surrounding the possibility of adding a 1% grocery tax, Hallgren announced during the June 24 session.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in August of last year signed legislation eliminating Illinois’ 1% tax on groceries starting in 2026. According to village documents, Wilmette, because of that decision, is slated to lose $600,000 of its sales tax base. That total represents 11% of Wilmette’s annual sales tax collection, officials said.

Wilmette trustees will begin debating the decision during their upcoming July 22 meeting. Local municipalities must file an ordinance by Oct. 1 of this year to ensure the tax, which will replace the state’s tax, can be implemented by Jan. 1, 2026.

Officials are awaiting final guidance from the Illinois Department of Revenue on what items should be included or excluded as part of the grocery tax elimination, village documents show.

Glencoe, Deerfield, Highwood, Palatine, Wheeling, Hoffman Estates and Barrington are among the group of nearby towns that have already approved similar measures. Additionally, other towns such as Winnetka, Northbrook, Northfield and Skokie are currently considering or close to doing the same.

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