Warrenville to consider higher taxes

Warrenville City Council members are expected to vote next week on a proposal to create three new local taxes, increase an existing tax and redistribute another to help pay for road repairs and other capital improvements.

If adopted by the council on Tuesday night, the multifaceted tax plan would generate enough new revenue to address a projected $1 million deficit in the city’s capital improvement program.

“We’re simply trying to maintain what the people already have invested in,” said Alderman Matthew Wiesbrock, who supports the measure.

The plan calls for the city to enact a 3 percent natural gas utility tax, a 1 percent electric utility tax and a 4-cents-per-gallon local gasoline tax.

In addition to the new taxes, the city would increase the rate of its telecommunications tax to 6 percent from 4 percent.

The proposal was revised last month after officials hosted a series of public meetings to get feedback from residents.

For example, officials were considering whether to suspend of the city’s hotel-motel tax grant program so its $200,000 in annual funding could be used for capital expenditures.

Now the plan is to cut the grant program in half so it still could provide $100,000 a year to help pay for local events, including farmers markets, art shows and summer concerts.

“Some of those events are going to have to be tightened up a little bit,” said Wiesbrock, adding that there will be no reduction of tourism funding for the annual Fourth of July and Summer Daze events.

Even if the plan is approved, the council could postpone the tax increases for up to a year to give people time to prepare. The city would be able to do that by spending about $700,000 of its reserve cash to pay for capital improvement projects in 2012.

“I don’t think there’s anybody, including myself, that wants to pay any more taxes than what we already pay,” Wiesbrock said.

Still, officials say higher taxes are needed to address the $1 million deficit in the capital improvement plan. Most of the roughly $1.9 million a year Warrenville spends on capital projects is devoted to roads, sidewalks, storm sewers and streetlights.

Tuesday’s city council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at city call, 28W701 Stafford Place.