Green Oaks appears to defeat road repair tax

A measure to raise funds for road repairs in Green Oaks by establishing the first municipal property tax in the village's 56-year history was defeated by voters.

With all 5 precincts reporting, the measure failed with 1,127 votes no and 930 votes yes.

The defeat means the village will continue to use its current funding methods and strive to continue to make the roads as passable as possible and stabilize the roads that pose a danger to the public, officials said.

It was the second defeat for voter approval this year. In spring, the village asked voters for authorization to borrow $18.8 million for a comprehensive program to repair most of the roads in town over several years.

Tuesday's ballot question was for a much lower amount and the owner of a home valued at $300,000 would have paid about $93 more in property tax each year. That would have generated about $235,000 annually for road repairs to be added to between $180,000 and $200,000 from state motor fuel tax funds and local vehicle sticker fees the village receives annually to use for road repairs.

Green Oaks had planned to supplement those funds with expected proceeds from a new off track betting facility and, for 2017 only, an injection of $1 million from cash reserves.

Officials held three public information sessions, but expected that some voters would reject a tax hike regardless of the proposed amount.