Geneva council considering referendums for new police station, home rule

Geneva city council members could reach a consensus Monday on whether to propose ballot initiatives to fund a new police station and give the city home rule powers.

If approved, the referendum for a new police station would be on the March 17, 2026, primary ballot. The home rule question would appear on the April 6, 2027, ballot.

Home rule status is automatic when a municipality’s population exceeds 25,000. Geneva’s population is 21,393, according to the 2020 census, requiring voter approval for home rule status.

Home rule gives municipalities greater flexibility over local finances, as well as more authority over building, zoning, sanitation and other issues.

Public support for home rule authorization requires a high level of trust,” Collin Corbett of EOSullivan Consulting told council members last month.

“Making sure we emphasize how you have respected that trust to date, how you’ve respected their tax dollars to date, will help increase that trust and the likelihood of that they’re willing to take that step,” he added.

Survey results showed trust among the public for the city of Geneva “was overwhelmingly high,” Corbett said.

First Ward Alderperson Anaïs Bowring said she supports a home rule referendum.

“I think that the right way to go is to put home rule on the ballot,” Bowring said. “As Collin pointed out, this is also backed up by the research I’ve done, this is really the way for us to get to a sustainable level of investment in our infrastructure and our facilities.”

Second Ward Alderperson Richard Marks took the opposite view.

“I don’t think we’re prepared to go to home rule,” Marks said. “Home rule is really a level of unlimited taxation. … We can raise the sales tax without limits. … I would be totally, absolutely against home rule at this time.”

A new 45,000-square-foot to 67,000-square-foot police station would be built on city-owned land along South Street adjacent to the public works building.

Architects offered nine options, ranging from $46.1 million for a basic 45,00-square-foot facility with a garage for four to five vehicles, to $60.7 million for a 67,400-square-foot facility that includes a garage for 22 to 24 vehicles and a firing range, records show.

If voters approve the proposal, architects could have documents and bidding done by the end of 2026, break ground by spring of 2027 and be complete and by the second quarter of 2028, said FGM Architects Vice President David Yandel.