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Villa Park
also serving Oakbrook Terrace
VOL. 12 • NO. 34
WWW.THEINDEPENDENTNEWSPAPERS.COM
Referendum on November ballot to help fund water infrastructure Still, water bill for residents could increase $12-$15 per household
By Paul DelGuidice FOR THE VILLA PARK INDEPENDENT
With critical water related infrastructure projects in need of funding, the Villa Park Board of Trustees decided to seek a one-half cent sales tax increase to help pay projected loans needed to cover the cost of the work. Since Villa Park is not home rule, any tax increase must be approved by residents via a referendum vote. “IEPA [Illinois Environmental Protection Agency] loans can be guaranteed with sales tax money,” said Director of Public Works Vydis Juskelis during discussions at a recent Board meeting. IEPA loans, in an amount estimated to be about $9 million, would be required to fund sewer separation, water main and storm water management infrastructure projects. Much of this type of work, according to Juskelis, would take place under “referendum-funded” street repairs and replacement. He also said Village staff needs to know where funding for such projects will come from, so engineering and planning can commence. “It’s going to take some time to implement the process,” Juskelis said. “Our first priority is to fund the underground projects under referendum-financed street repairs, as there is a finite time frame for those projects.”
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Voters approved a $23 million bond issue to pay for street repairs and replacement. Funds from this referendum cannot be used to fix or upgrade underground infrastructure such as water mains, combined sanitary sewer and storm water separation or flood control measures. Until a way to fund these items is found, many of the road repairs may be delayed. As an alternative, the streets could be repaired leaving the water system underneath untouched. However, many of the streets would then need to be dug up for infrastructure repairs at a later date. “I’ve been on this Board since 2007,” said Trustee Al Bulthuis, “and we’ve been kicking this issue down the road for nearly 10 years. We need to address it.” The sales tax increase, if approved by voters, is seen as a ‘less painful’ way to garner funds. The increase, from 7.5 percent to 8 percent, would be partially paid for by shoppers from outside of Villa Park. The sales tax hike would not cover the entire cost of water projects. An increase in water bills of $12 to $15 has also been discussed by the Board of Trustees. “This increase in sales tax will only partly fund the underground [infrastructure],” Bulthuis said. “It will go only about half way. That is where the $12 to $15 increase in water bills comes in.” The Board did not address any water bill increases at the August 8 meeting, instead focusing on getting the sales tax increase referendum question on the November 2016 bal-
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016
Dude, I seriously need one of these
PAUL DELGUIDICE PHOTO Villa Park Independent
Brothers Lowden and Max were pretty impressed with the Villa Park Police Department’s Prairie Path Patrol cart, on display during a Big Rigs and Kids event held Saturday, Aug. 13. Officer Skiba (in background) was on hand to show the kids how to work the siren. It was just one of several trucks and vehicles on display at Cortesi Park. More photos inside this issue.
See REFERENDUM, Page 4
Inside:
Police Reports...........6 Sports �������������������� 14 Viewpoint.................8 Classifieds..........29-30
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