Maine Township highway commissioner says trustees broke law

Maine Township's highway commissioner accused trustees of breaking the law this week when they voted against his proposed tax increase.

Highway Commissioner Walter Kazmierczak asked for a 2 percent increase Tuesday in the township's road and bridge fund levy - arguing the extra money might be needed if winter weather is bad, asphalt prices go up or state lawmakers freeze property taxes. What's more, he said, state law gives the highway commissioner control of setting the levy.

Essentially, the township board has to rubber stamp it.

"The law backs me up on this," Kazmierczak said. "It may be a stupid law, but there's many stupid laws and many, many stupid aspects of life so this is just one of them."

Still, a divided township board voted 3-2 against his levy proposal, with opponents citing large fund reserves. Trustees Claire McKenzie, Susan Sweeney and David Carrabotta voted to keep the levy flat. Township Supervisor Laura Morask and Trustee Kimberly Jones voted for an increase.

Though Kazmierczak immediately threatened a lawsuit, he has since said costly legal action such as fighting the case in court will not happen. Rather, he'll seek other ways to prove he is legally correct to avoid a dispute next year.

McKenzie, the township board's lone Democrat, invited Kazmierczak to file the lawsuit.

"Go ahead and file it," McKenzie said. "Let's test it. If you think that's what the law says, follow the law."

Bryan Smith, executive director of Township Officials of Illinois, said state law is clear that a township board "certifies the levy as determined by the highway commissioner."

"If (Kazmierczak) wanted to push it, he probably would have a case," Smith said.

At the end of the day, legal squabble fees could easily be more than the $50,000 difference between a 2 percent increase in the road and bridge levy and keeping it flat.

But there are some other numbers that need to be considered, opponents said.

According to budget documents, the road and bridge department has spent between $1.7 million and $1.9 million in each of the past three budget years. Kazmierczak's proposed levy was $2.6 million - or 37 percent more than the road and bridge department has spent in any of the past three years.

"It's a significant increase over what we actually spent," Sweeney said.

The flat levy approved Tuesday will bring in more than $2.5 million.

Meanwhile, the township board voted to cut tax levies for the general assistance and town funds 5 percent. Morask and Jones voted to keep the levy flat.

Morask argued that taxpayers won't notice a lower tax bill and that not keeping the levy flat will cause the township to lose potential property tax revenues from new construction to Cook County.

"Actually I think it's a very sexy headline that we didn't raise taxes," Morask said. "It is allowing us to capture money that can be used by our residents in Maine Township, not by other Cook County residents."

Smith, the executive director at Township Officials of Illinois, said he was unfamiliar with a situation in which townships would lose tax revenue to county governments.

The tax levy for the general assistance and town funds have been a point of contention as some trustees criticized the township's reserve fund. The reserve fund of nearly $6.6 million is almost enough to operate the township for an entire year.

Additionally, the township spends far more on overhead costs than services for the poor. In 2016, Maine Township spent $678,583 on administrative expenses from its general assistance fund and $196,101 on grants and services including mental health services, domestic violence prevention programs and meals for seniors. That's more than triple the administrative costs compared to services provided to those in need.

"Give some relief to the residents that need it from all this taxation they're experiencing," Sweeney said in her argument for cutting the taxes.