Lombard mulls change to vehicle stickers

Some vehicle owners in Lombard may be paying more for their cars in the future while pickup truck owners might catch a break on their fees.

Lombard board members are considering adjusting the village's vehicle sticker program to take into consideration small pickup truck owners' ongoing complaints about fairness.

As it stands, owners of small pickup trucks pay $30 each year for village vehicle stickers because they have B-class plates while owners of large sport-utility vehicles like Chevrolet Suburbans pay only $15 because they have passenger plates.

Officials say they often get complaints about the disparity when many pickup trucks are personal rather than business vehicles.

The new proposal suggests owners pay $20 for vehicles with passenger plates and the pickups with the B-plates. That would reflect a $5 increase in what residents pay for passenger vehicles and a $10 decrease for small pickups with B-plates.

"If it's the same fee at the state (to have either type of vehicle), it should be the same for stickers," Trustee Richard Tross said.

The proposal aims to improve customer relations, but it also is expected to generate an additional $93,000 in revenues for the village annually, Finance Director Timothy Sexton said.

Tross noted that the move might not be perceived as the village leveling an unfair playing field but rather just as an increased fee for most vehicle owners.

Officials are looking into whether pickup truck owners driving their vehicles only for personal use can obtain a standard passenger vehicle license plate to remedy the situation rather than adjusting fees.

The idea was proposed Tuesday as part of the board's initial budget talks for the upcoming year. If pursued, the amended fee structure would not go into effect until 2010, village officials said.