More Top Picks Best Healthy Wave Pemf Mats
player ready...Voters in Western Springs favored by a ballot question authorizing the village to issue $12 million in bonds to improve roads.
But the improvements funded by the bonds will not be seen for a little while.
“The approval of the referendum won’t directly impact next year’s roadway budget since we still have funds from our bridge bond for the 2017 program,” said Matt Supert, director of municipal services.
He added that the village has not yet determined when it will issue the new bonds from the referendum.
With all 12 precincts reporting, the vote was 4,506, or 62.26 percent in favor and 2,731 votes, or 37.74 percent, against, according to unofficial election results.
Tina Rounds, who lives in Westerns Springs, voted for the referendum, even though her own street is in good condition,
“Some of the main roads need work,” she said. “I think it’s for the community good and Western Spring can afford it.”
The question asked voters if they approved raising $12 million in bond revenue to fund roadway improvements over the next few years.
The referendum will raise village property taxes about $200 annually for a home valued at $500,000, which officials said is the median price of a home in Western Springs.
Residents who pay a tax bill of about $5,000 will see an increase of about $157, an $8,000 bill would increase by about $252, and a $10,000 bill would increase by about $315 annually, according to information on the village website. Village officials plan to issue the bonds in three installments over eight years to match the issuance with the construction schedule and reduce interest expense.
Village Trustee Sue Glowiak said each year, the village’s Public Works Department reviews all the streets in the villages, then grades them on their condition, with the lowest graded streets getting the highest priority for improvements based on available funds. Those priority streets may change over time.
Supert said due to decreasing funding the village has decided to focus purely on asphalt resurfacing and concrete rehabilitation projects instead of the more costly concrete reconstruction projects.
Officials said the revenue will be used for road projects focusing on concrete, asphalt resurfacing and concrete rehabilitation.
Voters last approved a $6.5 million road improvement bond referendum in 2008, those funds lasted six years, and were finally exhausted in 2014. Finance director Grace Turi said that residents are still paying for it on their tax bills, with the average homeowner still paying about $93 annually for bonds from the 2008 referendum. That portion of the tax come off the bill once those bonds are paid off, Turi said.
David Heitz, a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press, contributed to this report.
twitter triblocalam