Winfield makes case for road referendum

With half of Winfield's roads in poor to failing condition, village officials say a proposed property tax increase is the best way to get the town's street maintenance program back on track.

But it's the voters who will get the final say Nov. 2.

That's when they will decide whether to approve the tax bump, which would give Winfield the millions of dollars needed to resurface its 35 miles of local streets every 20 years.

In the meantime, Winfield officials are doing what they can to make the case for the referendum proposal.

“A property tax increase certainly is not welcome by anybody in any town," Village Manager Curt Barrett said. “But it's probably the most equitable way to raise the dollars. And it's really the only way we see that raises the kind of dollars we need to fix the roads and maintain them."

The proposed tax hike will appear as two questions on the ballot.

The first will ask voters' permission to borrow $3.3 million to resurface the most deteriorated streets in the village. The second will ask voters to let Winfield collect an extra $700,000 in property taxes each year to fund a 20-year maintenance cycle for the entire network of local roads.

If approved, the combined ballot questions would cost the owner of a $300,000 home an estimated $253 extra in village property taxes each year.

“We recognize it's a significant increase," Barrett said. “It's getting to the heart of do we want to have quality roads? How are we going to pay for them if that's the expectation?"

Barrett said the village has explored other options.

But Winfield's motor fuel tax revenues, which have traditionally been used to pay for road repairs, have declined in recent years while the cost of road maintenance has increased. And the village doesn't collect enough in property or sales taxes to make up the difference.

Meanwhile, other revenue-generating ideas such as a vehicle sticker program, red-light cameras and a sales tax increase wouldn't raise the amount of money the village needs.

“It's not like we aren't trying all other avenues that we can possibly try," said Village President Deborah Birutis, adding the town received federal grant money to repair Winfield, Jewell and Gary's Mill roads. Central DuPage Hospital also made a $300,000 contribution for road repairs.

Some referendum opponents say the village's funding problems were caused by a shortage of commercial development, especially along Roosevelt Road.

Birutis responded to that criticism by saying the village has stepped up its efforts to attract more businesses and generate more sales tax revenue.

In the meantime, Barrett said, the village can't afford to wait and potentially see the cost of repairs rise.

“We've always taken the least cost approach every time we've faced a decision about what to do with roads," Barrett said. “We've resurfaced and resurfaced and resurfaced, which each time nets you less longevity. At some point, a road needs to be reconstructed."