Mount Prospect vehicle sticker requirement could end Tuesday

Mount Prospect’s vehicle sticker requirement is expected to formally end Tuesday.

That’s when the village board is scheduled to vote on repealing the chapter of the village code pertaining to vehicle licenses and fees.

The sticker program was suspended last year, with village staff recommending its complete elimination this year. Projected revenue from sticker fees was not included in this year’s budget.

Mayor Paul Hoefert said he is celebrating the sticker’s demise.

“It’s been a long time coming. I couldn’t be happier,” he said.

While the sticker’s elimination has been long desired, Hoefert said replacement revenues were not in place previously. But with consistently strong returns from sales taxes and other revenue streams, the village board appears set to make the move Tuesday.

Until its suspension, the sticker cost residents $45 for passenger vehicles, $30 for motorcycles and $68 for trucks with B plates. The sticker was bringing in about $1.4 million in annual revenue, and it cost about $112,000 a year to administer the program.

“People are having a hard time with their budgets, and we can afford to do this,” Trustee Terri Gens said.

Trustee Augie Filippone said he does not support the plan, pointing out that the fees had been used to pay for street construction.

“It’s a bit of a bait and switch,” Filippone said. “I understand it’s good. It’s easy political points. But that money was going toward repairing streets. We have to find the money to fill it somewhere. Otherwise, it’s coming from somewhere else. The problem is when you say, ‘Sales tax revenue is going to cover that. We’re having a banner year,’ what happens when sales tax revenue goes away?”