Yes and No on Winfield roads

Voters in Winfield will face two ballot questions on Nov. 2 that seek to raise property taxes to improve local streets, nearly half of which village officials say are in poor to failing condition. The first question will ask permission to borrow $3.3 million to resurface the most deteriorated roads in the village. That bond issue would be paid off over the course of 20 years when it would theoretically come off the books.

It would cost the owner of a $300,000 home about $80 a year in additional property taxes. The second question would generate an extra $700,000 a year for the village to fund a 20-year maintenance cycle for the entire network of local roads that are not eligible for state or national funding. That proposal would cost the owner of the same home an additional $173 a year in property taxes and would have no expiration date.

The proposals, officials say, will allow the village to take advantage of low construction rates and result in safer roads that will add value to adjacent properties. The village says it currently can afford to repair only about a half-mile of its local streets a year, which means it would take 70 years to repair all 35 miles of roads.

Officials say they have looked at other funding sources from an increase in sales taxes to red-light cameras and vehicle stickers but believe the property tax proposal is the only one that guarantees enough revenue for the work that needs to be done.

Clearly the village needs to repair many of its local roads and certainly it must maintain them all, but the combined asking price of both proposals $253 a year for the owner of a $300,000 home is simply too high in these difficult times.

Our recommendation is a “Yes” vote for the first ballot question, which will provide the village with $3.3 million to pursue immediate repairs of its most troublesome roads. We recommend a “No” vote on the second ballot question that would permanently increase the village's property tax.