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player ready...Lincolnwood residents will see sharp increases in water rates, parking fines, and costs for ambulance services starting May 1 under a series of fee hikes approved by the Village Board this month.
Village trustees passed the fee increases unanimously during the April 19 Village Board meeting without making any remarks.
The fee increases are expected to bring in an extra $21,500 in revenue for the village’s general fund, according to Robert Merkel, director of finance for the village of Lincolnwood. That’s in addition to another $191,000 in revenue from water rate increases, all of which goes directly to the city of Chicago, the village’s water supplier.
Residents in Lincolnwood and other communities that depend on Lake Michigan water have been shelling out more each year since Chicago passed a series of annual 5 percent hikes onto its suburban water customers several years ago. This year’s 5 percent increase means residents of the village will pay 41 cents more, or a total of $8.69 per 1,000 gallons of metered water consumption.
Lincolnwood officials and other towns have sought alternate ways to get water, but Lincolnwood has yet to formalize a new water supply plan.
Parking violations will also get more expensive this spring after an across-the-board increase that sets the minimum fine for a parking violation at $30.
It will cost a lot more to order an ambulance starting this year, with the charges depending on whether the patient is a resident of Lincolnwood or an out-of-towner.
The resident rate for ambulatory services has always been discounted because local tax dollars help support the fire department, according to the village, but non-residents pay the full charges for an ambulance bill.
Next month, basic ambulance transport charges will increase by $150, with residents’ rates moving up to $650 per trip and non-resident rates spiking to $1,000, according to the village. Residents will also pay an extra $2 for each miles the ambulance travels for a new total of $17 per mile, while non-resident rates will increase by $3 to a new rate of $20 per mile.
One other area where fees will spike next month is the permit fee charged to construction contractors performing work in the village’s public rights-of-way areas. That fee, charged to companies hired to complete work for utility providers, will double to $1,000, according to the village.
After approving the fee hikes, the Village Board unanimously approved an operating budget of approximately $34.5 million for 2016-17. The budget is about 12 percent less than the previous year, according to Merkel, who attributed a $4.9 million decrease in expenditures to the village’s recent purchase of the Union Pacific railroad property. The village is planning to build a one-mile bike path on the stretch of land this year.
The budget also assumes a 20 percent reduction in revenue from the state this year, or about $260,000, according to the village.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.