Des Plaines approves generator rebate program

The Des Plaines city council Tuesday night approved a rebate program to help subsidize the purchase of portable generators by residents affected by power outages.

Residents who are considering purchasing new generators as well as homeowners who already bought one as of June 22 would be eligible to apply for the program. The city rebate would cover 50 percent of the cost of a portable generator up to $250.

A typical portable home generator powered by gasoline, ranging in capacity from 1,800 watts to 8,000 watts, could cost roughly $400 to $1,000. Automatic, standby generators that run on natural gas and kick in during a power outage to power an entire house can cost between $3,000 and $10,000.

Acting City Manager Jason Slowinski said June 22 was recommended as the cut off date for the retroactive part of the program to be fair to residents who may have purchased generators since the first severe rainstorm of the season that resulted in power outages lasting several days.

The program goes into effect Monday, Sept. 19. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis as of 8:30 a.m. that day.

The city council allocated $22,500 to fund the program, of which $15,000 would be paid out to residents proactively buying generators and $7,500 earmarked for retroactive purchases.

The goal of the rebate program is to try to get as many generators into the hands of residents who don’t currently have them, Slowinski said.

“With retroactivity we are not expanding the amount of generators that are out in the community,” Slowinski said explaining the difference in funding for the two parts of the program.

Residents applying for rebates retroactively have until Dec. 2 to come forward. There is no deadline for those applying for new generator purchases.

The program ends once the funding runs out at which point it will be up to the city council to determine if more money should be allocated for retroactive or new generator purchases, Slowinski said.

Residents must provide a valid receipt of purchase to be eligible for the program. Des Plaines Ward 6 Alderman Mark Walsten renewed his objection that the city shouldn#146;t be using taxpayer funds to subsidize residents purchases.

#147;I think it#146;s fiscally irresponsible for any kind of public money to be going to anything such as portable generators,#148; he said.

Ward 5 Alderman Jim Brookman suggested using a lottery system to determine who gets rebates but his motion died on the floor.

Resident Brian Burkross said the city should give rebates to residents who are most in need.

#147;People are going to abuse this if given a chance,#148; he said. #147;Someone who is suffering due to this economic downturn should be given priority.#148;

Slowinski said city officials have the ability to inspect whether residents who received rebates actually have purchased generators.

Yet, officials said they have no way of determining who needs generators the most.

Homeowner Susan Czach, who bought a generator after the June 22 rainstorm, suggested the city conduct a survey through residents#146; water bills to get an idea of how many people have purchased generators and how many are planning to buy it, #147;before you determine how much money you#146;re going to put into this program.#148;

Yet, a few residents objected to the city offering any rebates at all.

#147;This is a real invitation to greed and fraud,#148; resident Ronald Moore said. #147;I don#146;t see why my tax money is being used to buy someone else a generator. It#146;s just a bad system all around and it shouldn#146;t even be introduced.#148;