A ‘stealth tax hike’ in Lake County

Is there anyone out there that didn’t notice the huge jump in our July/August water bill? As a 24-year resident of Buffalo Grove, I am outraged as to the onerous increase that Lake County slipped in with no justification. For the last 20 years the assessment for wastewater treatment has been $60 every two months. This year, Lake County decided to assess us at a rate of $4 per thousand gallons of water usage. What they cannot justify is that in the heat of the summer, those of us who water our lawns, are unfairly taxed by this increase. They are charging us for wastewater treatment, that doesn’t even go into the sewer system. It goes into the ground. For July and August, my bill went from $60 to $220, a 267 percent increase for services not performed. Can Lake County justify this type of increase during difficult economic times, when property values are declining and real estate taxes are not? If you think this will not impact our real estate values you are sadly mistaken. Are they willing to show us the year-over-year cost increase for waste water treatment, compared to the increase in revenue based on this increase? I think not. Can they also assure us that the excess money will not be used for other purposes and returned to us in due course? Once again I think not.

Richard Sidell

Buffalo Grove