The Milton Township Highway Department has a proposed levy on the March 17, 2026 ballot for a 3.5%, $2.2 million levy for the purposes of constructing an additional building for truck storage. That would include new offices, a lunchroom and conference room. Highway commission management have stated that the existing truck storage building will remain to be used for “dry storage.” The other two existing buildings that house equipment maintenance, offices and storage are in good condition.

The Highway Department has spent over $24,000 for flyers promoting this tax increase and made presentations saying that this tax increase is only for two years. This is absolutely false as the proposition on the ballot as written is for a permanent tax increase.

In addition, the proposed cost of this project has no detailed scope of work, no cost basis due to no engineering or architectural drawings, no bids, no site assessment for stormwater mitigation and no construction schedule. You could not get a loan from a bank for a commercial building without providing this information. Why should the tax payers as the “bank” deserve anything less?

The highway department has estimated the cost of this project by a simple ratio size comparison to a proposed but never built storage building that DuPage County was considering building in 2022. Cost of construction has increased in four years due to inflation and cost of material and labor.

I strongly encourage the taxpayers to vote “no” on this proposed tax increase.

Chuck Smith

Wheaton