Elgin mayor addresses unfunded mandates, water quality and future of the dam
Mayor David Kaptain laid out Elgin's successes as well as the challenges it faces during his annual State of the City address Tuesday at Elgin Community College.
Kaptain said the city continues to grow, both in new residents and businesses. He touted the city's all-time low vacancy rates in the industrial sector, even as it added 1.5 million square feet of industrial space last year.
He said people and businesses are choosing Elgin because of their strong financial situation, including their AAA bond rating, "exceptionally" low crime rate and quality emergency services, educational opportunities and judicious use of taxpayer money.
"We are one of the fastest-growing cities in the state of Illinois," he said. "We continue to be a city of choice for families, industries and retail."
While lauding low industrial vacancy rates, he acknowledged they need to increase the residential inventory for the workforce moving to Elgin, specifically rental units. Kaptain said Elgin has about 5900 residential rental units but there are usually only about 150 available. He said 900 rental units and hundreds of single-family homes on the way will help, but more is needed.
Kaptain also noted while the city's general fund tax levy has remained flat for eight straight years, next year will see some increases in the water rate and local taxes to pay for public service pension funds as a result of unfunded state and federal mandates.
"We have to respond to those mandates and we are facing a deadline for some that are time sensitive," he said.
The former chief chemist with the Fox River Water Reclamation District spent a lot of time talking about the challenges facing the city's water supply and what to do with the Kimball Street dam.
"We need to look at how we're protecting our water supply," he said. "If we can't do that then everything that all of us have worked for will be in jeopardy."
He said the city needs to strengthen its supply infrastructure with new deep wells, replace aging, leaking pipes in the distribution system and upgrade the treatment process. He said the cost for the improvements will be more than $200 million.
Kaptain said he couldn't overemphasize the importance of making the right decision when it comes to the future of the Kimball Street dam, and he wants the public to help make that decision.
"It could affect our economy, it could affect growth, it could affect our water supply," he said.
Kaptain wants to hold a series of public meetings over the next year and then place an advisory referendum on the ballot in November 2024 asking residents if they want to keep the dam or remove it.
"You need to be a part of this," he told the crowd of about 100 community and business leaders during the annual event presented by the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce. "You are going to pay for this, the grants are not going to come from the state and the federal government, they're our obligation."