Libertyville drops home rule push, will seek 1% sales tax
This story has been updated to correct how funding from a 2012 referendum was used.
Libertyville leaders have switched gears and now plan to ask voters in March to approve a 1% sales tax rather than the broader question of granting the village home rule status.
Officials say the village's need for $2.4 million in new annual revenue to fund infrastructure projects remains, but just three weeks after informally opting to pursue home rule, they now believe the sales tax option has a better chance of winning voter approval.
Mayor Terry Weppler said residents may have been comfortable giving the current village board the greater authority that home rule allows, but they were concerned what future boards might do.
Weppler said this is his last term and some trustees also may choose not to run in the April 2021 municipal election, potentially allowing for a major shift on the board.
"I don't know that it's (home rule) going to pass and I don't want to have my successor in a bad position," he said. "I still believe home rule would be good for the village, but I have concerns it would pass."
The possibility of organized opposition also played into the change in strategy, Weppler said.
Trustee Pat Carey, who advanced the home rule question, said the idea did not have full board support, which he believes is needed for any question to be put to residents.
"With a non-home rule sales tax referendum, we're not asking our residents for nearly as much as we would have the authority to do with home rule," he said.
The village says a new, reliable revenue stream is needed to keep pace with expenses for roads, parks, sidewalks and general infrastructure, technology and buildings.
"Road rehabilitation is the biggest portion of that," said Village Administrator Kelly Amidei. "We need a dedicated funding source."
Voters gave the village authority in 2012 to borrow $20 million to fix roads. The goal was address 30 of the village's 89 miles of roads, but because of favorable bids 35.5 miles of roads were repaired, exceeding the original program target.
However, about 60% of village roads remain to be addressed.
A non-home rule sales tax of 1% would apply to most goods sold in town, with groceries and vehicles being the major exceptions.
The sales tax would raise an estimated $3 million per year. That would be reduced to a net gain of $2 million per year because, if the sales tax is approved, the village board would repeal a 1% Places for Eating Tax instituted a few years ago.
"We don't want to double tax the restaurants," Weppler said.
Adding a villagewide sales tax means visitors also would be contributing, which is more fair and equitable for residents, Amidei said.
"That's the whole idea," Carey agreed. "We're way short of our capital needs and we're trying to come up with something reasonable to make a dent in it."
The board on Nov. 12 is expected to approve a resolution to put the sales tax question on the ballot. The measure must be submitted to the Lake County clerk's office by the end of the year to appear on March's primary ballot.
The village plans to host town hall meetings and disseminate information on how the new revenue would be used. An added sales tax would address everyday needs, but Libertyville's first comprehensive multiyear capital plan, approved this summer, outlines tens of millions in other projects.
Water and sanitary sewer work will be funded from future utility rates, but a big gap elsewhere needs to be filled.
The multiyear plan also outlines $45.5 million in stormwater projects to reduce flooding. Village officials are considering creating a stormwater utility fee to build and maintain those projects but the amount is to be determined.
A town hall meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 14, at the Libertyville Civic Center to discuss the proposed stormwater fee.