Tale of two towns not so telling

The Daily Herald's parallel articles, "Fees, tax hikes, layoffs ahead for Lake Zurich," (Nov. 27) and "Housing crisis forces Hawthorn Woods to cut staff, projects," (Nov. 28) erroneously give your readers the impression that the financial woes of the two communities are similar.

Yes, both communities are reporting shortfalls of approximately $750,000. Hawthorn Woods moved to cut current year spending, while Lake Zurich is looking at possible fee hikes, service cuts, levying additional real estate taxes or selling properties in its downtown redevelopment area next year. But even if both communities do indeed bite the bullet, their fiscal futures are markedly different.

At the end of the process, Hawthorn Woods' 6,000 residents will have a long-term debt of some $15,000, or $2.50 per person. Lake Zurich's 18,000 residents, on the other hand, will still face almost $55 million in long-term debt, or nearly $2,900 per person. In fact, Lake Zurich's annual debt service alone is almost $3 million, and will remain well above $2 million at least through 2020.

So will we be reading the same story come this time next year? In Lake Zurich's case, you can almost certainly bet on it.

Rich Sustich Lake Zurich