Property Tax Issue Reignites Burr Ridge Feud

BURR RIDGE, IL — The Burr Ridge Village Board enacted a policy last week that would bar it from raising property taxes beyond current limits if voters grant the village home-rule status. During the debate, Mayor Gary Grasso raised the possibility of a censure vote against Trustee Zach Mottl, while Mottl accused the mayor of corruption without giving details.

Under home rule, the village would have the power to raise property taxes beyond current limits. But village officials said the new policy would require the board to clear high hurdles to revoke it. Under the policy, the board must send written notices to all property owners about possible revocation and discuss the matter during at least four meetings. The voters are set to decide on home rule status in the March 17 primary election.

Mottl referred to the policy as "paper handcuffs" and "window dressing," but said he would support anything that seeks to prevent property tax hikes.

"There is nothing here that does anything to prevent raising taxes," Mottl told the board. "I think this is the equivalent of paper handcuffs. It stops no one from doing anything... We make a promise today, and some emergency pops up and we have to change what we did. This is a joke. It's window dressing."

The mayor disagreed, saying it was virtually impossible to revoke the policy. He said village residents show up at meetings for big issues such as the recent debate over whether to allow recreational marijuana sales in town. He said the big crowd against marijuana shops may have convinced members disposed to supporting such businesses to vote against them in the end. With the written notices, he said, no village board was likely to stand up against a village population in opposition to tax hikes.

"This is as strong a handcuff on future boards that we can legally pass," Grasso said.

When Grasso said home rule would give the mayor no more power, Mottl could be heard saying, "That's a lie."

Village officials said they did not support the home rule referendum to give the village greater power to raise property taxes. They said one of the main reasons for home rule was to give the village more flexibility on how to spend hotel taxes, particularly on police pensions and roads.

In the debate over the policy, Trustee Al Paveza said there was "an awful lot of (hotel) money we can't touch."

Mottl interjected, "That's a lie. We're spending 100 percent."

The mayor chastised Mottl, "Please modify your language, especially when using that word," referring to "lie."

A few minutes later, Mottl said he would apologize to Paveza, saying, "Either you lied or you are confused. We're spending all the money."

A village staffer confirmed to Mottl that Burr Ridge was spending nearly all of the hotel tax money, which prompted Mottl to tell Paveza, "Write that down, so you don't forget it next time." Mottl also noted the state recently gave municipalities the power to spend as much as 25 percent of hotel tax revenue on infrastructure and economic development, rather than just for tourism promotion.

Paveza responded the village has been unable to spend the money where it needs to.

The village board unanimously voted for the policy, with Mottl again calling it a joke.

"You want it both ways all the time, Zach," the mayor responded.

"No, I just want to call you out on your corruption," Mottl said.

Grasso then raised the specter of another censure vote against Mottl, as the board did in November, accusing Mottl of demeaning village staff.

Mottl told Grasso, "You keep bullying me for calling you out."

In last April's election, Grasso defeated Mottl, then the interim mayor, in a landslide.