Sugar Grove considers road-repair charge
Sugar Grove residents will likely pay less for garbage pickup soon, as the village's new garbage contract cost less.
But they may not see that $5.59-a-month savings in their wallets, as village officials are considering charging exactly that in a new infrastructure maintenance fee to pay for road repair.
The village board gave a tentative nod to the plan Tuesday, and will vote on it June 20.
"I wrestle with this. I'm not in favor of a vehicle registration fee," President Sean Michels said.
The board considered a $60 to $100-a-month per household fee in 2014, but decided against it. It also rejected seeking a property-tax rate hike, because it didn't think residents would approve it.
The village expects to spend about $240,000 during fiscal-year 2017 on maintenance of its 70 centerline miles of streets. Projects not being done include resurfacing streets in the Strafford Woods subdivision ($337,000), and microsurfacing streets in the Walnut Woods and Windsor West subdivisions ($564,000, total). Microsurfacing is a procedure where a thin layer of an asphalt emulsion is applied to extend the life of the pavement.
A 2012 report by a consultant, which rated the condition of all Sugar Grove-owned streets, recommended the village spend $1.4 million a year on street repair - more than triple what it was doing. It estimated that to resurface 5 percent of the streets per year, as engineers recommended, would cost $1.25 million a year. Since then, the village has added another 10 centerline miles.
Street work is paid for by village property taxes, motor-fuel taxes and grants from other government agencies. The grants are getting harder to come by, Village Administrator Brent Eichelberger said.
Trustee Mari Melson Johnson worries the state could decide, unilaterally, to reduce the portion of fuel taxes distributed to the village.
Board members reiterated they don't want to start a vehicle sticker program, in large part due to the hassle of administering it.
"Beyond the sticker issue ... we have to talk about how to fund the roads," Trustee Ted Koch said. " ... We have to get used to the idea that the state money is disappearing."
The proposed fee would be included on the utility bills sent to the 3,375 residential and commercial utility customers. It would generate $226,395 annually.
People who don't have a vehicle could apply for a waiver, Eichelberger said.