Bartlett approves electricity tax cuts

This June, Bartlett homeowners and businesses will see a tax on their electricity consumption slashed by 50 percent.

Bartlett trustees this week adopted the tax cuts, expected to save the average household about $17 a month. The village trimmed roughly $314,000 from the 2015-16 budget to make up for the loss of revenue from the rollback.

The tax is based on the number of kilowatt hours consumed in a month and shows up on ComEd bills.

Trustee Greg Martin said the cuts are a "good, small step" toward eliminating the unpopular tax. The board decided against getting rid of the tax in the short term because of fears that Illinois lawmakers will cut what towns receive from the state income tax.

Trustee Vincent Carbonaro agreed that the rollback is a "start," and now is calling for cuts to the village's other, pricier utility tax, on gas. "That's the one that hurts," he said.