Kankakee Times

In a move that was six months in the making, Kankakee City Council this month repealed its motor vehicle sticker tax.

The measure, which received a preliminary reading during a December meeting, was approved by the full council on Jan. 17 in a meeting streamed on Boxcast. The tax was adopted 10 years ago to help the city navigate choppy financial seas, according to a Daily Journal report, and it was expected to raise more than $400,000, but expenses approached $150,000 each year, cutting into the revenue. With an increase in sales tax revenues and the addition of new businesses in the city, the city doesn’t have to rely on revenue from the sticker tax.

“I would like to say thank you to the council because this is something that everybody has wanted to see happen,” Mayor Christopher Curtis said during the session. “This is through your diligent work of keeping the financials in good shape.”

After the first reading was approved, council waived the normal procedure to pass it without discussion at a secondary meeting. However, the program will not end right away, and will continue until current stickers expire on June 30 in fairness to residents who purchased 2022 stickers. 

Curtis said he does not believe the decision will harm the city and lauded the effort of the Budget Committee and other panels who worked with department heads.

“This is doable because we're in a solid financial position right now,” he said. “We are watching the expenses very diligently through the department heads, through the comptroller’s office, through the aldermen.”

Council made an amendment during the meeting detailing the end of the program at the end of June, and Curtis noted during the session that revenue continues to fill the city’s coffers, and officials believe eliminating the stickers won’t be a financial burden.

“We feel like we're in a position right now that we can absorb this and not raise any additional [fees or different] things that we're trying to do for the city residents at this time keep our tax rate stable or going down,” he said. “So it's an exciting night for the city council.”