Elmhurst Eyes Ways To Raise Taxes

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst officials said they need $40 million over a decade to pay for stormwater projects – those in the works and those already done.

This requires tax increases.

For two hours Monday, aldermen on the City Council's Finance Committee debated ways to raise the money.

The members rejected a stormwater fee, which they said would cost too much administratively. Such a fee could cost a resident about $160 a year.

They settled on increasing the sales tax by a quarter of 1 percent. That is expected to generate $1.9 million a year, about half of what the city says is needed for stormwater.

But aldermen said they didn't want the tax to last forever, suggesting a 10-year sunset.

They also agreed to continue earmarking $1.3 million in property taxes for drainage projects. A couple of years ago, taxpayers would have seen lower taxes because the library finished paying off its debt for its new building. Instead, the city directed the $1.3 million toward stormwater work.

Finally, the aldermen said at Monday's meeting that they were fine with continuing to dedicate $500,000 a year from the city's main account for stormwater.

What they agreed on totals $3.7 million a year, still shy of the $4 million goal. But aldermen said the city may receive outside grants for some projects.

At the meeting, Mayor Scott Levin said he was concerned about the effects of a sales tax increase on businesses like McMaster-Carr, one of Elmhurst's largest employers. The hike, he said, could make McMaster-Carr less competitive.

"They are a major sales tax contributor," the mayor said.

City Treasurer Dan Curran warned about relying so much on property taxes for stormwater, especially with the increase in pension costs, over which the city has no control.

"If we say this $1.3 million is staying there (for stormwater), that means we're raising property taxes for the first time in five-plus years," he said.

Alderwoman Noel Talluto, the committee's chairwoman, said she wanted to go to the full council with a consensus on how to raise taxes. By the end of the meeting, it appeared the committee achieved that goal.

City staffers said they would return with more detailed numbers for the committee in a couple of weeks. Then, the committee could vote on a recommendation.

Officials have been discussing ways to raise taxes for more than a year.