JERSEYVILLE – Jerseyville city officials held a “workshop” meeting on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 to discuss several ongoing and future capital improvement projects around the city – and possible ways to fund them.
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Mayor Kevin Stork said his intention with the meeting was to gather all department heads and form a mutual understanding on goals and plans to achieve them, including funding possibilities. No formal action was taken at the meeting, which was for discussion purposes only.
The City of Jerseyville has undertaken several capital improvement projects in recent years, with plans for several more over the next five to ten years. Among these are the recently remodeled City Hall, Police and Fire Department buildings, the construction of a splash pad and bathhouse at Wittman Park, ongoing and future street repairs, and several other ongoing and future park improvement projects around the city.
To fund these projects, city officials discussed a wide range of options, including adjusting certain tax rates, retaining the municipal grocery tax, and continuing to seek grant funding from state representatives and agencies.
Tax Talk: Sales, Grocery Taxes Discussed
The vast majority of the city’s revenue – nearly 60% – comes from sales tax, according to a breakdown of intergovernmental revenues for Jerseyville presented at the meeting. Because of this, city officials are considering raising the amount of non-home-rule (NHR) sales tax that comes back to the city.
The city’s current sales tax rate of 8.5% sees 0.5% go back to the city of Jerseyville, with the remaining amount split between the county and state. Doubling the 0.5% rate – set over 20 years ago – to 1% towards the city would generate an estimated $700,000 in revenue for “non-operational” expenses, including infrastructure improvements, park upgrades, and more.
While this would amount to an extra five cents on each $10 purchase and an extra 50 cents on each $100 purchase, this option was described as a “fair” tax since both residents and non-residents would pay increased sales tax when shopping.
Currently, the State of Illinois charges a 1% sales tax on groceries, 100% of which goes back to municipalities – but that tax is set to expire on Jan. 1, 2026. This would lead to a significant loss of sales-tax-driven city revenue, so Jerseyville officials are considering keeping the 1% grocery sales tax in place as a local collection.
While the 1% grocery tax retention wouldn’t raise prices any further for consumers, it also wouldn’t lower them. Jerseyville shoppers may not notice a difference in costs, but their grocery prices may remain slightly higher than other municipalities which allow the grocery tax to expire. The retention of this tax would have to be certified by the Jerseyville City Council no later than Oct. 1, 2025.
Other Funding Sources: TIF, Grants, and More
Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, has been a frequently used method for the city to fund building facade improvements for local businesses and more. The use of TIF funds for improvements in certain areas, or “TIF Districts,” was mentioned as a likely funding source for future projects.
Grant funds are another major funding source for the city, with many grants already secured and a few applications still pending. Among the largest grants secured are a $1 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration for the Hollow Avenue Phase 1 roadway improvements, which the city applied for in 2020, and a $900,000 grant from former Rep. Rodney Davis’s office for Hollow Avenue Phase 2 improvements, which the city applied for in October of 2024.
Still pending are a $1,950,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for various downtown improvements including alleyway activation, a $1,102,400 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation for sidewalks, crosswalks, and other ADA-compliant upgrades around the intersection of Essex and IL-109, and a $500,000 grant from Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s office for drainage improvements in the vicinity of Pleasant Street. The city applied for each of these grants in 2024.
The city’s investment earnings, accumulated from the sale of the city’s water system to Illinois American Water, could depend significantly on interest rates. While the city’s investment income from the sale currently generates about $800,000 in annual revenue, recent stock market uncertainty could result in that amount fluctuating to as low as $30,000 annually.
Aside from sales tax revenue, TIF funds, and grants, the city also has Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) and American Rescue Plan Act (APRA) funds available for certain projects, as well as funds raised through private donations or fundraising efforts. Overall, Mayor Stork is optimistic about the city’s ongoing and future projects, but emphasized the need to plan for long-term funding opportunities.
“These are all long-term fixes,” Stork said. “There’s no immediate cash flow that’s going to be had by any of this, but it’s just something we’ve got to start thinking about if we want a five-year, 10-year plan.
“We’ve got a lot of good things in the works – [the] splash pad’s coming along, we’ve got new roads being built … our guys are doing a great job maintaining what we have. But as a city, we’ve got to find out ways to grow that [are] best for residents and best for the city.”
The full presentation from the workshop meeting is available on the city's website.
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