Palatine could dump vehicle stickers, maybe have utility bill fee or tax hike instead
Palatine village council members are exploring the idea of dumping annual vehicle stickers and finding a replacement revenue source like a utility bill fee or property tax hike.
Village documents show about $1.2 million in revenue from the most recent sticker sales, but not everyone is buying them. The stickers sold to residents and businesses with vehicles parked overnight in Palatine help fund road improvement projects and other operations.
"Our issue is only 70 percent of the people that need to get vehicle stickers actually get them," Village Manager Reid Ottesen said. "We've gotten secretary of state data, we compare it to what we have, and we have about a 70 percent compliance.
"A majority of the people are law-abiding, but there are 30 percent that are kind of blowing it off and we're trying to find a more equitable way to do this."
Palatine incurred about $150,000 in administrative and other costs associated with the $1.2 million in sticker sales. Officials said the village could save the $150,000 if another annual revenue source replaced the stickers.
Stickers cost $30 per vehicle and new ones are supposed to be displayed by July 1. The late fee is $20.
If the stickers were eliminated, officials said, one proposed revenue replacement would be to add a per-unit fee of $3.30 to $4.65 on monthly utility bills. Another option would be to increase property taxes by 4.66 percent.
Councilman Brad Helms suggested this week that greater police enforcement could lead to additional sticker sales. However, Councilman Greg Solberg was skeptical about trying to boost sticker compliance.
"In terms of enforcement, it's difficult and time consuming, that's for sure," Solberg said. "And the 30 percent of residents that don't buy vehicle stickers, it's not only losing the 30 percent (in revenue). I think it irritates the other 70 percent."
Ottesen said the sticker compliance rate had been about 50 percent until police efforts brought it to 70 percent. He said officers generally cannot issue tickets on private property but have agreements allowing them to do so in most multifamily residential complexes and at Fremd and Palatine high schools.
Palatine will sell the stickers again next year. The village council is expected to resume discussion in the spring about the stickers and potential replacement revenue.
Ottesen said the goal would be to have any changes ready for the budget starting in January 2020.
Rolling Meadows this year created a new natural gas tax to replace revenue lost by the elimination of city vehicle stickers. Elk Grove Village cited strong finances in eliminating the stickers for residents this year but keeping them for commercial vehicles to fund road projects.