CHAMPAIGN — Voters in Champaign appear to have rejected a property tax increase aimed at funding Strides, Champaign County’s only low-barrier shelter.
The referendum would have increased annual homeowner payments for a property valued at $200,000 from about $19 to $138 a year.
Vote margins may shift depending on the arrival of future mail-in ballots, but unofficial results from Tuesday night’s election show roughly 59% of voters so far have opposed the tax increase.
The 24/7 shelter in downtown Champaign is primarily funded by temporary COVID-19 relief funds that will run out by the end of the year, said City of Champaign Township Supervisor Kyle Patterson.
The shelter currently houses up to 74 people per night, and its closure could result in more unhoused people on the streets and put additional strain on other sheltering and social assistance programs in the area, according to Patterson.
On the same ballot, voters appear to have reelected Patterson, a Democrat and Champaign native. Unofficial results indicate Patterson won about two-thirds of the vote with 100% of precincts counted, defeating Republican challenger John Phillips.
“It feels good to win, but also, because of the referendum, we’re going to have a lot of challenges,” he said. “We know that we’re going to be out of American Rescue Plan funds close to the end of the year, but we do have other grant funding from the state.”
Patterson said he plans to have conversations with governmental partners in the community “because this is something that affects our whole community and is a benefit to our whole community.”
While he’s not sure how those conversations will go, the supervisor said he remains optimistic.
“I can tell you that we have a fantastic grant writer, and we do have some funds from the state that are going to help keep us afloat, but we’re going to have to make a lot of decisions,” he said.
The tax increase would have provided an additional $4 million in revenue to support Strides — as well as funding for general assistance, rental assistance and new assessor staffing.
When the temporary federal funding runs out, the Township may have as little as $70,000 in rental assistance funding for fiscal year 2025, according to the City of Champaign Township’s website. From July 2023 to April 2024, the Township served 208 households, providing support totaling approximately $150,000.
Patterson said he’s disappointed with the apparent outcome of the property tax referendum, adding he suspects people were turned off by the idea of a property tax increase.
“Illinois is one of the worst places in America when it comes to how high property taxes are. We have an unfair income tax structure so a lot of burden is placed on property taxes, and I think that’s probably what it came down to,” Patterson said.
The City of Champaign Township Supervisor is responsible for providing General Assistance welfare benefits to eligible Champaign residents.
Whoever holds the position acts as treasurer of the city’s funds, prepares the annual budget, and sits on the Urbana Public Health Board.
Patterson said the Strides shelter is a vital resource, so he intends to take an “all of the above” approach to keep it going.
“I want to work hard to maintain services for low-income residents and make sure we keep those programs that we do have strong,” he said.
Illinois Student Newsroom’s Giuliana Means contributed reporting.