The City Council has made official its intent to ask voters this fall for permission to issue $6 million in bonds for street repairs, but officials expressed concern the electorate may not be agreeable.
The council voted unanimously to place a referendum proposal on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
“Some people look at tax issues from a very narrow point of view,” said Ald. Paul DesCoteaux, chairman of the council’s Finance Committee. “All we can do is present the facts, and hopefully people will see this as a good opportunity.”
According to the financing plan, the bonds would be paid back over a 15-year period. City Administrator Phil Page said borrowing the funds would raise the city’s tax rate by about 10 cents per $100 of assessed value.
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But the increase would be offset by interest payments to the city and from an anticipated rise in sale tax revenues from commercial growth along Randall Road, he said.
If the proposal is approved by voters, the city would spend an extra $2 million annually over the next three years in its street maintenance program to rebuild portions of 66 local streets.
Officials said the spending plan will enable the Public Works Department to stay ahead of Geneva’s road repair needs once all the work is complete.
DesCoteaux and other officials expressed concern the voting public may reject the referendum proposals in some sort of anti-tax protest, and because other governmental bodies in Geneva are tax-hike proposals of their own.