Hanover Township seeks tax hike for drug education, youth center

Hanover Township will ask its voters for a property tax hike Nov. 6 that would provide $1 million a year for three specific enhancements to its youth services.

Township Supervisor Brian McGuire said the funding would allow officials to triple their drug and opioid education efforts, double their resources to provide family therapy, and operate a teen center.

The referendum voters will see on the Nov. 6 ballot asks for an additional 0.05 percent of the equalized assessed value of all the taxable property in the township. For the owner of an average value home in the township of $192,500, the tax increase would cost an additional $28.51 per year, or $2.38 per month, McGuire said.

Though the township board already has the authority to increase some of its spending, it's more appropriate for residents to weigh in on the philosophical decisions regarding this issue, he said.

"This has actually been discussed several times at our strategic planning meetings over the years," McGuire said. "This is an issue that needs to be decided by the taxpayers, not the board."

McGuire said many residents already are aware of the opioid crisis throughout the nation and have increased awareness of mental health issues, especially with regard to youths.

"The biggest challenge is you're asking people to pay more taxes, and no matter how noble the cause - whatever your cause is - that often gets lost in the mix," McGuire said. "A taxing body has got to get out and explain what they're doing."

The township's current family counseling services are at the same level as they were in 1999, when the population was lower and a greater stigma stood in the way of people reaching out for mental health assistance, he said.

Officials also wish to provide a teen center somewhere near the center of the township, just as it already runs a senior center.

A teen center would be in an existing building. If voters approve the tax hike, there would be more than a year before the money was collected to talk with Elgin Area School District U-46 and other potential sources of vacant space, as well as work out any necessary zoning issues, McGuire said.

Community meetings are being scheduled to directly discuss with residents the reasons behind the township's requested tax hike.

"The good thing is we're talking about these issues," McGuire said. "The bad thing is that we have to."