Geneva is a city rich in history – a community that takes pride in preserving its past. But with history comes challenges, with some City-owned buildings dating back to the early 1900s. In response, Geneva developed a facilities master plan in 2025 to improve its facilities to ensure the City can provide the levels of service the community expects. The first building identified for improvement is the Geneva Police Station.

The City takes great pride in serving as a careful steward of residents' tax dollars. Did you know the City's portion accounts for just 6% of your property tax bill? Our property tax rate is significantly lower than our neighbors - 46% lower than St. Charles and 35% lower than Batavia.

However, with a limited budget, the City is unable to address significant infrastructure challenges without additional funding.

That is why the Geneva City Council voted to put a referendum on the ballot to build a new police station. If approved, the $59.4 million public safety plan on the March 17 ballot would cost the average Geneva household an additional $272 a year in property taxes. The public can visit our estimated tax calculator online to determine their impact.

If the community were to approve the referendum, this will be just another step in a very public process to bring a new Police Station to fruition. Looking to the next steps, the City Council will work to finalize the project design. Once the final project design is determined, the estimated costs and timeline will be determined. The City Council will then work with our bond consultants to determine the best timing and whether to take the estimated costs all at once or in tranches.

The City will go to bid in a transparent and competitive bidding process to secure the best prices. If the building costs come in below the bond issuance amount, the extra bond money will be used toward debt service payments on the bonds for this project. If project costs are higher than the bond, the project scope will need to be reduced to match the available bond funding. The City only has authorization for and cannot exceed the $59.4 million amount.

More Information

The City's website serves as referendum central. Residents can learn about the need for a new police station, view preliminary architectural renderings, use an estimated referendum tax impact calculator, review the facilities master plan, read FAQs, and access additional information.

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