Burr Ridge's Big Edge Over Other Towns

BURR RIDGE, IL – When Burr Ridge officials meet about the budget, they applaud the village's strong financial status.

And it's true – the village is in good fiscal shape.

Burr Ridge is the rare town that is debt-free. This is even though the village's portion of the property tax bill is a low, low 1.5 percent. On top of that, Burr Ridge has enough stashed away in its bank account for a rainy day.

But Burr Ridge has a big advantage most of its neighbors do not – a lot of stores from which to draw sales taxes.

According to the U.S. Census, the amount of retail sales per capita in Burr Ridge is $34,450. That compares to $6,274 in Western Springs, $8,116 in La Grange, $15,073 in Hinsdale, $24,801 in Darien, $26,061 in Elmhurst and $33,081 in Willowbrook.

Last year, sales taxes made up 27 percent of Burr Ridge's income, according to Illinois comptroller reports. That compares with 11 percent in Western Springs and 14 percent in La Grange.

Unsurprisingly, Western Springs and La Grange take up a bigger part of their residents' property tax bills, each about 12 percent.

In Illinois, schools make up the overwhelming portion of property tax bills. They have less ability to tax, including on retail sales.

At this week's Burr Ridge Village Board meeting, Administrator Evan Walter said it's "very, very important" that Burr Ridge is debt free.

"We are now at 1.5 percent of the property tax bill. That's partially due to the fact that we haven't raised property taxes in three years, so our share is going down," he said.