Council to take first budget votes, review Motor Fuel Tax spending

Evanston’s City Council will meet at 5:45 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers at Morton City Hall, 909 Davis St., with the city s 2027 budget up for initial approval. If councilmembers vote to advance the budget s collective ordinances Monday night, they will return for final adoption on Nov. 23. While the overall budget is passed as a single ordinance, the meeting s agenda also has 11 other ordinances implementing property taxes and other revenue changes. City Manager Luke Stowe s proposal would add $5.1 million to the city s property tax levy, a 10.1% hike over this year, and raise water rates by 25%, increase fees for trash pickup and single-use bags and raise other taxes on rideshares, streaming and natural gas use. These revenue measures are aimed at closing a structural deficit in the city s General Fund and also supporting major annual infrastructure projects, especially replacing water mains and lead service lines. But some councilmembers are pushing Stowe to cut city sta