Carpentersville residents will be paying higher water, sewer, and garbage pickup rates next year, which helped the village avoid increasing the general property tax levy, officials said.

Water and sewer rates are increasing by 5% in 2026. Carpentersville residents pay a combined fee that appears on their water bills, which will increase about $38 per year.

An average household currently pays about $762 a year in water and sewer fees, Village Manager Brad Stewart said. The cost will go up to $800 a year, he said.

“We just want to right the ship in terms of making sure our water and sewer rates are paying for our inflationary costs,” Stewart said. The fees will help pay for capital improvement projects and infrastructure.

Those fees will go up by 5% annually until 2030, Stewart said. The last time Carpentersville increased fees was in 2023, he said.

“Our rates are about as low as you are going to find anywhere in this region,” Stewart said. “Even with this rate increase going into 2026 and the future years, we are still going to have much lower water and sewer fees for our residents” compared to other communities.

The village did a comparison of fees in neighboring cities and villages and found that even with the modest increase, Carpentersville residents pay less in the region. Elgin’s rates are $1,800 annually. Algonquin is $1,200. East Dundee is over $1,000. West Dundee is $921 a year, according to data the village provided.

“No one wants rate increases,” Stewart said. “We’re trying to be mindful of not doing anything that would create a sudden shock in terms of the financial impact to our residents. But we are talking about $38 a year.”

Garbage fees are also increasing. Currently, the fee is $23.44 a month. The village picks up $16.94 while residents pay $6.50. The amount residents pay is going up to $9.

“This has been an amazing benefit for the residents. All these years, the village had picked up the vast majority of garbage service fees for the entire community,” Stewart said. “In most towns, residents are paying 100% of the costs. We’ve always been a little bit of an exception.”

There is no long-term plan to have residents pay the full amount, Stewart said.

The fee increases are all being done to help keep property taxes flat and avoid using the general fund to subsidize those services, Stewart said.

The village board unanimously approved the budget at Tuesday’s meeting. All the increases take effect Jan. 1.

Earlier this fall, the board voted to increase the cannabis sales tax by 1%.

Stewart said Carpentersville has had the same tax rate, 2%, for years. The maximum amount is 3%, he said. The increase is due to the village trying to find alternative revenue sources to, again, avoid increasing the property tax. It expects to generate an additional $100,000, he said.

Another potential way to increase revenues is a food and beverage tax. The tax wasn’t included in the 2026 budget, but “it’s absolutely something we’ve been looking to do,” Stewart said.

A food and beverage tax would target restaurants and bars.

If the board does move ahead and approve it, it would help defray costs to the community, Stewart said. Such a tax could generate about $450,000 a year.

Earlier this year, Carpentersville voted to continue charging a 1% grocery tax that’s set to expire in January. Illinois had been passing the revenues from the tax onto municipalities. Now, municipalities must decide to continue charging the tax and collecting it. Most communities, including Elgin, chose to keep taxing groceries.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for the Elgin Courier-News.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/20/carpentersvilles-budget-increases-water-sewer-rates/