Elk Grove Village Mayor touts town’s affordability

Elk Grove Village offers residents the best bang for their buck, declared Mayor Craig Johnson at this week’s village board meeting.

Johnson was talking about how affordable it is to live in the village compared to neighboring towns.

Village staff recently surveyed eight comparable communities to determine what it costs the owner of a $300,000 home to live there. Towns surveyed were Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg.

Comparisons were based on property taxes, fees for garbage removal, yard waste stickers, animal licenses, and vehicle stickers. Also factored in where costs associated with fuel taxes, home rule sales tax, amusement taxes, water/sewer fees and utility bills.

Elk Grove Village ranked the least expensive, with the owner of a $300,000 home paying roughly $7,774 in taxes, fees, and usage charges yearly, Johnson said.

Palatine, where a homeowner pays $12,405 yearly in taxes and fees, ranked the highest according to the survey.

“All the stuff that we put on here for the community, we still do it in the most cost-effective way,” Johnson said.