Special Campton Hills tax moves ahead

Property owners in a Campton Hills subdivision with a history of flooding apparently have dropped their opposition to a special tax levy to pay for repairs.

With last week's passing of a deadline to object to the levy, village officials Friday said the village and county can now proceed with the tax. It is expected to cost some 47 property owners a collective $90,000 over the next decade.

On Friday, village officials said they were pleased Evening Prairie homeowners now appear to be on board with the levy for the subdivision, located between Burlington and Silver Glen roads.

"The alternatives are really kind of ugly," Trustee Jim Kopec said. "We're glad they're going to be able to take it up and carry it forward. It kind of lets us believe the people there are reasonable and willing to accept the cooperation of the county and village to solve a mutual problem."

Village President Patsy Smith said officials likely will spend the next couple of weeks finalizing the tax levy and a related agreement with Kane County.

If everything is wrapped up quickly, residents of the Evening Prairie subdivision could begin seeing the new tax on tax bills arriving in May 2009, according to the Kane County Tax Extension Office.

Funds generated from the tax levy are supplemented by an $80,000 commitment from the county and $10,000 from the village. The total amount - about $150,000 - is needed to repair failing drain tiles that have caused increasing amounts of flooding and soil saturation for years, county officials have said.

Evening Prairie property owners who have voiced opposition to the levy could not be reached for comment.

The proposal turned controversial several months ago when homeowners threatened to fight the new tax with legal petitions, saying the repairs should be entirely the county's responsibility because it approved the development.

They also took issue with the varying amounts of money the levy would cost individual homeowners, with some paying thousands of dollars and one paying less than $20.

Village officials have cautioned property owners that rejecting the levy and delaying the project could lead to septic system problems, or spur civil lawsuits between individual homeowners.

Last month, the county put together a new plan that cut homeowners' costs by nearly 23 percent. At the time, some residents said they still intended to fight the special tax levy in court.