Thanks to everyone who participated in the end-of-year poll conducted on the “Our Batavia: Our Government” Facebook group. The results, listed below, reveal the expected, and very valid, top concerns about property taxes and utility fees.
This poll, although informal and with a limited audience, does provide a valuable “gut check” and the city will be putting out a more formal survey later in the year.
A brief summary of the current status for each poll item is also included in the table below.
Poll Question: Heading into 2026, what do you consider the most significant local challenges facing the City of Batavia?
Total Votes Counted: 695
Poll Results (Greatest Number of Votes to the Least)
- 131 – Property Taxes
- 85 – Utility Costs (Electric, Sewer, Water)
- 82 – Downtown Development Competitiveness
- 75 – Fox River Dam & Depot Pond Deterioration
- 54 – Downtown Commercial Vacancies
- 48 – Balancing Growth vs. Quality of Life
- 36 – New Data Center Planning & Construction
- 24 – Lack of a Second Downtown Bridge
- 21 – Residential Housing Availability & Costs
- 18 – City Council Priorities & Focus
- 17 – Historical Preservation: Not Enough Focus
- 16 – Bag Tax Policy
- 15 – Traffic Congestion
- 14 – Route 31 & Fabyan Intersection
- 14 – Property Code Enforcement
- 13 – Rental Housing Availability & Costs
- 10 – Historical Preservation: Too Much Focus
- 8 – City Services (General)
- 7 – Gambling & Gaming Expansion
- 5 – Expanding or Maintaining Publically Assisted Housing Options
- 2 – City Hall Flag Policy
City of Batavia Action Plan & Status By Poll Questions (Dec 2025)
| Rank | Topic | Current City Action / Status |
| 1 | Property Taxes | The City Council proposed a 10-cent increase in the property tax rate for the 2026 budget (from $0.76 to $0.86 per $100 EAV). This acts as a funding mechanism to address rising operational costs and capital improvements outlined in the 2024–2028 Strategic Action Plan. |
| 2 | Utility Costs | Significant rate increases have been approved to fund infrastructure upgrades. Electric rates will rise by 3% starting Jan 1, 2026. Water rates are seeing a similar 3% hike plus a new capital fee, while Sewer rates saw an 8% increase in 2025 to pay for treatment plant updates. |
| 3 | Downtown Competitiveness | The City adopted a new Batavia Downtown Plan in June 2024 to guide development for the next 20 years. In October 2025, the city released a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking partners to redevelop key city-owned properties on North River Street to boost commercial activity.Demolition has been approved for the “old Tin Shop,” the “Hubbard Property,” and a nearby storage shed. Furthermore, the former Gaetano’s site at River and Wilson is slated for a new regional restaurant, with seed money provided by the city council. The former Olmstead building on Wilson will also potentially be up for sale. |
| 4 | Fox River Dam & Pond | The City is commissioning a feasibility study (slated for late 2025/2026) to determine the future of the failing dam. While the Illinois DNR advocates for removal to improve river health, the City is exploring options that might preserve the Depot Pond water levels, though funding such a project remains a major financial hurdle.The Batavia Park District has funded manual removal of excess vegetation in the pond. |
| 5 | Commercial Vacancies | The city utilizes Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts to incentivize businesses to fill vacancies. The 2025 focus has been on finding a developer for the “North River Street” site to replace underutilized land with mixed-use commercial and residential space. Additionally, Batavia MainStreet (https://downtownbatavia.com/) actively markets the downtown to potential business and was instrumental in getting Warehouse 55 to relocate from Aurora to Batavia along with other new openings in 2025.. |
| 6 | Growth vs. Quality of Life | The 2026 Budget explicitly frames its investments around “Sustainable Growth.” The city attempts to balance this by enforcing design guidelines in the new Downtown Plan while approving large revenue-generating projects to bring in additional funds to help pay for “quality of life” initiatives. |
| 7 | New Data Center | In July 2025, the City Council approved a $500 million data center project (Hut 8) at 1780 Hubbard Ave. The developer agreed to front $18 million in infrastructure improvements. The project is expected to generate significant utility tax revenue once fully operational in late 2026/2027. Ground has not yet broken on this project. |
| 8 | Second Downtown Bridge | While long identified as a need to alleviate traffic bottlenecks, there is no active construction project or funding currently allocated for a second bridge. It remains a concept in long-term comprehensive planning but is currently deprioritized in favor of other infrastructure projects like the dam and Route 31 road diet. |
| 9 | Res. Housing Availability | The city acknowledged the lack of diverse housing in its strategic plan. In May 2025, the Council endorsed “The Residence at River Point,” a $24M development on South River St. that will add 72 units of workforce/affordable housing, converting a long-vacant quarry site. |
| 10 | City Council Priorities | The Council’s actions are currently governed by the 2024–2028 Strategic Action Plan, which prioritizes infrastructure renewal (utilities/dam), financial sustainability (new revenue sources like the Data Center), and downtown revitalization. However, topics do arise during the year that are not planned for and the next city council planning session will happen in the new year. |
| 11 | Historical Preservation | This remains a point of contention. In December 2025, the Council voted 11-3 to approve the demolition of a historic chimney on North River St. due to safety concerns, sparking debate about “demolition by neglect.” The Historic Preservation Commission continues to review all downtown changes and there has been talk about adopting regulations more in line with what’s worked in other communities.The city council is planning on having a conversation on River Street in 2026 to review the recent history of success and failures of attempted re-development approaches. |
| 12 | Bag Tax Policy | A $0.10 fee per single-use bag remains in effect (implemented July 2023) for stores over 5,000 sq ft. The city retains $0.06 per bag to fund environmental initiatives like tree planting and drainage naturalization along with promoting home efficiency. |
| 13 | Traffic Congestion | The City and IDOT are actively modifying Route 31 (Batavia Ave). A “Road Diet” project (converting 4 lanes to 3 with a center turn lane) completed its first phase in late 2024 to improve safety and flow and additional solutions are being considered (signal timing, additional controls). |
| 14 | Rt. 31 & Fabyan Intersection | This intersection is under IDOT jurisdiction but is a high priority for the county. Feasibility studies have been completed for intersection improvements to address the skewed geometry and capacity, but major construction is dependent on state funding cycles. https://www.fabyanil31intersection.com/ |
| 15 | Prop. Code Enforcement | Code enforcement remains complaint-driven but active. Notably, in November 2025, the City passed an ordinance restricting the use of city property for federal civil immigration enforcement, clarifying local police roles and code enforcement boundaries on city land. |
| 16 | Rental Housing Costs | Outside of the new “River Point” development, the city monitors rental standards through code enforcement. Market rates remain high, reflecting broader regional trends, with the city’s primary lever being the approval of new higher-density developments to increase supply. However, we’re quickly running out of buildable land (~500 acres) and the window is closing for new build rental communities. |
| 17 | City Services (General) | The 2026 budget maintains current service levels for police, fire, and public works while adding an additional six positions. A focus has been placed on undergrounding electric lines to improve reliability during storms, a direct response to service outages. |
| 18 | Gambling Expansion | In December 2025, the Council held a contentious debate regarding the installation of video gaming terminals at a downtown restaurant (Gammon Coach House) due to its proximity to a church, highlighting the ongoing tension between business revenue and community character. Other establishments may apply for a licence in 2026. |
| 19 | Public Assisted Housing | The primary active project is the Housing Authority of Elgin’s partnership for the 72-unit “Residence at River Point” project endorsed in May 2025. This specifically targets residents making 30-80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The age of the existing facilities is becoming a concern as many are nearly 40 years old.https://www.tricitiescentral.com/p/batavia-officials-show-support-for-riverfront-affordable-housing-project |
| 20 | City Hall Flag Policy | In June 2024, the City Council adopted a “Government Speech” policy based on one adopted by Boston. Only the US, State, City, and MIA / POW flags may be flown. This policy prohibits residents from requesting specific flags to be flown to avoid legal “public forum” issues, but other flags can be nominated to be flown by members of city council or the mayor. |
Author: Jim Fahrenbach
Leave a Reply