7/20/2026 Public Safety Town Hall Millage Renewal Meeting 2026 (LIVE)

The City of Oak Park held a Public Safety Town Hall on July 20, 2026, to discuss the renewal of two public safety millages set for the upcoming primary ballot in August. The meeting focused on explaining that these are renewals, not tax increases, intended to maintain current public safety staffing and operations, including police, fire, and EMS services. The first millage (Proposal 2026-01) funds the public safety retirement system and generates about $5.6 million, while the second (Proposal 2026-02) supports public safety operations and is expected to generate around $800,000 annually. The discussion highlighted the critical need for these funds to sustain equipment purchases such as fire trucks and patrol vehicles, and to avoid catastrophic cuts to city services. The meeting also addressed questions about the impact of the millages on economic development programs like brownfield redevelopment and corridor improvement authorities, and clarified that these funds are strictly for public safety purposes after state-mandated carve-outs. Additional topics included the city's efforts to communicate with residents, upcoming public engagement events, and ongoing capital improvement projects such as parking lot repaving and landscaping along Coolidge. No new tax increases were proposed, and the city emphasized the importance of voter support to continue funding essential public safety services.