Pingree Grove considering tax, fee increases
It soon may get a bit more pricey to live in Pingree Grove.
On Monday, village board members will consider raising the telecommunications tax and imposing a new tax on natural gas to plug a $50,000 deficit in the general fund.
Trustees also will decide whether to raise a flat sanity sewer rate to maintain an irrigation system for the wastewater treatment plant, Village Manager Bill Barlow said Tuesday.
As part of the taxing package, the monthly telecommunications tax would go to 6 percent from 1 percent and the village would collect a 5-percent monthly tax on natural gas use. Together, they would generate $137,000 annually and the village would reserve $25,000 of that amount for the capital improvement fund, Barlow said.
The $16 monthly sanity sewer fee would go up $3.79 to $19.79 a month, if approved. A special service tax area within Cambridge Homes now pays for the irrigation system, but the new fee would spread its cost among every resident, Barlow said. It would be effective immediately.
Meanwhile, the telecommunications tax would go into effect Jan. 1, while the natural gas tax would be effective within four months of its adoption.
At a committee of the whole meeting in March, trustees asked Barlow to find more ways to balance the budget. He acknowledged now is not a good time to hit the taxpayers up for more money but said, “We really have no other choice,” adding that village officials have done their part to save money.
This year alone, the village cut a $12,000 fireworks show for the Fourth of July and decided not to give employees raises for the second consecutive year. As well, the police chief took a 5-percent pay cut in exchange for 10 furlough days, the public works director has agreed to work fewer hours and Barlow is working as both a part-time village manager and finance director.
But it still isn’t enough, officials said.
“We’ve been as austere as we possibly can, but we need to take some action now to ensure that we remain viable,” Barlow said. “I think if people have the facts, they’ll understand. We’re like any household. You can’t have your expenditures exceed your revenues.”
Village President Greg Marston said the increases are a sign of the times, given the village’s exponential growth in recent years that has meant new demands.
If the new taxes and increases go through, Pingree Grove still would remain one of the lowest taxed villages in the area, Marston said, with the average resident paying an extra $12.09 a month — that includes the proposed taxes and the sewer fee.
“Even if this was approved, the majority of our residents pay double the amount to our local (homeowner’s associations),” Marston said.
He will answer questions related to the measures at 7 p.m. Thursday in the clubhouse within the Carillon subdivision for residents of that neighborhood. But he’ll take questions from the public between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m Friday at village hall and at 5 p.m. Monday at village hall until the 7 p.m. board meeting.
Barlow said he, too, is happy to talk to residents.
While Trustee Bob Spieker commends officials for trimming expenses, he said he would rather see they them investigate even deeper cuts before turning to the taxpayers.
“I personally believe that we just need to explore every possible option before imposing a tax increase on the residents,” Spieker said. “If there is anywhere else we can cut, then I would like to pursue this first.”