Wheaton dances around tax hike

There was a familiar song playing in the background throughout the Wheaton city council's planning session Monday night.

The refrain was the same all night. There's not enough money to pave the streets. There's no cash to build new sidewalks. There's no dough to repair and upgrade sanitary and storm sewers.

Call it the "We need a tax increase" blues. And if Wheaton residents want the track to change, they're going to have to shell out more than a few quarters -- that was at least the song's melody.

The song was a subtle mood-setter, like elevator music. But the volume will ratchet up to heavy metal in about a month when the city council brings in department heads for budget discussions.

A sneak preview of the top 40 playlist for those sessions came Monday night. Taking just the streets, sidewalk and tree concerns of the city, there's already an increase of at least $2.3 million from the general fund. It's money that isn't there, said City Manager Don Rose.

"We're having a difficult time maintaining our existing infrastructure," Rose said. "We are probably falling behind and need to consider additional resources just to maintain the status quo. There certainly are some challenges ahead."

The hint of at least debating some form of a tax increase continued throughout the discussion, but with no one actually saying it.

"Identifying revenue sources is going to be our biggest challenge," Councilman John Prendiville said. "I think we've got a very informed, intelligent citizenry here in Wheaton. I think they'll understand that we need to do some things in order to take care of these items. I would support doing what it takes to raise that revenue."

After the meeting, Mayor Mike Gresk also danced around the idea of a tax increase versus budget cuts.

"You can cut (expenses), but are you willing to absorb those difficulties?" Gresk asked. "I realize, to many citizens, it's a pile-on. The school district is looking for a couple bucks; the county is looking for a couple bucks. It's a balance."

Gresk hopes Wheaton residents provide input about how to attain that balance during the city's budget hearings.

"What we need people to realize now is this is what we've got," Gresk said. "I'm not going to threaten cuts. It'll be a straight, businesslike approach. This is how we run the city. For this much, we can do that; for this much, we can do this."