Tower Lakes voters prefer borrowing money to pay for water system improvements

An overwhelming majority of Tower Lakes voters said they prefer to pay for improvements to their village's water system by borrowing money, according to unofficial results of a nonbinding referendum Tuesday.

The work will include replacing 80- to 90-year-old water mains and laying some new pipe.

Only 30 people, around 22 percent of voters, said they preferred the alternative payment method, raising water rates - about $400 per family per year - and have the improvements done in the future when enough revenue from the rate hike had been saved.

The other 111 voters, around 78 percent, said they would rather the village borrow money, complete the work next summer and pay back the loan back over the 20 years.

Village President Kathleen Leitner said the improvement work is going to happen one way or the other.

"This is the last major improvement necessary," Leitner said. "Hopefully, we won't need to do any major work for decades to come."