Voters choose to dissolve Schaumburg Township road district, end elected position in 2029

Schaumburg Township voters Tuesday chose to abolish the road district as a separate unit of government in May 2029 and eliminate the elected position of highway commissioner.

If those election results are certified, responsibility for maintaining 10 miles of unincorporated roads and the district’s budget will move under the authority of the township’s board of trustees in 2½ years.

According to unofficial results, the referendum question of whether to end the road district ended up with 60% of voters answering yes and 40% saying no.

Schaumburg Township Supervisor Tim Heneghan said he recognized it as a change of approach that seemed to work in nearby places like Hanover and Elk Grove townships. He agreed with two trustees in August that residents should decide the question.

Heneghan said he believes the move will save taxpayers the $18,000 annual salary of the highway commissioner, adding it won’t be necessary to hire an employee to oversee the district’s two existing ones.

First-term Highway Commissioner Timothy Buelow said he accepts the voters’ decision but believes educating them on the pros and cons was deliberately avoided. He said he was personally blindsided by the 3-1 vote in August to put the question on the ballot. It occurred before another trustee even arrived at the meeting.

“I think the board went out of its way to prevent the public from knowing or understanding what they were voting on,” he said. “I believe the whole thing was done in bad faith.”

Trustee Demetrius Gibson, who cast the dissenting vote in August, said at the time that he believed the public and Buelow received little notice of a referendum being considered.

“I thought the decision was a bit hurried,” Gibson said. “We could have taken more time to deliberate.”

Buelow is a teacher, and the highway commissioner position is not his primary source of income. But he said he believes the current system for maintaining roads in unincorporated areas is best for residents. He added that surrounding townships have seen only mixed success in changing from it.

Buelow said the board of trustees already oversees every other aspect of the township and won’t have the time a highway commissioner does to vet contractors for important maintenance projects.

“They’re not going to be saving any money,” he said. “They’re just adding more to their plate.”

Still, Buelow said he intends to be fully cooperative with the transition to the board’s oversight of unincorporated road maintenance between now and 2029.

epeterson@dailyherald.com