Virgil Township asking for more money for roads

Virgil Township needs more money to maintain its 31 miles of roads. Quite a bit more money.

The township is hosting a public meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20 at the Maple Park Civic Center, 302 Willow St., to explain the Virgil Township referendum which will be on the ballot Nov. 4.

The township is asking voters to approve a 20-cent increase in its tax rate for road maintenance. The tax rate would increase from about 18 cents, the limiting rate under the property tax cap law, to roughly 38 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The added annual property taxes for a single-family residence with a fair market value of $100,000 would be about $67.50.

The extra funds are needed to keep up with the cost of fuel, gravel and materials needed to repair and maintain township roads, according to Township Supervisor Judy Probst-Yagen.

"Our backs are up against the wall," said Probst-Yagen. "We can't improve the roads without some help with the costs."

Probst-Yagen said the township has asked for an increase in its road fund three or four times previously, but the voters have not approved it.

"We have the lowest tax rate for roads in the county," Probst-Yagen said. "The rate has never been raised. Fuel and materials are our two biggest costs. We have to maintain the gravel roads and repair the hard surface roads. The cost of blacktopping is so high now, we can't afford to do it."

Probst-Yagen said the road fund includes money for equipment, for the matching Social Security paid to workers, as well as the fund for insurance. Those percentages will stay the same, she said, with the entire increase going to road maintenance. Only 3 cents of the total tax rate goes to equipment and less than 1 cent goes to the Social Security and insurance funds.