Streamwood taxes go up no matter who is in office

Several letters in the paper before the election were in support of Billie Roth, Streamwood village president. While I agree Billie has done some great things for Streamwood, I got curious about the tax issue, reading in these letters how she has not raised our taxes during her tenure.

This is actually a ridiculous statement, as taxes will increase no matter who is in office.

Anyway, I got my second installment of 2009 taxes today, so I pulled another two years out of my file. In 2007 the Village of Streamwood got $268.66 from me, and in 2009 $302.66.

Also, does anyone notice the pension column? In 2007 the village got $79.16 from me for their pension fund while ECC and the U-46 schools got $1,531.23 from me for their pension fund.

In 2009, Streamwood's take for the pension fund was up to $109.57; U-46 schools got $1,674.98. Then there is the municipal and township taxes,  municipal covering things like mosquito abatement (what? I haven't seen any “abatement” for years) that was $364.36 in 2008 didn't see a figure on the 2007 tax bill and in 2009 it was $392.25.

In closing, our tax bill has gone up, not dramatically, but yes, up! If we didn't have the senior exemption and the homeowner's exemption we would have to move out of town ... and then pay the idiot exit tax of several thousand dollars depending on what we sold our home for.

By the way our home has decreased in value at least $50,000 in the past few years, yet our taxes have gone up roughly $200 since just last year. 

Linda Kimsey

Streamwood