Burr Ridge Home Rule: Could Taxes Go Up?

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge officials say if voters support home rule for the village, little risk exists for a property tax increase. They point to the new Burr Ridge ordinance stating the village board would not use home rule powers to hike property taxes.

But representatives of a watchdog group contend the ordinance would do nothing to stop the board from raising taxes. With home rule, they say, the village could simply ignore the ordinance.

Voters are set to decide on home rule in Tuesday's election, with polls open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Home rule status gives towns more flexibility over taxes, spending and a variety of other issues.

In January, the board enacted the ordinance that supporters said would place high hurdles for revocation. If members wanted to repeal it, they must notify every property taxpayer in writing, gain the support of four of the six trustees and discuss the issue during at least four board meetings, according to the ordinance.

The Elmhurst-based Citizen Advocacy Center considers the ordinance meaningless. Ben Silver, an attorney for the center, points to a 1980 state Supreme Court decision that he said lets home rule towns ignore self-imposed rules without judicial recourse.

In the decision, the judges wrote, "This court cannot handle matters which in effect are attempts to overrule decisions of a legislative body based upon alleged failure to follow requirements imposed by that body itself."

Rather, Silver said, the courts can only overturn a home rule town's action when it violates state or federal laws or constitutions.

"From what we have seen over the years, there's nothing Burr Ridge or any other existing or potential home rule municipality could impose upon itself that it could not later overturn without voter input," Silver said in an email.

Ellen Raymond, a Burr Ridge resident and an attorney who is a member of the center's board, agreed that the board would not be required to follow the "thoughtful process" called for in the ordinance.

Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso, an attorney himself, questioned the center's interpretation. A court order known as a "mandamus action," he said, can force officials to follow their laws and ordinances. He said he once successfully pursued such an order on behalf of a client.

"We have a tax ordinance here — not a policy — and it's specific to property taxes and not omnibus issues. A court will enforce it — especially since it's about property taxes," Grasso said in an email.

The village board, he said, would have to clear "a pretty high bar" to revoke the ordinance with letters to taxpayers and meetings. "And the voters could and will then vote them out in the next election and revoke the increase," he said.

He said the debate should focus on why the village board voted to place home rule on the ballot. With home rule, Grasso and others contend, the village could allocate much of the hotel tax, which amounts to about $600,000 to $700,000 a year, to quickly escalating police pensions. Now, the hotel tax must largely go toward promoting tourism.

In a few years, Grasso said, the village's police pension payments will rise to $1 million annually. He said it would be better for out-of-towners, rather than local taxpayers, to pay those bills.