Need is real for Blackberry roads

This issue will not go away but will only get worse and cost us more if we keep putting it off. I'm as fed up as everyone with taxes we pay, but the current funding for Blackberry Township roads is inadequate to maintain them.

I attended a Road District meeting with Highway Commissioner Rod Feece, and have emailed and called him for information. I wanted the facts. There are a significant number of roads in the township and in Mill Creek assessed as poor or worse and are degrading further. If roads are not maintained it costs two to three times more to fix later. Generally, they should be resurfaced about every 15 years but the current budget allows for resurface about every 35 years.

There's little industry or commerce for funding and a high number of miles to maintain. Some money comes from motor fuel tax but most is from property taxes. Look at the breakdown of your property taxes. The vast majority goes to schools, fire, library, etc. That money must be used for those entities and cannot be used for roads.

So it's pointless discussing those issues in the context of this one. Blackberry has $14,000 per mile compared to $21,000 in St. Charles, $24,000 in Geneva, $31,000 in Batavia and $41,000 in Sugar Grove (townships).

Previous referendums failed. The road district has basically never gotten an increase, while costs for blacktop and salt have doubled in the last 15 years. Funding has increased with the number of properties but has not kept pace with the number of miles and the costs. The referendum calls for eight cents per $100 EAV which, on a $300,000 home, is about $80 per year (or $6.67 per month). There's an excellent fact sheet at www.elburn.il.us/blackberry-township-referendum-fact-sheet/

Please consider supporting the referendum.

Jennifer Steel

Geneva