The Village of Oak Park may add a penny to its gas tax in hopes of balancing the budget without raising property taxes.
The village’s gas tax is now at 3 cents a gallon, but it could rise to 4 cents Jan. 1 if the budget is passed as presented by Village Manager Carl Swenson at Monday’s Village Board meeting.
Swenson said village officials don’t want to increase property taxes to cover $26 million in additional expenditures anticipated in 2006. The 2005 budget included $103 million in expenditures, while $129 million in expenditures are included in the proposed 2006 budget.
The sizable spending increase is due to several capital-improvement projects, including a new $20.5 million public works facility, $6 million for projects to spur redevelopment in various areas throughout the village and $500,000 for street and alley improvements.
The gas tax was first implemented in 1998 at 1 cent. Since then, the tax has risen to 3 cents. Each cent of the tax generates about $285,000 in revenue, said village communications director David Powers.
The additional gas-tax revenue will be used to pay for debt service on the “catalyst projects” to spur redevelopment, Swenson said.
A tentative schedule for the budget process calls for a public hearing Nov. 7 and adoption of the 2006 budget Nov. 21.
Also on Monday, the board gave preliminary approval for landmark status to the Oak Park Maze Branch Library and the First United Methodist Church.
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The board gave the preliminary approval because of their historically significant architecture and role in the history of the community.
The one-story Maze Branch Library at 845 Gunderson Ave. was built in 1936 in the Georgian Revival style. It was designed by architect Elmer Roberts, who was born and raised in Oak Park. He designed several other homes and buildings in the village, among them two other locally landmarked buildings.
The library is planning for construction that will remove a back portion of the building and add a new wing. Historic Commission officials said that this project will not harm the historic integrity of the building or jeopardize its landmark status.
The landmark designation applies to the historic front portion of the library, which still has many of its original architectural elements both inside and out.
The First United Methodist Church at 324 N. Oak Park Ave. was built in 1923 in English Gothic Revival style. The architects were Thomas Tallmadge and Vernon Watson, whose firm designed numerous homes and other buildings in Oak Park.
The landmark status applies to the exterior of the building, although the church still has a 1928 organ, which is undergoing restoration, according to the nomination form.
The Village Board will formally approve the landmark status for the buildings at a future meeting.