Hanover Park Park District is seeking its first tax increase in 55 years

When Leah Munoz moved back to Hanover Park a couple of years ago to have her infant daughter near her aging parents, she found the parks weren't as nice as she remembered.

"I was really shocked at how different Hanover Park was from when I was growing up," she said. "I got very vocal."

She complained to Hanover Park Park District Executive Director Bob O'Brien, who suggested she join a group being formed to study how to improve the parks.

She learned the district hasn't had a tax rate increase since it formed 55 years ago, resulting in it falling further behind every year in upkeep of its parks and facilities.

For example, equipment at all but two of 18 playgrounds is 25 or more years old, with some pieces having to be removed because repair parts are no longer available, O'Brien said.

While the equipment is safe, it isn't of the same standard as newer equipment, he said. Residents, including Munoz, go to parks in nearby towns because of the inadequate playground equipment.

Because the slides have been removed from her neighborhood park, "I have to get in the car and take her someplace else," Munoz said of her daughter.

After studying the issue, conducting a survey and holding community meetings, committee members and district officials drew up a list of improvements they believe necessary for each of 21 parks and recreation facilities.

Scaling back their original ideas by 30 percent, officials eventually decided to seek a still hefty 67 percent hike in the tax rate through a Nov. 6 referendum so that the improvements could be made over a five-year period.

While that sounds like a lot, Lee Howard, finance director for the park district and treasurer of the committee working to pass the tax increase, argues that the district accounts for only a small part of the property tax bill.

The increase is about $12 a month for the average owner-occupied home in the DuPage County portion of the district, which is worth about $207,000, he said. The increase is about 11 percent less in Cook County.

"If everybody pops in $12 a month, some wonderful things are going to happen," Howard said.

As for Munoz, she's now leading a residents group of three dozen people working to pass the tax increase. The group has been sending out a direct mailer, handing out literature in English and Spanish, doing some door-to-door work, visiting the train station and putting up yard signs.

While there is no organized opposition, 80 of 160 yard signs were stolen one night last week, Munoz said. She said her family budgets every expense and she shares the general concern about rising taxes, but adds that this will pay for tangible, needed improvements close to home.

"It was easy for me to make the decision," she said.

The park district has an annual budget of about $5.1 million, mainly funded by property taxes and user fees.

If the tax increase is voted down Tuesday, "the park district won't go belly up," O'Brien said. "It will continue to operate as is."

More detailed information on the tax increase request is at www.hpparks.org/fundingproposal.