Glen Ellyn OKs water, garbage fee hikes

Glen Ellyn's newly implemented budget includes some garbage- and water-rate increases that will be passed along to residents.

The monthly water service bill will increase by 7.6 percent, starting July 1. That will cost an extra $2.73 per month for households that use 7,000 gallons of water.

Finance Director Jon Batek said the increases reflect the additional costs charged for Lake Michigan water from the city of Chicago and the DuPage Water Commission. Overall, the rate increase will be 50 percent over three years; this is the second year of a higher rate.

Garbage collection rates also will go up by 5 percent. In 2005, the village reduced the rate by 17 percent, since it was able to subsidize costs through recycling. However, recycling revenue has fallen, meaning more money is needed to cover the cost of picking up garbage in town.

In addition to the water and garbage rate increases, the budget will include an additional 1 percent added to the village's portion of the sales tax. That new tax, which will be implemented July 1, will help fill in this year's budget deficit. The budget numbers also reflect layoffs of village employees to help fill in the deficit, as well as an increase in Glen Ellyn's ambulance services.

The budget includes about $43.9 million in spending, down $2.5 million from last year.

Batek said Glen Ellyn, like many other towns, has experienced a downturn in revenue due to declining home sales and fewer people shopping.

The budget is reflective of the village's desire to "preserve current service levels," while also not increasing the amount of money necessary to do so, Batek added.