The Forest Preserve District's 2025 budget is balanced, and its property tax rate will drop 27% next year. The spending plan includes money for operations, maintenance, land acquisition and preserve improvement projects.

The Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners approved the budget on Nov. 14.

The District's 2025 budget totals $98,203,854. The total includes proceeds from a $50 million bond sale approved by the Board earlier this year for capital projects and land acquisition.

The operating budget, which includes both the corporate and construction and development funds, is $22,693,577.

The Board also approved 2024 (payable in 2025) property tax levies. The District’s total estimated 2024 operating levy is $26,026,402, of which $8,296,988 is for debt service and $17,729,414 is for general corporate purposes.

The District’s overall 2024 tax rate is estimated at 0.0913 per $100 of equalized assessed valuation, down from 0.1253 for the 2023 levy, which represents a 26.98% overall decrease.

The owner of a $300,000 house would pay $85 to the Forest Preserve in 2024 taxes, a reduction of $31.40 from 2023. The owner of a $400,000 home would pay $133.33, a reduction of $41.87 from the prior year.

"We’re looking forward to a continuation of the Forest Preserve’s Capital Improvement Program, preserving additional open space, restoring habitats and providing new ways to access nature,” said Ralph Schultz, the Forest Preserve’s executive director. “The Board’s decision to fully fund the operation and expansion of the Forest Preserve along with a 27% tax rate decrease is quite an accomplishment."

The budget includes funding for these projects in 2025:

• Old Plank Road Trail enhancements from Schoolhouse Road west to the Washington Street Access
• Rock Run Greenway Trail reconstruction north of Black Road
• Hidden Oaks Nature Center and Preserve improvements
• DuPage River Trail, Weber Road connection, phase I engineering
• Wolf’s Crossing Road, Normantown Trail connection, phase I engineering
• Plum Creek Greenway Trail extension from Plum Valley Preserve to Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve
• Isle a la Cache preserve improvements
• Veterans Memorial Trail tunnel lighting
• Messenger Woods Nature Preserve roadway improvements
• Hammel Woods campground improvements
• McKinley Woods – Kerry Sheridan Grove canoe/kayak launch
• City of Wilmington canoe launch cost share

The Forest Preserve District of Will County was created by referendum in 1926 and organized in 1927. Today, the District owns and manages 23,100 acres and 134 miles of trail throughout Will County. The Forest Preserve's open space assists in flood control, stores carbon, provides habitat for wildlife, helps threatened and endangered species survive and provides recreational opportunities for residents.