$30 million tax increase approved for open space

Kane County residents showed Tuesday they're willing to part with a few more green dollars to invest in green space even during a slow economy.

The Kane County Forest Preserve District won voter approval for a tax increase to acquire open space for the fourth straight time. The district also passed tax increases in 1999, 2005 and 2007, adding more than 5,000 acres to local preserves in the process. District officials expect to add another 2,000 with the $30 million tax increase, bringing district land holdings to more than 20,000 acres.

With all 299 precincts reporting, unofficial results showed the tax increase passing by 2,286 votes. A total of 16,855 residents voted in favor of the increase versus 14,569 residents voting against it. The increase failed in Aurora, but the remaining parts of Kane County carried enough weight to spark the victory.

Forest Preserve District President John Hoscheit said commissioners will now begin acquiring property in the order of the best deals district staff can find. Hoscheit indicated some deals are just awaiting the actual sale of the bonds before coming to final terms.

“People recognized that they are not paying for salaries and benefits with this money,” Hoscheit said. “They are paying to invest in property that we'll preserve forever. We've been very deliberate in our process for tax increases going back to 1999. Once we completed the land acquisitions we reported back our results. Showing the public you've done what you've said you're going to do shows we've been accountable. The reality is we could've sold almost $10 million in bonds without public approval, but we decided not to do it that way. When that message was made clear, the whole tone of the discussion changed during the public forums on the referendum. We decided if the public wants to support more open space they'll vote for it.”

The tax increase will add about $14.73 per year to the property tax bill for the owner of a $300,000 home.