Prospect Heights to pursue home rule again

Prospect Heights’ decision this week to hold another voter referendum seeking home rule powers is based on a belief that residents are fed up with the inadequate services allowed for under the present system, Mayor Nick Helmer said Thursday.

“It’s tough to run a business without a dependable source of funds,” Helmer said.

Improving water quality for the 40 percent of residents still on wells, providing better police and public works service and pursuing more economic development are among the goals the city has for the additional taxes home rule powers would allow.

The city plans to ask residents for home rule powers in the March 20 primary election.

Helmer knows some home rule opponents are skeptical about the city council’s self-discipline to not overtax residents. But as a 26-year resident himself, he believes the council is on the right track.

“Why would we look for taxes we don’t need?” Helmer asked. “It’s time to do something that’s positive.”

Prospect Heights needs home rule to create a property tax. Home rule comes automatically for communities with a population of 25,000 or more, but that’s a level the city of 16,400 residents will never reach, Helmer said.

He believes the city has lost the sense of pride it had during his early years there because of its poor quality of services. As examples, he points to a city hall that hasn’t been able to stay open five days a week and a police station that’s never open to the public.

A huge issue for the 40 percent of the city on wells is the poor quality of water they now receive, Helmer said. Not only does the iron-rich water turn laundry yellow, it lowers the service life of many household appliances to two to five years, he added.

Previous referendums seeking home rule powers in 2008 and 2004 failed, but Helmer believes public support has risen since then.

Many improvements the city is pursuing would be achievable with home rule, he said. For instance, the ability to bring in water for Rand Road would allow for more commercial growth there, which would in turn provide more sales tax revenues and lower the reliance on property taxes.

Home rule also would allow the city to be less dependent on special service areas and high vehicle sticker costs to make ends meet, Helmer said.