Gilberts voters to decide on sales tax increase to pay for roads

Voters in Gilberts will decide in April whether to raise the local sales tax to help pay for road improvements.

The village board voted last week to put a referendum question on the April ballot asking residents if they favor a 1 percent increase in the non-home rule sales tax to fund an estimated $2.75 million road program that would repair streets in four neighborhoods. If approved, sales tax revenues would help pay for a bond issue, which would likely be for 10 years, according to Village Administrator Ray Keller.

The village anticipates taking in $150,000 a year from the additional sales tax funds, which would be enough to cover an estimated $140,000 to $150,000 funding gap, considering current village revenues, Keller said.

The project would be concentrated in Windmill Meadows, Indian Trails, Gilberts Glen and Dunhill Estates. As roads in those areas are improved, streets in other parts of town, namely Timber Trails and Timber Glen, will likely deteriorate at the end of the 10-year project and be in need of improvements, Keller said.

Sales tax revenue could be put toward such later improvements as well, he said.

The village had considered a “constrained” program for road improvements, with a $160,000 annual budget.

“The problem we anticipate with that funding level is the village would lose ground. The roads would deteriorate faster than what we would be able to repair them at,” Keller said. “The village is contemplating (the sales tax) as a long-term tool.”

Keller said the village could have established a special service area, where residents in a particular neighborhood would pay for improvements there, but the sales tax would shift some of the burden to nonresidents.

If approved, the sales tax in Gilberts would rise from 7 to 8 percent. It wouldn't apply to purchases of food, vehicles, medicines and medical devices.

The tax increase would take effect Jan. 1, 2012.