Wheeling Township officials near Buffalo Grove said they have to figure out their next steps now that township voters overwhelmingly decided to consolidate operations and abolish the township road district.
Almost 69 percent favored the referendum to abolish the district, which maintains 5.4 miles of local roads. Nearly 58,860 total votes were cast on the question, based on unofficial results from Cook County.
With the district set to be eliminated, township board trustees now have to decide what to do with road district money and the $91,000 in combined annual salaries of Highway Commissioner Scott Saewert and his two staff members, said trustee Ruth O’Connell.
“We’d have to take a look at what needs to be done,” she said.
Township officials said that eliminating the road district wouldn’t have an immediate effect on local homeowners’ property tax bills. The road district officially ceases to exist on Jan. 1, officials said.
The township board voted earlier to put the referendum question on the Nov. 8 ballot by a 3-2 vote, describing the need for more efficiencies and the desire to respond to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s efforts to consolidate governmental units in Illinois.
Saewert, who was first elected highway commissioner in 2001, said he will accept the outcome on the referendum.
But he said trustees may not be able to handle all the roadwork within the township, resulting in higher costs.
“The voters spoke,” Saewert said. “I’m happy that the Wheeling Township voters allowed me for four terms to create budgets that were always passed.”
The Wheeling Township Road District didn’t own any vehicles or a garage. Saewert also worked out contracts with neighboring communities to handle snow plowing and private firms to handle maintenance work.
Township residents primarily live near Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights and Wheeling.
Proponents and opponents of the referendum had mixed reactions to the results.
Resident Jeffrey Battinus, who also is a board member at Community Consolidated School District 21 in Wheeling, campaigned for the abolishment of the road district. He said the road district wasn’t efficiently using its budget.
“It’s $91,000 in salaries to administer a $500,000 budget,” Battinus said. “They don’t do any of the work. They outsource it anyway.”
Resident Terry Coakley, who campaigned to preserve the road district, said trustees never gave clear direction regarding their plan for the new funding.
“It’s hard to tell what their plans are,” Coakley said. “It seems that they want to get their hands on the road money.”
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