Evanston City Council tabled the “circuit breaker” property tax relief program and advanced a grant application for a transportation infrastructure initiative on Main Street at its meeting Monday night.
BOBBY BURNS: There were a lot of people who had believed that the Strategic Housing Plan is what we were gonna use to determine how to allocate affordable housing funds. And so, for something to appear to be jumping ahead of that process before we fully understand the need, before we understand which programs we want to launch, which programs we want to modify — I think there’s some concern.
RUBY DOWLING: That was 5th Ward Councilmember Bobby Burns expressing his hesitance to introduce the proposed Property Tax Circuit Breaker Program at the Evanston City Council meeting on March 9.
City Council voted 5-4 Monday night to table further discussion of the program, which would put 20% of the available Affordable Housing Funds allocated to special projects toward property tax relief for eligible residents.
[music]
RUBY DOWLING From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Ruby Dowling. This is a Rapid Recap for Everything Evanston, a podcast covering all things Evanston.
1st Ward Councilmember Clare Kelly has been at the helm of efforts to get the circuit breaker program in front of the council, alongside 6th and 7th Ward Councilmembers Tom Suffredin and Parielle Davis.
CLARE KELLY: We even have a tax relief program — which I support, it’s for the preservation of historic homes — where if somebody invests a certain amount of money in their home to restore it, they get a 10-year freeze. But this is about the people. And quite frankly, between the two, the people are more important.
[music]
RUBY DOWLING: The term “circuit breaker” comes from the automatic electrical safety device used to prevent the overload that occurs when there is more electric current than a circuit can handle. The proposed ordinance would similarly set an “overload” threshold for property taxes based on an eligible homeowner’s income, and would “kick in” to subsidize tax payments that exceeded that standard.
In its current form, the ordinance suggests using $500,000 from the city’s approximately $5M Affordable Housing Fund — of which $1M annually comes from Northwestern University‘s Good Neighbor Fund allocation — for a “one-year pilot program.” At the city council meeting, Kelly said that with those half a million dollars, the program could provide property tax relief for 20-25% of eligible households.
BOBBY BURNS: I have no issue right today expanding an existing program. I think where there’s discomfort is, again, having one new program jump ahead of other programs that we might want to create. But in terms of expanding existing programs to prevent displacement, I would support that today.
RUBY DOWLING: Burns fronted the movement to table the circuit breaker program until April, when it will be discussed alongside the Strategic Housing Plan. Other councilmembers, like 4th Ward Councilmember Jonathan Nieuwsma and 3rd Ward Councilmember Shawn Iles, also expressed hesitance due to the hasty timeline and the program’s “isolated” nature, though they agreed that property tax relief is an important issue in Evanston.
JONATHAN NIEUWSMA: I’m supportive of this initiative — Councilmember Kelly, when we spoke earlier, I offered you my partnership in moving this forward — but it’s not ready tonight.
[music]
RUBY DOWLING: City Council also unanimously voted to advance a grant application for an infrastructure initiative on Main Street, aiming to reduce traffic congestion and improve the transportation experience in the stretch from the street’s intersections with Hartrey Avenue to Asbury Avenue. The proposed project includes widening the sidewalks to improve the experience of bikers and pedestrians.
The resolution received strong support from residents during the public comment portion of the meeting, and the brief council discussion centered on how to scope the initiative to meet public interest for a focus on bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
Councilmembers also discussed the 2025-2029 City Council Goals, which outline six priorities — including affordable housing — to shape the city manager’s focus.
During public comment, some residents expressed hope that bike and pedestrian infrastructure might be added to the City Council Goals. Park and sidewalk infrastructure are currently included, but not general transportation initiatives.
[music]
RUBY DOWLING From The Daily Northwestern, I’m the Audio Editor, Ruby Dowling. Thanks for listening to another Rapid Recap for Everything Evanston. For full coverage of the March 9 City Council meeting, visit The Daily Northwestern’s website. This episode was reported and produced by me, Ruby Dowling. Tia Bethke also contributed reporting.
The Multimedia Managing Editors are Femi Horall, Yong-Yu Huang and Jonah McClure. The Editor in Chief is Emily Lichty.
Follow us on X and Instagram @thedailynu.
Email: [email protected]
X: @rubywright0
Related Stories:
— City Council votes to table ‘Circuit Breaker’ program
—Councilmembers, community activist propose ‘circuit breaker’ for property tax, rent relief
