Sleepy Hollow asking voters to OK property tax increase

Sleepy Hollow voters are being asked to allow the village to increase property taxes to provide additional revenue to keep up with maintenance and replacement of roads, property and equipment.

And if the question on the April 6 ballot sounds familiar, it is.

"We've gone around this particular flagpole a couple of times," Village President Stephan Pickett said.

This is the fourth time in seven years the village board has asked voters to approve an increase in the tax rate limit. Voters said "no" in 2014 and 2015, but "yes" in 2016.

Now officials are seeking voter approval to increase the tax rate by as much as 25%. The rate is 73 cents per $100 equalized assessed valuation. If voters approve the request, the tax rate limit would be 91.22 cents.

If the tax rate hike is approved, the property tax bill on a $300,000 home would increase by roughly $180 in the first year. The village would receive an additional $210,969 in revenue.

According to Pickett, the reasons for the request are the same as before: the village doesn't have enough money to do its jobs.

He said the village's capital funds "are exhausted." It has scaled back on road projects, he said. The village board also decided last year to tear out unsafe playground equipment at Saddle Club Park, saying it couldn't afford the $100,000 it would take to fix or replace it.

If residents don't agree to increase taxes, "We go back to all the dark scenarios we discussed in the past," Pickett said.

Daily operations would continue, but building maintenance might be deferred, he said. Vehicle replacement would be stretched out. Snowplowing of roads might not be done until at least 3 inches of snow have fallen,

It may also mean talking, again, about dissolving the village government and becoming unincorporated, or annexing the village to West Dundee or Elgin, Pickett said.

In that case, residents would have to petition for dissolution, and there would be a referendum. Annexation would require the approval of Sleepy Hollow residents and the residents of the municipality to which it would be annexed.

"We are very close to that point," Pickett said. "If this passes, this will keep Sleepy Hollow going for another five or six years, maybe 10."

There is no organized opposition to the referendum.

Trustee Thomas Merkel voted against putting the referendum on the ballot at a January board meeting.