Darien Not Exploring Tax 'At This Time': Official

DARIEN, IL – A Darien alderwoman said Monday that the city is not exploring a streaming tax "at this time," responding to a resident's concern about it.

At a City Council meeting last month, officials spoke about possible taxes they could legally levy.

They noted that towns can enact a 5 percent streaming tax, with cable TV taxes declining as more people cut the cord.

City Administrator Bryon Vana said it was good to have the possible streaming tax in the city's "hip pocket" should some of its income projections be off.

At Monday's council meeting, Alderwoman Mary Sullivan said a Barrymore Drive resident contacted her to express his opposition to the tax, saying he had read a Patch story about the issue.

"I just let him know that's not something we're exploring at this time," Sullivan said. "That was just a dialogue we were having. We weren't voting on it, motioning on it or anything."

Vana said the discussion at last month's meeting was about reducing property taxes as well as about taxes that the city refrained from imposing.

Sullivan said she was glad that the resident reached out to her directly, "so that I could set the story straight because it was misrepresented in the media."

"As sometimes happens," Mayor Joseph Marchese added.

Sullivan did not say how the story misrepresented the discussion. In response to a Patch inquiry, she said she had nothing to add.

Darien has not raised its property tax levy in 16 years. Instead, it relies on other taxes to avoid burdening homeowners, officials say.

In Illinois, municipal property taxes typically take up only a fraction of homeowners' tax bills.